INSPIRATIONAL strongman Chris Beetham has revealed how he overcame the odds to become one of Scotland's strongest men.

The Wee County native suffered a broken back while playing rugby in 2014, but despite a drawn-out recovery process, he has battled back and is now a competitor in Strongman events.

Beetham told Advertiser Sport: “I got the injury playing rugby. That was in September 2014. I went through a couple of sessions of physiotherapy and from there I was guided towards a company called Elite Sporting Performance in Grangemouth. I didn't know my back was broken at the time. We thought it was just muscular so I went through a few months of rehab, but it wasn't getting any better so they sent me for an x-ray. It turned out it was broken so it took a few months to sort that out. Eventually, when we found out it was broken, I had to have x-rays and MRI scans and by that point it was June 2015.

“Throughout that time I had been seeing a guy called Lewis Mitchell at Elite Sporting Performance, and we became friends. He encouraged me to get into strongman events once I got strong enough after my injury. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to play rugby but I fancied doing something else. I rehabbed with Lewis and did strength and conditioning work with him, and I continued that even after I got the all-clear from the injury.

“My initial plan was to go back to rugby but I had to start the recovery process all over again. I had to get back to training four times a week over four months, working to gradually increase my strength. In December 2015 there was a drug-free powerlifting competition. Me and Lewis both decided to enter that, and that is what encouraged me to try strongman this year.

“When I actually told people that I was back training after breaking my back, a lot of people thought that I was crazy to be trying to lift heavy weights again. That spurred me on to prove everyone on, and it turned out that I actually got to a point where I was stronger than I was before I got injured.”

Beetham recovered to such an extent that he was able to take part in the Scotland's Strongest Natural Man last weekend, finishing second behind Mitchell, his training partner.

He said: “The Strongest Natural Man event is drug-free, so there is random drug-testing to make sure that nobody is taking performance-enhancing drugs. Myself and Lewis were both competing in the 'open' category, which is for people with a body weight of over 120 kilograms. The competition consisted of five events: an overhead press of 120 kg, an arm-over-arm pull with a rope weighing 300 kg, a medley, an Atlas stone and an incremental dead-lift, which started at 220 kg.

“Lewis won and I came second. There was definitely a bit of friendly rivalry between us. We travelled up together and shared a hotel room, but on the day we warmed up separately and did our own things. We didn't really talk until it was over. Lewis has done a lot of competitions and has qualified for Scotland's Strongest Man, so he has done a lot whereas this was my first competition. I was happy just to be competitive and qualify for the British Championship.”

Their one-two finish meant that the pair both qualified for the British Championship in August, which could give them the chance to represent the country at the sport's World Championships.

Beetham added: “We've qualified for the British Championship which is at the end of August. If we do well in that and finish in the top five we will get the opportunity to go the World Championships in Finland later this year. We are just focused on going down to the British Championship and doing well.”