2020 World's Strongest Man

The 2020 World's Strongest Man was the 43rd edition of the World's Strongest Man competition. It took place in Bradenton, Florida between November 11 and 15. Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine won the competition for the first time in his career,[1] with Tom Stoltman of Great Britain taking second and Jean-François Caron of Canada taking third. At 24 years old, Novikov is the youngest man to win the event since Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984.[1][2]

2020 World's Strongest Man
Competition information
Dates12–15 November 2020
VenuePremier Sports Campus – Lakewood Ranch
LocationBradenton, Florida
Country United States
Athletes participating25
Nations participating10
Champion(s)
Ukraine Oleksii Novikov

Scheduling and participants

edit

The event was originally scheduled to take place May 20 to 24 in Bradenton, Florida, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The actual event itself also experienced scheduling issues because of Hurricane Eta.[4]

Defending champion Martins Licis and two-time runner up Mateusz Kieliszkowski did not take part this year due to injury.[5][6] 2018 champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson also did not take part after announcing his retirement earlier in the year.[7]

Participants

edit

Heat Results

edit

Format

edit

There are five competitors per group. After four events, the competitor with the highest score qualifies for the final. The competitors in second and third place take part in the Stone Off, a run of loading 8 Atlas Stones, with the winner progressing.[8][9]

Heat 1

edit
  • Events: Farmer's Walk, Deadlift for repetitions, Loading Race, Log Lift for repetitions.
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Jerry Pritchett   United States 17
2 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 15
3 Robert Oberst   United States 11
4 Pa O'Dwyer   Ireland 9
5 Gabriel Peña   Mexico 6

Stone Off

Name Nationality Time
Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 5 in 0m 47.56
Robert Oberst   United States 4 in 1m 03.70

Heat 2

edit
  • Events: Farmer's Walk, Deadlift for repetitions, Loading Race, Dumbbell Press Medley.
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Kevin Faires   United States 14
2 Mikhail Shivlyakov   Russia 13
3 Evan Singleton [a]   United States 13
4 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 11
5 Mark Felix   United Kingdom 9
  1. ^ Evan Singleton withdrew due to a biceps tear, Adam Bishop replaced him in the Stone Off.[9]

Stone Off

Name Nationality Time
Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 6 in 0m 53.04
Mikhail Shivlyakov   Russia 5 in 0m 34.19

Heat 3

edit
  • Events: Farmer's Walk, Squat Lift for repetitions, Loading Race, Dumbbell Press Medley.
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 17
2 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 15
3 Maxime Boudreault   Canada 13
4 Trey Mitchell   United States 10
5 Gavin Bilton   United Kingdom 4

Stone Off

Name Nationality Time
Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 8 in 0m 39.00
Maxime Boudreault   Canada 7 in 0m 38.30

Heat 4

edit
  • Events: Farmer's Walk, Squat Lift for repetitions, Loading Race, Log Lift for repetitions.
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Jean-François Caron   Canada 16.5
2 Bobby Thompson   United States 14.5
3 Graham Hicks   United Kingdom 12
4 Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Iceland 11
5 Ervin Toots   Estonia 3

Stone Off

Name Nationality Time
Graham Hicks   United Kingdom 6 in 0m 50.34
Bobby Thompson   United States 5 in 1m 15.09

Heat 5

edit
  • Events: Farmer's Walk, Deadlift for repetitions, Loading Race, Dumbbell Press Medley.
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Brian Shaw   United States 15.5
2 Terry Hollands   United Kingdom 14.5
3 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 13.5
4 Luke Stoltman   United Kingdom 11.5
5 Nick Best   United States 4

Stone Off

Name Nationality Time
Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 7 in 0m 39.57
Terry Hollands   United Kingdom 6 in 0m 33.43

Finals Events Results

edit

Event 1: Giant's Medley

edit
  • Weight: 125 kilograms (276 lb) anvil, 454 kilograms (1,001 lb) yoke
  • Course Length: 10 metres (33 ft) anvil, 15 metres (49 ft) yoke
  • Time Limit: 75 seconds
# Name Nationality Time Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 0m 22.55 10 10
2 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 0m 23.79 9 9
3 Jerry Pritchett   United States 0m 24.71 8 8
4 Kevin Faires   United States 0m 26.22 7 7
5 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 0m 26.61 6 6
6 Jean-François Caron   Canada 0m 26.92 5 5
7 Brian Shaw   United States 0m 27.03 4 4
8 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 0m 34.97 3 3
9 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 0m 36.70 2 2
10 Graham Hicks[a]   United Kingdom DNF 16.19 metres (53.1 ft) 1 1
  1. ^ Graham Hicks withdrew following this event due to a biceps tear.[10]

Event 2: Max Deadlift

edit
  • 18-Inch Deadlift For Max Weight
  • Opening Weight: 400 kilograms (880 lb)
# Name Nationality Weight Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Oleksii Novikov[a]   Ukraine 537.5 kilograms (1,185 lb) 10 19
2 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 509 kilograms (1,122 lb) 8 18
2 Jerry Pritchett   United States 509 kilograms (1,122 lb) 8 16
2 Jean-François Caron   Canada 509 kilograms (1,122 lb) 8 13
5 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 478 kilograms (1,054 lb) 5.5 11.5
5 Brian Shaw   United States 478 kilograms (1,054 lb) 5.5 9.5
7 Kevin Faires   United States 440 kilograms (970 lb) 4 11
8 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 400 kilograms (880 lb) 2.5 5.5
8 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 400 kilograms (880 lb) 2.5 4.5
  1. ^ Oleksii Novikov's 537.5 kg (1,185 lb) lift broke a WSM record for this event that had stood since Tom Magee lifted 535 kg (1,179 lb) in the 1983 contest.[2]

Event 3: Keg Toss

edit
  • Weight: 8 kegs ranging from 18–25 kilograms (40–55 lb)
  • Height: 4.5 metres (15 ft)
  • Time Limit: 60 seconds
# Name Nationality Time Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 8 in 0m 20.05 10 21.5
2 Jean-François Caron   Canada 8 in 0m 20.37 9 22
3 Brian Shaw   United States 8 in 0m 21.75 8 17.5
4 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 8 in 0m 24.88 7 12.5
5 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 8 in 0m 26.96 6 25
6 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 8 in 0m 27.82 5 9.5
7 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 8 in 0m 39.90 4 22
8 Jerry Pritchett   United States 7 in 0m 39.94 3 19
9 Kevin Faires   United States 6 in 0m 19.04 2 13

Event 4: Hercules Hold

edit
  • Weight: 160 kilograms (350 lb) on each hand for as long as possible
# Name Nationality Time Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Jean-François Caron   Canada 0m 52.67 10 32
2 Kevin Faires   United States 0m 49.22 9 22
3 Jerry Pritchett   United States 0m 42.99 8 27
4 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 0m 41.63 7 32
5 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 0m 35.12 6 15.5
6 Brian Shaw   United States 0m 34.79 5 22.5
7 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 0m 28.40 4 26
8 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 0m 28.17 3 15.5
9 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 0m 21.23 2 23.5

Event 5: Log Ladder

edit
  • Weight: 5 logs ranging from 131–182.5 kilograms (289–402 lb)
  • Time Limit: 75 seconds
# Name Nationality Time Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 5 in 0m 49.45 10 33.5
2 Jerry Pritchett   United States 5 in 0m 51.18 9 36
3 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 4 in 0m 32.68 8 40
4 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 4 in 0m 41.24 7 22.5
5 Kevin Faires   United States 4 in 0m 46.67 6 28
6 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 4 in 1m 02.12 5 20.5
7 Brian Shaw   United States 3 in 0m 27.91 4 26.5
8 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 3 in 0m 37.02 3 29
9 Jean-François Caron   Canada 3 in 0m 47.05 2 34

Event 6: Atlas Stones

edit
  • Weight: 5 stones ranging from 150–210 kilograms (330–460 lb)
  • Time Limit: 60 seconds
  • Total Weight: 900 kilograms (2,000 lb)
# Name Nationality Time Event Pts Overall Pts
1 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 5 in 0m 19.89 10 43.5
2 Brian Shaw   United States 5 in 0m 28.55 9 35.5
3 Jean-François Caron   Canada 5 in 0m 34.03 8 42
4 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 4 in 0m 19.47 7 47
5 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 4 in 0m 20.63 6 28.5
6 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 4 in 0m 24.30 5 34
7 Jerry Pritchett   United States 4 in 0m 24.53 4 40
8 Kevin Faires   United States 4 in 0m 24.73 3 31
9 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 3 in 0m 18.02 2 22.5

Records

edit

As part of the deadlift event, Novikov successfully performed a 537.5 kilograms (1,185 lb) 18-inch deadlift, "which bested the previous world record at a sanctioned event in 1983, according to a news release."[1][2]

Mark Felix, by invitation,[2] attempted to set a World's Strongest Man record in the Hercules Hold, but did not succeed.[10]

Brian Shaw qualified for a record equalling 12th WSM final, tying the record of Zydrunas Savickas. With all of these finals being consecutive, he also broke his own record for consecutive finals. This was also Shaw's 11th top 5 finish, another record.

Mark Felix appeared in his 15th WSM contest, breaking the record of 14 held by himself and Savickas. Terry Hollands also appeared in his 14th contest.

Final standings

edit
# Name Nationality Pts
1 Oleksii Novikov   Ukraine 47
2 Tom Stoltman   United Kingdom 43.5
3 Jean-François Caron[a]   Canada 42
4 Jerry Pritchett   United States 40
5 Brian Shaw   United States 35.5
6 Adam Bishop   United Kingdom 34
7 Kevin Faires   United States 31
8 Aivars Šmaukstelis   Latvia 28.5
9 Luke Richardson   United Kingdom 22.5
10 Graham Hicks[b]   United Kingdom 1 (injured)
  1. ^ Though he had placed in the top-ten in previous years, the third-place finish for Caron was his first time on the WSM podium.[2]
  2. ^ Graham Hicks withdrew due to a biceps tear.[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Schad, Tom. "Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov wins 2020 World's Strongest Man after 1,185-pound partial deadlift". USA Today. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Blechman, Phil (November 17, 2020). "The 6 Biggest Moments From The 2020 World's Strongest Man". BarBend. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Freedman, Adrianna (April 7, 2020). "The 2020 World's Strongest Man Competition Is Postponed Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic". Men's Health. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Jones Jr., James A. (November 11, 2020). "World's Strongest Man competition postponed. Hurricane Eta is stronger". Bradenton Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Lockridge, Roger (September 4, 2020). "Martins Licis Confirms He Is Out Of 2020 World's Strongest Man". Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Lockridge, Roger (November 1, 2020). "Mateusz Kieliszkowski Withdraws From 2020 World's Strongest Man Due To Injury". Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  7. ^ McCarriston, Shanna (August 12, 2020). "'The Mountain' from 'Game of Thrones' retires after winning 10th straight Iceland's Strongest Man title". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Blechman, Phil (November 13, 2020). "Novikov, Caron, Hollands Carry Day One Of 2020 World's Strongest Man". BarBend. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Blechman, Phil (November 14, 2020). "2020 World's Strongest Man Finalists Revealed". BarBend. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Gutman, Andrew (November 15, 2020). "Novikov Secures 2020 World's Strongest Man Victory (Updated)". BarBend. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
edit
Preceded by 2020 World's Strongest Man Succeeded by