The World's Strongest Man (& other strongman competitions)

[DannyBoy]

My prediction for the Arnold Strongman this weekend is Brian Shaw for the win, with Hafthor Björnsson as a close 2nd place and either Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Jerry Pritchett or J.F. Caron in 3rd place. I won't be surprised if Thor wins though. I was thinking Terry Hollands was in the Arnold Strongman because he's there in Columbus, OH at the Arnold Sports Festival, but I guess he's just there to support his girlfriend Kate Errington who's making her IFBB pro debut in the fitness competition.

Hi Danny, i tend to agree with you that these are probably the contenders for top honors.Of course in Strongman nothing is ever a given as injuries can occur which put even the best out of the running.Sincerely hoping that no one is actually injured and everyone puts in their best performance.
Regards,Peter.

Very true about injuries, I certainly hope all the strongmen at the Arnold walk away injury free when the competition is over.

By the way Peter, I don't know if you've heard yet, but Terry Hollands mentioned a few days ago on Facebook that in June he'll be starting prep for a bodybuilding show in October. He had his body fat percentage taken and he's down to 13.9% at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how he progresses and how he does in the contest. Regardless though, Terry's transformation has been impressive.

[peter yates]

Hi Danny,
had not heard about Terry but have seen several photos of him recently and he does look amazing.I certainly wish both him and his lady the very best in their respective contests. At 38 he is still in the running as far as Strongman comps are concerned but on the other hand he has had a decent run and making the transition to an activity that is much easier on his body may be a smart move.He is competitive so i am sure requires something to challenge and motivate him. Thing is losing so much body weight usually results in loss of strength and being very strong like many other things can be addictive.Still he has a good head on his shoulders and i am sure will chose a path that suits his best interests.
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

Arnold Strongman Classic 2018
Overall - Day 1:
Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, 18 pts
Mikhail Shivlyakov, 17 pts
Mateusz Kieliszkowski, 15.5 pts
Brian Shaw, 15.5 pts
Matjaz Belsak, 12 pts
Jean-François Caron, 11.5 pts
Rauno Heinla, 8.5 pts
Jerry Pritchett, 4.5 pts
Dimitar Savatinov, 4.5 pts
Mateusz Ostaszewski, 3 pts

Of course it's not over yet, but there are some somewhat surprising placings after Day 1 at the ASC, most notably Mikhail Shivlyakov currently in 2nd. It's nice to see Mikhail doing so well so far though. I haven't seen any footage, but based on the current standings it certainly looks as if it's been an interesting competition so far.

[peter yates]

Hi Danny, thanks for the update.Yes surprising but as they say " it ain't over till it's over." Be interesting to see the final results though. BTW did i say how good it is to have you back posting? Did you enjoy the newsletter?
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

Hi Danny, thanks for the update.Yes surprising but as they say " it ain't over till it's over." Be interesting to see the final results though. BTW did i say how good it is to have you back posting? Did you enjoy the newsletter?
Regards,Peter.

Yep, we'll see in a few hours how things turn out.

Thank you Peter, and yes, I did enjoy the HOPC Newsletter! Particularly your article on the dumbbell side press along with Sticks' illustrations, and your write-up about the Darwen Weightlifting Club. Same as you, I'm thankful Tom Balchin was able to purchase some of those rare weight plates from the club. Charles Rigolout is a favorite of mine, so it's always interesting to see something about him and it's always nice to be turned onto an old-time strongman I'm not familiar with as in the case of Chief Moquin. Honestly when I first saw the name Chief Moquin at the beginning of the newsletter before I actually got into the article itself, I had it in my mind that he was a chief of a Native American tribe rather a Police Chief, lol. Anyway, Issue #2 of the HOPC Newsletter was great, and for that I thank you, Diane, Sticks & Gil!

[peter yates]

Hi Danny,
i thought the same about Chief Moquin.Stay tuned for more on Charles Rigolout, more good stuff to come.Glad you enjoyed the newsletter, perhaps you could submit something about wrestling, boxing or strongman history.
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

Congratulations to Hafthor Björnsson on winning the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic! Thor also set a new Elephant Bar Deadlift world record with a lift of 1,041lb/472kg.

2018 ASC Final Results:
1. Hafthor Björnsson, 46 pts
2. Brian Shaw, 41.5 pts
3. Mikhail Shivlyakov, 29 pts
4. Mateusz Kieliszkowski, 29 pts
5. Jean-François Caron, 28 pts
6. Jerry Pritchett, 24 pts
7. Matjaž Belšak, 24 pts
8. Rauno Heinla, 22.5 pts
9. Dimitar Savatinov, 18.5 pts
10. Mateusz Ostaszewski, 10.5 pts

Young Mateusz Kieliszkowski keeps getting better & better, stronger & stronger and really has the potential to be a (not-to-distant) future ASC & WSM winner. It's also nice to see Mikhail Shivlyakov have such a good performance and place 3rd.




On the woman's end, Donna Moore won the 2nd annual Arnold Pro Strongwoman. Congratulations to Donna! I haven't found complete final results for the women, but the top 3 were:

1. Donna Moore
2. Liefia Ingalls
3. Kristin Rhodes

[peter yates]

Thanks for the update Danny,congratulations to all especially Thor and Donna. Next for Thor has to be WSM. Thor really works on his weak links and he has been especially bringing his Dead lift up over time and now the work has paid off. To best Shaw, Hall and Pritchet in the elephant bar DL is no mean feat considering it was not one of his better events.Yes great to see Mikhail up there at the top, always gives a great performance.Look forward to seeing some of the events.
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

Thor also set a new world record in the Weight Over Bar with a height of 20ft. Congratulations to him on that as well! Here's his Elephant Bar Deadlift world record.


youtu.be/Yq1NKbziaO8


Even with Thor's world record Elephant Bar Deadlift, maybe the best &/or most impressive single performance of the ASC this year was Mateusz Kieliszkowski's performance in the Stone Shoulder event. Mateusz completely blew the rest of the competitors away by shouldering the 410lb stone 4 times.


youtu.be/AC8sm9h8lGw

^Good to see Terry Todd in the back there observing. By the way, Terry & Jan Todd were inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame there at the Arnold Sports Festival this past weekend. Congratulations to them!


Craziest performance probably goes to Mikhail Shivlyakov for this incredible max effort to deadlift 939lb/426kg. Much respect to him.


youtu.be/O82GETwPstU


Martins Licis didn't compete in the ASC, but he was there at the Arnold Sports Festival and set a new world record in the Steinborn Lift with 560lb/254kg. Congratulations to him!


youtu.be/Et5ZBGgXayU

^I know members here can appreciate the Steinborn Lift, unfortunately I've seen much ridicule of Martins on Facebook for the lift because it's "stupid" or "ridiculous" or "a good way to end up in back surgery" and so on. Most of the people being so negative about it probably never saw the lift before or don't understand it or even know who Milo Steinborn is. I mean if you know what you're doing and do it properly, and Martins does, then you're not likely to hurt yourself. In any case, much respect to Martins.

[peter yates]

Thanks Danny,
great job by all. Martins is a very powerful and well conditioned athlete with a great future in Strongman. He is also an experienced trainee who would begin any new lift with a manageable weight and perfect his form before building up the pounds. That was obvious from his excellent performance. While they politically correctly mentioned his girlfriend as his coach, it was Odd Haugen who helped him prepare for this attempt. To me it was great to see this lift being done so well with so much weight.Steinborn would have been proud i am sure.
Regards,Peter.