Arnold Strongman Classic 2020 - Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson takes gold for the third time!
Author: During the last week of March 5 - 8, 2020, a sports festival organized by probably the most famous bodybuilder in the world - Arnold Schwarzenegger took place. During this sporting event,spectators could really come into their own, as the repertoire from which they could choose was really wide. One of the big draws why sports fans should visit this festival was the bodybuilding competition under the IFBB Pro Legue banner, which was dominated for the second time by William Bonac.
However, in thisarticle we will focus on the strongest part of this festival - the Arnold Strongman Classic. A total of10 professional strongmen competed in 6 disciplines, which were divided into two days - Friday and Saturday. Each discipline squeezed the strongmen as hard as they could and they delivered truly brutal performances! Among the competitors who competed for the title of the strongest man at the Arnold Strongman Classic were:
Hafthor Bjornsson (Iceland)
Rob Kearney (USA)
Bobby Thompson (USA)
Olexii Novikov (Ukraine)
Mateusz Kieliszikowski (Poland)
Jean-Francois Caron (Canada)
Mikhail Shivlyakov (Russia)
Martin Licis (USA)
Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia)
Jerry Pritchett (USA)
In short, it could be said that this race was more of a tug of war between Mateusz Kieliszikowski and Hafthor Bjornsson. While Martins Licis, who won The World's Strongest Man 2019 last year , was also in attendance, he was more "watching" Kieliszikowski and Bjornsson battle for first place at this race.
But we should start from the beginning, so let's take a look at the Arnold Strongman Classic from day one and the first discipline.
Day One (Friday) - Disciplines
Trial By Stones
The first discipline that kicked off the strongman games was the so-called"Trial By Stones". In this discipline the strongmen had to lift and move first a 275lb stone and then a 300lb stone. Then they moved stones weighing 365lb and 420lb onto a barrel and this discipline ended with moving a 409lb stone over a certaindistance. This discipline was dominated by Polish strongman Mateusz Kieliszikowski who managed to complete this "Trial By Stones" in the shortest time.
In the video below you can watch and compare Bjornsson and Kieliszikowski.
Bag Over Bar
The next discipline was the so-called"Bag Over Bar", in which the strongmen could have a little rest. The system of elimination was simple - the weight increased in each round, who did not throw in 30 seconds, finished. Who dominated this discipline was decided at 90lb, which was to be decided between Bjornsson and Shivlyakov. Whoever guessed Iceland's Bjornsson, guessed correctly!
Wheel of Pain
If you translate the name of this discipline, you will find that it is not a nice thing. The last discipline on Friday was the "Wheel of Pain", which really doesn't bring anything nice. Competitors were tasked with turning the "monster on wheels" around its axis as many times as possible. Mateusz Kieliszikowski went the furthest in this discipline and won the second first place out of three disciplines.
After the first day, the results were close and the expectation of the subsequent duel was certain. Bjornsson was only 0.5 points away from the first Mateusz, and it was clear that Saturday would be a day of great rivalry between the Pole and the Icelander.
Day 2 (Saturday) - Disciplines
Elephant Bar Deadlift
The discipline that kicked off Saturday's final day of the Arnold Strongman Classic was the deadlift on the extended so-called "Elephant" axis. This axis is longer than the classic weightlifting axis. Much was expected here, as Thor had announced long before the competition that he wanted to set a new world record in the deadlift at the Arnold Strongman Classic. He was able to unofficially set that record in training, but unfortunately was unable to do so at the competition... He did win the discipline with a1026lb performance, but he will have to wait a while for the record .
Timmber Carry
The penultimate discipline, which was to test the strongmen, both in grip, overall fitness and speed, was "Timmber Carry". In this discipline, competitors had to carry an 881lb structure a distance of 31 feet in 30 seconds. In addition, the course over which the competitors had to carry the structure was inclined uphill... The best in this discipline was againMateusz from Poland, who literally flew the 881lb structure down the race track!
Cyr Dumbbell Strategic Challenge
The last discipline. Now or never... This event was really simple. The goal was to lift the heaviest Cyr dumbbell over your head. All Thor had to do to win the whole event was lift a barbell heavier than 280lbs. He did it! He lifted 300lb, which, while not enough to win the discipline, was enough to win the Arnold Strongman Classic title ! The competitor who dominated the discipline was once again Mateusz, who managed to push an incredible 320lb single arm over his head!
Results
You might think that the first place should have gone to the Polish strongman Mateusz Kieliszikowski, but he spoiled his intermediate ranking at the "Elephant Bar Deadlift", where he finished in eighth place. First place and the third Arnold Strongman Classic title went to Hafthor Bjornsson!
1st Hafthor Bjornsson
2. Mateusz Kieliszkowski
3. Martins Licis
4. Jean-Francois Caron
5. Oleksii Novikov
6. Mikhail Shivlyakov Rob Kearney
7. Jerry Pritchett
8. Bobby Thompson
9. Matjaz Belsak
Photo gallery
Videos from the races
Strongman workouts:
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytiska - Log Lift
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytiska - Atlas Stone
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytiska - Tire Flip
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytisky - Super Yoke
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytisky - Farmer's Walk
- Training by strongman Jirka Vytiska - Supplementary exercises
Videos to improve the technique of strongman disciplines:
- LOGLIFT
- SUPER YOKE
- ATLAS STONES
- CAR DEADLIFT
- TIRE FLIP
- FINGAL FINGER
- AXEL PRESS
- FARMERS WALK
- TRUCK PULL
- VIKING PRESS
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