Blade of Glory claims 8th World Record
Clones strongman and amputee Shane McLoughlin, known as Blade of Glory has claimed his eighth consecutive Guinness World Record after successfully pulling a 1,000-tonne fishing trawler in Castletownbere, Co Cork, during a remarkable weekend of strength challenges and fundraising.
The amputee athlete completed the feat aboard the Menhaden, a massive red and white fishing vessel weighing approximately 1,000 tonnes when empty. The challenge proved far from straightforward, with shifting winds and difficult tidal conditions adding to the pressure throughout the pull.
McLoughlin had already completed a 180-tonne windmill turbine pull at Galway Docks earlier that day, describing it as a warm-up before tackling the world record attempt. “It was nice and calm when I started, but then the wind came,” he said.
“She was pulling me to the left and then pulling me to the right. I was trying to bring her back into the centre.”
Normally, McLoughlin prefers to pull ships from the bow, but low water levels prevented the Menhaden from being turned into position, making the attempt even more demanding.
Despite the conditions, Shane succeeded in moving the vessel and securing his latest world title. He could not have done it without the generous corporate sponsorship that he received from businesses all over the north east and expressed his thanks for same.
The record-breaking pull was just one of four challenges completed across the weekend. After hauling the trawler, McLoughlin went on to pull a cattle lorry at a local festival before travelling to Claremorris the following day, where he pulled a 45-tonne oil tanker.
The achievement also doubled as a fundraiser for Castletownbere Community Hospital. More than €800 was collected in less than an hour, with further donations bringing the total raised to more than €1,000. The proceeds were presented to hospital representative Mary Murphy.
McLoughlin, who undertakes many of his challenges alongside his daughter Jessica, is already setting his sights on upcoming events.
On August 29, he will take part in a charity pulling competition at Titanic Belfast in aid of children’s cancer causes, where he will go head-to-head with a number of strongmen from Ireland, Scotland and England.
Never short of confidence, McLoughlin joked that he would be giving his rivals “a head start”, pointing out that the heaviest load most strongmen have pulled in competition is a fraction of the 1,000-tonne vessel he has just conquered.
Looking further ahead, he hopes to travel to the United States in September to work with and inspire military veterans who have suffered amputations. Jessica is meanwhile helping to organise future challenges abroad, including a potential event in Canada involving a private airline.
McLoughlin is also planning what could be his most ambitious feat yet: a bid to pull a 1,500-tonne train before the end of the year.
Speaking on the way home on Monday, Shane said that he and his right hand woman Jessica were: “Going home delighted (with) another world record under our belt and nobody can take it away.”
Shane said that he always goes for to the second option for his Guinness World Records, to get the paperwork sent to him and verified by three independent professional witnesses, as a sizeable cost is incurred if adjudicators from the Guinness Book of World Records are expected to attend.