It came down to the final event, but when all was said and done, Richard Gosling won the 2004 British Strongest Man competition today, guaranteeing himself an invitation to this year's World's Strongest Man contest. Gosling's win was especially meaningful since at this point there is no guarantee that TWI will once again invite five British competitors to the World's Strongest Man (WSM) contest, and there was a feeling at the British Strongest Man contest this year that the only way of being assured an invitation to WSM was to win the British championships. Adrian Rollinson was second and Olie Thompson was third. As anticipated, the new pressing event created quite a stir and was a huge hit. This overhead press is done in super-yoke style, with two safes suspended and swinging around as the apparatus is pressed. A very knowledgeable observer said, "Jamie Reeves has absolutely outdone himself with this . . . It is the best new addition to strongman in a long time." Some puffy, split lips and at least one bloody nose among the competitors left proof of the dynamic quality of the apparatus.