This year's World's Strongest Man was dominated by Mitchell Hooper! Detailed results and report

The American city of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina has become a hub of strength sports action. From Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 April 2023, the World's Strongest Man 2023, the world's most prestigious competition, was held here. Competitors and die-hard fans of strongman sports flocked here a week before the competition itself.

The best and strongest men on the planet came to measure their strength. Everyone's ambitions were at an all-time high. Brian Shaw, who after the World's Strongest Man 2023 announced that he would retire from competition, did not hide his desire and all-out efforts to win his fifth title and to catch up with the current and only record holder who managed to win five times, the Polish Mariusz Pudzianowski, who dominated the world after the turn of the millennium. Unfortunately it is Brian who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, either ailments caused by strongman sport, now it was acute calf inflammation. In addition to Brian, the reigning strongest man on the planet, Tom Stoltman, who now has two titles at home, wanted to add to his golden statuettes. Oleksii Novikov would also like to have one, but two. Not forgetting my hot favourite Mitchell Hooper, who was unknown this time last year. His first international competition last year was the World's Strongest Man 2022 qualifier and final.

Like the last few years, the entire World's Strongest Man race could be split into two smaller ones. The qualifier and the final. If an athlete is so good that they make it to the qualifying race at all, they are one of the 30 strongest men in the world, that's already a huge accomplishment. There are five groups of six competitors in the qualifying, with the winner of each two-day race advancing directly, and the second and third fighters competing in a discipline called Stone off. How fair this reshuffle is has long been debated, but it is still the official rules.

The qualifying for this year's event was drawn as follows:

• Group 1 - Tom Stoltman, Bobby Thompson, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Konstantine Janashia, Pa O'Dwyer, Eddie Wiliams
• Group 2 - Gavin Bilton, Luke Stoltman, Thomas Evans, Oleksii Novikov, Kristijan Haraldsson, Fadi El Masri
• Group 3 - Mitchell Hooper, Grham Hicks, Spenser Remick, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Aivars Smaukstelis, Mathew Ragg
• Group 4 - Brian Shaw, Rauno Heinla, Gabriel Rheaume, Kevin Faires, Jaco Schoonwinkel, Adam Bishop
• Group 5 - Paul Smith, Jean Coraboeuf, Trey Mitchell, Evan Singleton, Mark Felix, Eythor Melsted

All groups, as last year, had the same disciplines. Even the qualifying race was split over two days. The first day was the Loading Race, Deadlift Machine and Log ladder. The second day was Conan's Wheel, Kettlebell toss and the aforementioned Stone Off. It was still a very hard race. Let's take a look at it.

The first day started with a running event, which was also quite difficult. In order to successfully pass the discipline in the shortest possible time, or the time limit of 90 seconds, the competitor had to carry a 120 kg sandbag in the shape of a Husafell stone for a distance of 6 meters, then carry a 120 classic sandbag for 4 meters, then a 125 kg anvil and two bundles of wood weighing 106 and 115 kg to an elevated platform. In the heat that prevailed at the competitions, a massacre.

But the second discipline was definitely not easier, it was a deadlift with increasing weight after each repetition, so the competitor lifted, 281, 298, 312, 329, 345, 362, 379 kg, each repetition above the seventh attempt was then with the highest weight.

The third discipline and the last one for the first day was the Log ladder, which I discussed during Europe's Stronget Man. Competitors had to lift a total of 5 logs weighing 125, 140, 160, 170 and 180 kg in short succession, as fast as possible. The fastest one wins.

The second day of qualifying then picked up where the first one left off, which was very heavy. Conan's bike was the first to greet the competitors, the competitors also had 200kg weights on the swivel to carry, they needed to walk or run as many laps as possible without laying down.

The second event on the last qualifying day was the kettlebell throw. A total of 7 steel pieces weighing 30 kg were thrown over a 4.5 meter high bar. From my point of view I can say that the discipline really gave everyone a hard time.

Now the winners of each group have the rest of the day off and can gather strength for the weekend finals. Those who finished fourth and fifth also have a day off, but for them the competition and the dream or goal of becoming the crowned king of all strongmen is over for this year. Those who finished second and third in the group have one last event to do, the toss-up, the one of the pair who lasts the longest will advance to the grand final. The competitor then had 30 seconds per repetition.

The results of each qualifying group:

After Friday's rest, the spectacular finale could get underway. After Mark Felix announced the end of his career at the end of the qualifiers and after Brian Shaw admitted that this year's event is his last World's Strongest Man, this is a de facto retirement of two huge legends of strongman sport. Will Brian win? Or will he fall short of his goals? We're about to find out.

The final event was also split into two days. Three heavyweight events per day. At the end of the race, it will be determined who will be the strongest man on the planet for 2023:

• Shield carry
• Deadlift
• Fingal's Fingers
• Max Dumbbell
• Bus pull
• Atlas stones

Shield Carry

Shield Carry, this is a variation on the original Icelandic discipline of Husafell stone carry. The shield was metal at this event and weighed an impressive 190 kg. So it was off to a rough start. The competitor had to cover the longest distance in a time limit of 90 seconds. On a course about 15 metres long, it was even harder because the competitor had to turn around or change direction. The bronze medalist Oleksiy Novikov managed to cover an incredible 55.87 metres. The silver was taken by the fast Tom Stoltman, who managed to cover 63.15 metres. The gold on the discipline was literally earned by Michell Hoopoer, who went on the discipline with Tom Stoltman, only he went much slower and towards the end it looked very interesting, as the body could not do it anymore, but the head wanted it badly. Michtell finally got his way and managed 64.8 metres.

Deadlift

We already know the Knaack deadlift from the World's Strongest Man races. A variation where instead of weights on the barbell, there are metal boxes of the discipline sponsor. The weight of the entire axle was 355 kg and the fighters had to complete as many reps as possible in 75 seconds. In the end, this discipline was probably the tightest of all. In total, four competitors managed the same number of reps and took equal second place. Mathew Ragg, Trey Mithcell, Brian Shaw and Oleksii Novikov managed seven reps. One more repetition and another gold in the event was again taken by the fabulous Michtell Hooper.

Fingal's Fingers

The Fingal's Fingers rotation is a very interesting discipline, usually the metal poles are relatively light at the start but the higher they get the heavier they seem, this is due to the leverage depending on where they are held. In our home conditions, this discipline can be seen in Přelouč or Čáslav, but not many strongmen have experience with it, moreover, we are not as megalomaniac as abroad, in our country one finger is always twisted for time. More than half of the starting field managed to twist all fingers in the time limit, the third place went to Trey Michtell, he managed to twist all fingers in 48,46 seconds. Second place went to Oleksii Novikov, who managed the same number in 42.26 seconds. Tom Stoltman was the king of the Fingal toe flips, being the only one to attack the 40 second mark, his time was 39.36 seconds.

Max Dumbbell

There was no need to wait on the second day either and the race immediately got into full swing. The giant one-handed dumbbell was lifted to maximum weight. But the beautiful single-handers from Rogue were heavy as hell. It's a fact that the organizers wanted to move the record currently held by Mateusz Kieliszkowski of 150 kg. Mateusz already broke it in 2018. Currently, before the competition itself, only 3 strongmen in the world were able to get a barbell heavier than 140 kg over their heads. Mateusz, Dimitar Savatinov 143 kg and Lukas Patera 140 kg. Yes the Czech Republic has world class ambitions in this respect, with Lukáš improving his performances all the time. In Myrtle Beach the one-armed lifts were progressively from 125 kg upwards. The third place was taken by 4 fighters, they lifted 132 kg above their heads, they were Tom Stoltman, Oleksii Novikov, Pavlo Kordiyaka and Luke Stoltman. A split first place, and a performance equal to that of Luke, i.e. 140 kg was managed by Evan Singleton and Mitchell Hooper. Unfortunately, there was also an injury during this event when South African fighter Jaco Schoonwinkel went down. He then did not compete for the rest of the event. Let's hope he will be okay.

Bus Pull

I personally like pulling disciplines very much because this is where you can see what the human body can do. The variations on pulling anything are actually open. There has already been truck pulling, with a semi-trailer without a trailer, plane, train, and so on. Speaking for myself, I can say from experience that it depends mostly on the size of the wheels and their tire pressure. It also depends on the quality of the surface you are towing on. Subjectively, I found it easier to pull a crane with large, inflated wheels weighing 27 tons without a counter-rope than an airplane with small, under-inflated wheels weighing almost a quarter of that weight and with a rope. Another variation might be a monster truck, the one on display the year before last, this year it was a bus with an estimated weight of between 15 and 20 tons. The racers had a perfect surface and great conditions. Almost all of them were within 3.5 seconds. That's pretty cool. In addition, a rather curious thing happened, second and third place were split, both competitors had the same time, 32.27 seconds. Those runners were Tom Stoltman and Evan Singleton, the only faster runner with a bus on his back was Canadian Hooper, he completed the course in 30.24 seconds.

Atlas Stones

The traditional, final and royal event, the Atlas Stones. Competitors were tasked with stacking five stones weighing between 100 and 180 kg on five pedestals. A great spectacle, which gives added value to the Atlases, if two competitors accumulate the same number of points on the race, it is the last duel according to the ranking on the discipline that will determine who is finally one step higher. I would also like to mention that this year in the Czech Republic there will be a separate Czech Republic Championship in Atlas stones and also that the stones will be made extra for the occasion of this Championship. The more interesting information is that the manufacturer comes from the Czech Republic and has ambitions to break through as a supplier abroad. An end has been put to unsightly cone stones of poor quality, because what is coming is luxury and parade in one. To get back to the World's Strongest Man, I have mentioned several times that as long as there are Atlases at the races and as long as Tom Stoltman is racing, and as long as there is no exception, which can happen at most once every 25 years (and has happened once in the past), the winner is clear, and it is true this time as well, so I will take it the other way around. The first place in the discipline is deservedly won by Tom Stoltman with a time of 33.26 seconds. More than 3 seconds slower was Mitchell Hooper with a time of 36.96 seconds. Third place went to Trey Mitchell, who fought for every point.

It's over, it was a great race, and it would be worth seeing it live on site one day, so maybe it will work out... All the strongmen gave it their all. And it's time to congratulate, congratulate everyone. I'd like to highlight Brian Shaw, who fought on despite his leg disability, even though his goals remained unfulfilled and he will end his career with four golden statuettes. Even so, he is a legend of strongman sport. Anyway, the top spot and all the glory this year belongs to a man nobody knew last year. Mitchell Hooper dominated this year's event with an absolutely crushing victory and dominance, huge congratulations. And given his age and fitness, I think he'll add a few more of those golden statuettes, as long as he stays injury free. Taking the silver this year is two-time past champion Tom Stoltman, for him the silver is also his second. Oleksii Novikov takes the bronze statuette to Ukraine, having held on to the runner-up spot for a long time, but in the end it was enough for third place. Congratulations to all of them.

World's Strongest Man 2023 - results