Nicknamed ‘Tiking’ — short for tiny Viking — Shepparton export and Australian Defence Force medic Sergeant Conor Reilly stands at 170cm.
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That’s shorter than most strongman competitors, but his power-to-size ratio sets him apart.
Sgt Reilly grew up in Shepparton, attending McGuire College and playing footy in the Goulburn Valley.
At age 14, he was tired of being the smallest player on the footy field, so he reached for a set of weights.
Seventeen years later, he lifts 170kg stones and presses 130kg logs overhead, competing in strongman and powerlifting events.
While Sgt Reilly enjoys a deadlift, he thrives on moving events.
He particularly enjoys the farmer’s carry and super yoke, where athletes run with weights while being timed.
Now living in Toowoomba, Sgt Reilly fits training around his work as a medic at the ADF’s busy Oakey Medical Centre and his responsibilities at home as husband and father to four children, all aged under six years.
Once the kids are in bed, he trains in his garage gym, recording vlogs while deadlifting 300kg, buffalo squatting 215kg, and push pressing 130kg.
On weekends, he alternates disciplines, from tossing sandbags down his driveway, to using his children as weights for bicep curls.
“My wife, Tash, is incredibly supportive of my selfish endeavour, so without her help, I wouldn't be in such a good head space; she makes life easier,” Sgt Reilly said.
His commitment has earned him many titles since he began competing in strongman events in 2019.
Last year he travelled to London where he won the Static Monsters World Championship, an event that combines strongman and powerlifting.
He set a record with a 400kg deadlift in the under 105kg category.
“I attempted that weight at the qualifiers the previous year and the bar hardly moved off the ground,” Sgt Reilly said.
“But on game day, in the amphitheatre, surrounded by hundreds of people with lights shining on me, I picked the bar off the ground with ease; I was ecstatic.”
Three months later, he trimmed down and placed second in the under 90kg Static Monsters qualifier, breaking Australian records with a 375kg deadlift and a 130kg log press.
Venturing into the powerlifting discipline last year, Sgt Reilly won the under 100kg men’s classic raw category at the Australian Powerlifting League Drug Tested Nationals, squatting a record 285kg and a record total of 735kg.
This month, he will compete in the same category again.
Sgt Reilly’s training regimen involves 90-minute solo sessions and a diet of 3000 to 5000 calories daily, tailored to upcoming competitions.
“I don’t have a coach, so if I don’t put in the work, it’s on me,” he said.
Until last year, strongman competitions were not drug-tested, but a pathway has been set for natural athletes to compete, so Sgt Reilly is preparing for the Natural Strongman Worlds in Ireland in August.
“That’s the future of the sport — it proves to people you can do some pretty crazy things without having to take drugs,” Sgt Reilly said.
Athletes will compete in eight gruelling events across two days, including pressing 140kg logs, carrying 150kg stones, throwing sandbags over a 4.1m bar, deadlifting 300kg in repetition, and transporting a 300kg timber frame by hand.
“I’m drawn to the longevity of a drug-free sport; I want to lift to the day I drop dead,” Sgt Reilly said.
His success stems from resilience, but he admits to feeling anxious at the first attempt at an event.
“I wonder if I’ve picked the right weight or if I’m prepared enough,” he said.
Once he’s finished, however, a sense of calm washes over him.
“I remind myself I know I’m good and just crack on with the plan I put in place,” Sgt Reilly said.
As a member of the Australian Army Strength Sports Association, Sgt Reilly is working to gain official recognition for strength sports in the army.