Novikov and Hooper made big first steps towards the finals on Wednesday.
The 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competition kicked off with a bang on April 19, 2023 in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC. The participating athletes were fortunate to complete the first qualifying round events on a day that never got far above the high 70s temperature.
In the first leg of the competition, competitors worked their way through the early morning Loading Race, the early afternoon Deadlift Machine and the evening Log Ladder. Here is the ranking after Day 1, along with a brief summary of how each athlete performed in the competition’s kickoff events.
World’s Strongest Man Ranking 2022 – Day 1
| rank | Surname | Points |
|---|---|---|
| group 5.5 | ||
| 1 | Tom Stoltman — United Kingdom | 15.5 |
| 2 | Bobby Thompson – United States | 14 |
| 3 | Pavlo Kordiyaka — Ukraine | 13 |
| 4 | Konstantin Janashia — Georgia | 9.5 |
| 5 | Eddie Williams – Australia | 6 |
| 6 | Pa O’Dwyer—Ireland | 5 |
| group 2 | ||
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov — Ukraine | 16 |
| 2 | Thomas Evans – United States | 14 |
| 3 | Luke Stoltman – United Kingdom | 12 |
| 4 | Gavin Bilton — United Kingdom | 9 |
| 5 | Kristjan Jon Haraldsson — Iceland | 8.5 |
| 6 | Fadi El Masri — Lebanon | 3.5 |
| group 3 | ||
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper – Canada | 18 |
| 2 | Mathew Ragg – New Zealand | 13.5 |
| 3 | Aivars Smaukstelis — Latvia | 10.5 |
| 4 | Graham Hicks — United Kingdom | 9.5 |
| 5 | Spenser Remick — United States | 6.5 |
| 6 | Mateusz Kielszkowski — Poland | 5 |
| group 4 | ||
| 1 | Brian Shaw – United States | 15.5 |
| 2 | Rauno Heinla — Estonia | 14.5 |
| 3 | Jaco Schoonwinkel — South Africa | 14 |
| 4 | Adam Bishop — United Kingdom | 8th |
| 5 | Kevin Faires – United States | 5.5 |
| 6 | Gabriel Rheaume – Canada | 5.5 |
| group 5 | ||
| 1 | Trey Mitchell – United States | 16 |
| 2 | Evan Singleton-USA | 15.5 |
| 3 | Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Iceland | 1.5 |
| 4 | Mark Felix — United Kingdom | 7.5 |
| 5 | Paul Smith — United Kingdom | 7 |
| 6 | Jean Stephen Coraboeuf — France | 5.5 |
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2022 World’s Strongest Man Day 1 results
Here are the results of each qualifying round group, including each athlete’s individual placings, corresponding time, and placing in the Loading Race, Deadlift Machine, and Log Ladder disciplines.
Race summary is loading
The first event of the competition tested the strength and athleticism of the participants. Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou dropped out of the competition just before the start of the loading race.
Their goal was to run as fast as possible across a four to six meter (13 to 19.6 ft) sand field while loading progressively heavier equipment onto an elevated platform. The time limit for completing the charge race was 90 seconds. The equipment consisted of two stacks of bundled logs (106 kg/234 lb and 114.7 kg/253 lb), a 124.7 kg (275 lb) anvil, a 120.2 kg (265 lb) sandbag and a 120 265-pound (2.2 kg) “Husafepelt” sandbag.
Reigning Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) champion and Group 1 competitor Pavlo Kordiyaka, had the best time (41.38 seconds) in successfully loading all five attachments. Presumed top WSM contenders Oleksii Novikov (51.14s) and Mitchell Hooper (42.05s) both stormed through the race to lead Group 2 and Group 3 respectively.
Group 1
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five devices, 41.38 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — Five devices, 43.84 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — Five devices, 56.56 seconds
- Konstantin Janashia — Five devices, 61.1 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — Five devices, 65.89 seconds
- Eddie Williams — Five devices, 66.44 seconds
group 2
- Oleksii Novikov — Five devices, 52.14 seconds
- Christian Jon Haraldsson — Five devices, 54.58 seconds
- Thomas Evans — Five devices, 57.4 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — Five devices, 62.78 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — Five devices, 63.01 seconds
- Fadi El Masri — Four devices, 49.57 seconds
group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Five devices, 42.05 seconds
- Aivar’s Schmaukstelis — Five devices, 52.71 seconds
- Matthew Ragg — Five devices — 58.72 seconds
- Donor Remick — Five devices, 67.15 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Five devices, 67.53 seconds
- Graham Hicks — Four devices, 53.4 seconds
group 4
- Jaco Schoenwinkel — Five devices, 47.1 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Five devices, 51.41 seconds
- Brian Shaw — Five devices, 53.7 seconds
- Adam Bishop — Four devices, 43.12 seconds
- Gabriel Rheaume — Four devices, 51.03 seconds
- Kevin Faires — Three devices, 65.3 seconds
group 5
- Evan Singleton — Five devices, 46.9 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Five devices, 56.41 seconds
- Trey Mitchell — Five devices, 66.64 seconds
- PaulSmith — Four devices, 44.79 seconds
- Mark Felix — Four devices, 54.32 seconds
- Jean Stephen Corabeouf — Three devices, 40.63 seconds
Summary of the deadlift machine
The second event of WSM 2023, the Deadlift Machine, was a necessary demonstration of strength and endurance. Athletes were given a time limit of 75 seconds to perform as many repetitions as possible on a specially designed deadlift machine.
The weight for the deadlift machine was increased after each repetition in the following order: 281 kilograms (619.5 pounds), 298 kilograms (657 pounds), 312 kilograms (687 pounds), 329 kilograms (725 pounds), 345 kilograms (760 Lb). ), 362 kilograms (798 pounds) and 379 kilograms (835.5 pounds). Any athlete who had the capacity to perform the seventh and final weight could do so as many times as they wished within the allotted time frame.
Hooper (Group 3), Brian Shaw (Group 4) and Trey Mitchell (Group 5) all shared for most reps performed at eight. Hooper and Novikov (six reps in Group 2) were the only athletes to earn a second straight event win for their qualifying round group.
Group 1
- Bobby Thompson — Seven repetitions
- Tom Stoltman — Six repetitions
- Konstantin Janashia — Six repetitions
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five repetitions
- Pa O’Dwyer — Five repetitions
- Eddie Williams — Five repetitions
group 2
- Oleksii Novikov — Six repetitions
- Thomas Evans — Five repetitions
- Luke Stoltman — Five repetitions
- Gavin Bilton — Five repetitions
- Christian Jon Haraldsson — Four repetitions
- Fadi El Masri — Four repetitions
group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Eight repetitions
- Matthew Ragg — Seven repetitions
- Graham Hicks — Seven repetitions
- Aivar’s Schmaukstelis — Five repetitions
- Donor Remick — Five repetitions
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Four repetitions
group 4
- Brian Shaw — Eight repetitions
- Rauno Heinla — Eight repetitions
- Adam Bishop — Seven repetitions
- Jaco Schoenwinkel — Six repetitions
- Kevin Faires — Five repetitions
- Gabriel Rheaume — Five repetitions
group 5
- Trey Mitchell — Eight repetitions
- Mark Felix — Six repetitions
- Evan Singleton — Six repetitions
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Six repetitions
- Jean Stephen Corabeouf — Five repetitions
- PaulSmith — Four repetitions
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recorder
As in past WSM competitions, the first day of WSM 2023 ended with the Log Ladder. The contestants had to fight their way through a challenging ladder of logs that gradually gained weight. Once again they had a time limit of 75 seconds.
The contestants were presented with a series of five fixed weight trunks. They were allowed as many attempts as needed to successfully place the protocol overhead. After one full rep, they progressed to the next weight: 124 kilograms (275 pounds), 140 kilograms (310 pounds), 158 kilograms (350 pounds), 170 kilograms (375 pounds), and 181 kilograms (400 pounds).
Seven of the 30 competitors were able to complete the entire series of five lifts, including reigning WSM Champion Tom Stoltman (Group 1), two-time Shaw Classic winner Trey Mitchell (Group 5), and WSM debut athletes Thomas Evans and Mathew Ragg (Group 2 and Group 3 respectively), with Evans completing the lifts in the fastest time of the entire field.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman — Five repetitions, 42.5 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five reps, 46 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — Four repetitions, 25.83 seconds
- Konstantin Janashia — Four repetitions, 68.35 seconds
- Eddie Williams — Four repetitions, 55.89 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — Three reps, 25.8 seconds
group 2
- Thomas Evans — Five repetitions, 38.96 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — Five reps, 52.76 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — Four reps, 32.5 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — Four repetitions, 56.84 seconds
- Fadi El Masri — Two reps, 17.43 seconds
- Christian Jon Haraldsson — Two repetitions, 16.28 seconds
group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Five reps, 39.51 seconds
- Matthew Ragg — Five reps, 56.84 seconds
- Graham Hicks — Four repetitions, 28.31 seconds
- Aivar’s Schmaukstelis — Four repetitions, 30.44 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Four repetitions, 33.24 seconds
- Donor Remick — Four repetitions, 38.79 seconds
group 4
- Brian Shaw — Four repetitions, 33.99 seconds
- Jaco Schoenwinkel — Four repetitions, 34.77 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Three reps, 21.6 seconds
- Kevin Faires — Three reps, 28.93 seconds
- Gabriel Rheaume — Three repetitions, 32.96 seconds
- Adam Bishop — Three reps, 33.25 seconds
group 5
- Trey Mitchell — Five repetitions, 39.44 seconds
- Evan Singleton — Four repetitions, 35.48 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Four repetitions, 39.93 seconds
- PaulSmith — Four repetitions, 45.84 seconds
- Jean Stephen Corabeouf — Three repetitions, 22.34 seconds
- Mark Felix — One repeat, 7.58 seconds
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An epic WSM day chair
While Hooper and Novikov may have set themselves apart from the crowd, a host of 2023 WSM entrants have yet to make their mark at the competition. Not everyone can dominate in the early stages and give themselves plenty of breathing room in the process. Thursday’s qualifying round events, with Conan’s wheel, kettlebell toss and the usual stone off deciding five of the 10 spots in the finals, should put on an exciting show for the athletes and spectators in attendance.
With the next iconic WSM final on the horizon, Thursday is likely to go down as a defining moment in the 46th edition of the Strongman’s Definitive Competition.
Featured Image: Todd Burandt / Courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
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