In his first year competing, Silwal, part of a group called Camden Strongmen, recently finished second in the Ozstrongman national championships, in the under 105 kilogram amateur class.

With a background in power-lifting, Silwal's performance impressed many competitors over his five events, including some of the strongest men from the US.

The 29-year-old said his best performance was a maximum 350-kilogram dead-lift the event he won.

``I've been power-lifting close to four years but this was my first year in the strongman competition,'' he said. ``I'm still a novice so I'm pretty pleased with coming second, especially since the winner, Ryan Phillips, has been competing for a while and is much more experienced than me.

``I have a lot to learn. I just have to fine-tune my techniques then I should be much better.''

During the intense competition, Silwal took part in an the overhead medley event, in which he had to run to numerous stations in a set time with a 50kg dumbbell in each hand.

Other strenuous events involved Silwal running for 50 metres with 305kg on a bar on top of his neck, the power step event, while lifting 120kg and lifting the heavy stones to finish off the competition.

In the 50m run, Silwal's time was eight seconds, just 0.35seconds over the winning time.

Realising the strongman events are unfamiliar to many, Silwal is trying to put the sport he loves in the limelight.

Weighing in at 105kg for his competition, Silwal, to gain more recognition for the strength-based sport, trains each week with others.

``There's a group of us called Camden Strongmen, who train together,'' he said.

Details: 0414432753.