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Daniel Shepherd celebrates his victory as "World's Ultimate Tradesman" after Irwin Tools competiton.
Irwin Tools crowned Daniel Shepherd of Halifax, England, as "World's Ultimate Tradesman" during the Irwin Tools Ultimate Tradesman Challenge World Finals at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Shepherd earned the title after he beat five competitors from around the world by performing a series of precise tasks, such as gripping, sawing, marking, clamping and drilling, in a race against the clock, completing the competition's final round in 25.07 seconds. Shepherd defeated North America’s Delwyn Thornton from Brandon, Miss., by 8.51 seconds in the final round. After winning, Shepherd randomly selected one out of 25 Irwin tool bags to win $10,000.
Irwin hosted over 250 competitions in nine countries, with over 16,000 tradesmen competing throughout the world. During this World Finals event, only the top six global champions competed to see who could "Grip It, Rip It, and Drive It" faster than any other tradesman in the world. Other global competitors included: Delwyn Thornton from Brandon, Miss.; Krystof Doroziński from Stawka Wielka, Poland; Matthew Francis from Townsville, Queensland, Australia; Helmut Radke Neto from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and Bjorn Ravn Kuhlmeier from Erritso, Fredericia, Denmark.
“Irwin’s Ultimate Tradesman Challenge was designed to recognize skilled tradesmen from around the world,” said Curt Rahilly, vice president of marketing for Irwin. “We’ve been impressed by the skill and passion tradesmen bring to this competition. We congratulate Daniel for his big win, and we thank all the competitors for participating in this exciting competition of skill. Irwin is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the contributions of professional tradesmen around the world. Irwin Tools looks forward to continuing the celebration of professional tradesmen on National Tradesmen Day, Friday, Sept. 16, 2011.”