Novikov and Hooper took huge first steps toward the Final on Wednesday.
The 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest kicked off with a bang on Apr. 19, 2023, in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC. The participating athletes were fortunate to work through the first Qualifying Round events on a day that never veered far past the high 70s in temperature.
The first leg of the competition saw the competitors work through the early-morning Loading Race, the early-afternoon Deadlift Machine, and closed with the near-evening Log Ladder. Here’s where the leaderboard stands after Day 1, along with a short recap of how each athlete fared in the competition’s kickoff events.
2022 World’s Strongest Man Leaderboard — Day 1
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Group 5.5 | ||
| 1 | Tom Stoltman — United Kingdom | 15.5 |
| 2 | Bobby Thompson — USA | 14 |
| 3 | Pavlo Kordiyaka — Ukraine | 13 |
| 4 | Konstantine 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 — USA | 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 — USA | 6.5 |
| 6 | Mateusz Kielszkowski — Poland | 5 |
| Group 4 | ||
| 1 | Brian Shaw — USA | 15.5 |
| 2 | Rauno Heinla — Estonia | 14.5 |
| 3 | Jaco Schoonwinkel — South Africa | 14 |
| 4 | Adam Bishop — United Kingdom | 8 |
| 5 | Kevin Faires — USA | 5.5 |
| 6 | Gabriel Rheaume — Canada | 5.5 |
| Group 5 | ||
| 1 | Trey Mitchell — USA | 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 |
2022 World’s Strongest Man Day 1 Results
Here are the results from each Qualifying Round Group, including each athlete’s individual finishes, corresponding time, and placing within the Loading Race, Deadlift Machine, and Log Ladder events.
Loading Race Recap
The contest’s first event tested the competitors’ strength and athleticism. Shortly before the Loading Race began, Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou withdrew from the competition.
They had an objective of running through a four-to-six-meter (13-to-19.6-foot) field of sand as fast as they could while loading gradually heavier implements onto an elevated platform. The time limit for the Loading Race’s completion was 90 seconds. The implements featured two stacks of bundled logs (106 kilograms/234 pounds and 114.7 kilogram/253 pounds), a 124.7-kilogram (275-pound) anvil, a 120.2-kilogram (265-pound) sandbag, and a 120.2-kilogram (265-pound) “Husafell” sandbag.
Reigning Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) champion and Group 1 competitor, Pavlo Kordiyaka, had the best time (41.38 seconds) while successfully loading all five implements. Meanwhile, presumed top WSM contenders Oleksii Novikov (51.14 seconds) and Mitchell Hooper (42.05 seconds) both breezed through the race to lead Group 2 and Group 3, respectively.
Group 1
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five implements, 41.38 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — Five implements, 43.84 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — Five implements, 56.56 seconds
- Konstantine Janashia — Five implements, 61.1 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — Five implements, 65.89 seconds
- Eddie Williams — Five implements, 66.44 seconds
Group 2
- Oleksii Novikov — Five implements, 52.14 seconds
- Kristjan Jon Haraldsson — Five implements, 54.58 seconds
- Thomas Evans — Five implements, 57.4 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — Five implements, 62.78 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — Five implements, 63.01 seconds
- Fadi El Masri — Four implements, 49.57 seconds
Group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Five implements, 42.05 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — Five implements, 52.71 seconds
- Mathew Ragg — Five implements — 58.72 seconds
- Spenser Remick — Five implements, 67.15 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Five implements, 67.53 seconds
- Graham Hicks — Four implements, 53.4 seconds
Group 4
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — Five implements, 47.1 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Five implements, 51.41 seconds
- Brian Shaw — Five implements, 53.7 seconds
- Adam Bishop — Four implements, 43.12 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume — Four implements, 51.03 seconds
- Kevin Faires — Three implements, 65.3 seconds
Group 5
- Evan Singleton — Five implements, 46.9 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Five implements, 56.41 seconds
- Trey Mitchell — Five implements, 66.64 seconds
- Paul Smith — Four implements, 44.79 seconds
- Mark Felix — Four implements, 54.32 seconds
- Jean-Stephen Corabeouf — Three implements, 40.63 seconds
Deadlift Machine Recap
The second event of the 2023 WSM, the Deadlift Machine, was a requisite showcase of power and endurance. The athletes had a 75-second time limit to perform as many repetitions as possible on a specially designed deadlift machine.
The weight for the Deadlift Machine was increased after each rep, in the following order: 281 kilograms (619.5 pounds), 298 kilograms (657 pounds), 312 kilograms (687 pounds), 329 kilograms (725 pounds), 345 kilograms (760 pounds), 362 kilograms (798 pounds), and 379 kilograms (835.5 pounds). Any athletes who had the capacity to perform the seventh and final weight could do so as many as they pleased within the allotted time frame.
Hooper (Group 3), Brian Shaw (Group 4), and Trey Mitchell (Group 5) all tied for the most number of repetitions performed with eight. Hooper and Novikov (six reps in Group 2) were the only athletes to score a second consecutive event victory for their Qualifying Round Group.
Group 1
- Bobby Thompson — Seven reps
- Tom Stoltman — Six reps
- Konstantine Janashia — Six reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — Five reps
- Eddie Williams — Five reps
Group 2
- Oleksii Novikov — Six reps
- Thomas Evans — Five reps
- Luke Stoltman — Five reps
- Gavin Bilton — Five reps
- Kristjan Jon Haraldsson — Four reps
- Fadi El Masri — Four reps
Group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Eight reps
- Mathew Ragg — Seven reps
- Graham Hicks — Seven reps
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — Five reps
- Spenser Remick — Five reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Four reps
Group 4
- Brian Shaw — Eight reps
- Rauno Heinla — Eight reps
- Adam Bishop — Seven reps
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — Six reps
- Kevin Faires — Five reps
- Gabriel Rhéaume — Five reps
Group 5
- Trey Mitchell — Eight reps
- Mark Felix — Six reps
- Evan Singleton — Six reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Six reps
- Jean-Stephen Corabeouf — Five reps
- Paul Smith — Four reps
Log Ladder
As has been the past precedent for WSM contests, the first day of the 2023 WSM concluded with the Log Ladder. The competitors had to power through a challenging ladder of logs, which gradually increased in weight. Once again, they had a 75-second time limit.
Competitors were presented with a series of five fixed-weight logs. They were allowed as many attempts as needed to successfully put the log overhead. After one complete repetition, 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 reps, 42.5 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Five reps, 46 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — Four reps, 25.83 seconds
- Konstantine Janashia — Four reps, 68.35 seconds
- Eddie Williams — Four reps, 55.89 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — Three reps, 25.8 seconds
Group 2
- Thomas Evans — Five reps, 38.96 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — Five reps, 52.76 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — Four reps, 32.5 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — Four reps, 56.84 seconds
- Fadi El Masri — Two reps, 17.43 seconds
- Kristjan Jon Haraldsson — Two reps, 16.28 seconds
Group 3
- Mitchell Hooper — Five reps, 39.51 seconds
- Mathew Ragg — Five reps, 56.84 seconds
- Graham Hicks — Four reps, 28.31 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — Four reps, 30.44 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Four reps, 33.24 seconds
- Spenser Remick — Four reps, 38.79 seconds
Group 4
- Brian Shaw — Four reps, 33.99 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — Four reps, 34.77 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Three reps, 21.6 seconds
- Kevin Faires — Three reps, 28.93 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume — Three reps, 32.96 seconds
- Adam Bishop — Three reps, 33.25 seconds
Group 5
- Trey Mitchell — Five reps, 39.44 seconds
- Evan Singleton — Four reps, 35.48 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Four reps, 39.93 seconds
- Paul Smith — Four reps, 45.84 seconds
- Jean-Stephen Corabeouf — Three reps, 22.34 seconds
- Mark Felix — One rep, 7.58 seconds
An Epic WSM Day Looms
While Hooper and Novikov may have separated themselves from the pack, a host of 2023 WSM competitors still need to make their mark at the contest. Not everyone can dominate in the early goings and earn themselves plenty of breathing room in the process. Thursday’s Qualifying Round events, which feature the Conan’s Wheel, Kettlebell Toss, and customary Stone Off to decide five of the 10 berths in the Final, should present a tense show for the athletes and spectators on hand.
With the next legendary WSM Final on the horizon, Thursday will likely go down as a seminal moment in the 46th edition of strongman’s definitive competition.
Featured image: Todd Burandt / Courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
