Ukrainian Oleksii Novikov became the strongest man in Europe

Like every year, the Europe's Strongest Man event was held in Leeds, England. Thirteen strongmen competed in the race. Among the most famous ones were Luke Stoltman, who was the defending champion last year, and Oleksii Novikov, who managed to become the World's Strongest Man two years ago.

The Strongest Man in Europe competition took place over one day and competitors were tested in a variety of strength disciplines.

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Event 1: Max Log Lift

In the first event, the organizers prepared a standard log lift for the competitors. This time, however, the competitors did not ramp, but had to choose from pre-determined weight limits - 170 kg (375 lbs) - 185 kg (408 lbs) - 200 kg (441 lbs) - 210 kg (463 lbs) - 218 kg (480 lbs) - 230 kg (507 lbs).

1. Luke Stoltman - 218 kg (12 points)
2. Oleksii Novikov - 185 kg (10 points)
3. Eythór Melsted - 185 kg (10 points)

Event 2: Deadlift

In the second event, the powerlifters had 75 seconds to complete five consecutively harder deadlifts. The deadlift started at 300 kg and increased by 25 kg with each successive stroke. The rules also stated that the bar could not be dropped after completing the deadlift, but had to be lowered in a controlled manner. This event proved to be very challenging as neither athlete was able to complete the fifth attempt. However, Konstantine Janashia was the fastest among the men who managed to pull off the 4th attempt.

1. Konstantine Janashia - 4 in 35.04 seconds (12 points)
2. Rauno Heinla - 4 in 39.49 seconds (11 points)
3. Oleksii Novikov - 4 in 41.92 s (10 points)

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Event 3: Carry & Drag

The third event required the athletes to carry a 120 kg anchor for 20 metres and then attach this anchor to a heavy chain. Once attached, they had to drag the anchor and chain another 20 meters. Both tools had to be completely over the line for the stopwatch to stop. Oleksiy was the fastest to do this.

1. Oleksii Novikov - 26,26 s (12 points)
2. Kelvin De Ruiter - 26.5 s (11 points)
3. Shane Flowers - 27.45 s (10 points)

Event 4: Power Stairs

To complete this event, athletes had to climb 15 stairs with 5 weights that got progressively heavier after every three steps. The height of each stair was 42 cm and the powerlifters had to climb a total of 15 stairs. The weight set for this event was: 200 kg (441 lbs) - 210 kg (463 lbs) - 225 kg (496 lbs) - 240 kg (529 lbs) - 250 kg (551 lbs).

1. Aivars Smaukstelis - 27,20 s (12 points)
2. Pavlo Kordiyaka - 28.09 s (11 points)
3. Shane Flowers - 29.27 s (10 points)

Event #5: Atlas Stones

Atlas Stones is a very simple old-school Strongman event, but fun to watch... The weight of the stones for this event ranged from 110 kg (242 lbs) - 180 kg (397 lbs).

Oleksii Novikov and Luke Stoltman came face to face at the end of the Strongest Man in Europe 2022 competition. The lucky one in the end was Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov, who also dominated the entire competition!

1. Oleksii Novikov - 5 in 20.44 seconds (12 points)
2. Luke Stoltman - 5 in 20.69 seconds (11 points)
3. Konstantine Janashia - 5 in 24,02 s (10 points)

Results

1. Oleksii Novikov - 52 points
2. Luke Stoltman - 48 points
3. Konstantine Janashia - 38.5 points
4. Pavlo Kordiyaka - 37 points
5. Shane Flowers - 36.5 points
6. Aivars Smaukstelis - 33 points
7. Eythór Melsted - 29 points
8. Marius Lalas - 28.5 points
9. Kelvin De Ruiter - 23 points
10. Pa O'Dwyer - 20 points
11. Gavin Bilton - 19.5 points
12. Rauno Heinla - 13 points (withdrew after the third event)