Kettering teacher wins strongest man event

Steve Fraher, who teaches at Kettering Buccleuch Academy, returned victorious after the tough event at the end of August.

He won the 'inters' level of the annual competition and now moves on to the 'opens' level after the test of strength and endurance with five gruelling stages.

These included a 100kg overhead log press, 240kg dead lift and 120kg stone lift, all judged on how many repetitions he could complete in a minute.

But the most challenging test of all was the tyre flip. Weighing in at a whopping 425kg, contestants had to use all their strength to complete eight rotations in 90 seconds.

Mr Fraher has now set his sights on competing in London’s Strongest Man in January - his toughest competition to date - and said he was delighted to win in Birmingham.

He said: "The next few months will require a lot of focus and training.

“As a teacher, I always try to instil in students the importance of resilience, determination and perseverance – whatever their ambitions might be.

"At KBA, we believe in delivering an education with character and nurturing those skills and attributes that will help them develop into successful young adults.

"I wouldn’t expect many people to take on what I have but I hope that learning these sorts of values will help them achieve their goals in all aspects of their lives, whether that is in their exams, on the rugby pitch or performing on stage.”

In his spare time Mr Fraher has also been working with others from the local community as part of ‘Kettering Strongman’.

The group meets and trains regularly to provide support and encouragement with one member, a former KBA student, already signed up to his first competition as a result.

Dino Di Salvo, principal at Kettering Buccleuch Academy, said: “Steve’s enthusiasm and determination have always shone through in his work with students whether that is in his PE classes and coaching sessions or as a member of our school community more widely.

"He has led on a number of initiatives to help our students keep active, including our house challenges, and I know he will have helped inspire many of our young people pursue their own sporting ambitions.

"We are all very proud of his achievements and wish him the best of luck in his next competition.”