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

[peter yates]

My predictions for the 2018 WSM qualifying groups are....
Group 1: Hafthor Björnsson and Laurence Shahlaei or Matjaž Belšak
Group 2: Brian Shaw and Vytautas Lals or Adam Bishop
Group 3: Žydrūnas Savickas and Graham Hicks or Robert Oberst
Group 4: Martins Licis and J-F Caron or Krzysztof Radzikowski
Group 5: Konstantine Janashia and Mateusz Kieliszkowski, and Mikhail Shivlyakov, Nick Best & Terry Hollands are real possibilities too. Group 5 is what I consider the most stacked qualifying group.

Hi Danny, seems we are on the same page. I forgot 5 and i agree with the first 3 again.Of course as we know anything can happen,i am going by recent activity.
Regards,Peter.

[peter yates]

Thanks Danny, another good line up.Some people do not like the new wave of strongman competition but there is some real talent out there and i still enjoy watching the battles.
Regards, peter.

[DannyBoy]

Mikhail Shivlyakov won the Arnold Strongman South America last weekend, with Mateusz Kieliszkowski coming in (a close) 2nd and Rauno Heinla in 3rd. Congratulations to Mikhail on the win!

Final Results (incomplete):
1. Mikhail Shivlyakov – 38.5pts
2. Mateusz Kieliszkowski – 38pts
3. Rauno Heinla – 36.5pts
4. Jerry Pritchett – 32.5pts
5. Dimitar Savatinov – 27pts
6. Jitse Kramer – 25.5pts
Bryan Benzel
???
Brendan Page
???
???

Only the top six competed in the final event, the Atlas Stones.

[peter yates]

Thanks Danny,
congratulations Mikhail, he always seems happy no matter win or lose so i am glad to see him get a top spot.
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

The 2018 World's Strongest Man qualifying has finished and the 10 finalists are decided. If you don't wanna see any SPOILERS, then please don't read past this point....
























2018 WSM Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Matjaž Belšak
Hafthor Björnsson
J-F Caron
Johan Els
Konstantine Janashia
Mateusz Kieliszkowski
Martins Licis
Robert Oberst
Žydrūnas Savickas
Brian Shaw

Oberst is a bit of a surprise and Els is a big surprise, but it is strongman and anything can happen. Congratulations to all of the finalists! I haven't really seen much footage (just a short clip here & there), mostly just photos, so I don't know how all of these guys have looked so far, but my prediction for who'll win this year's WSM is Thor. He's been on a hot streak lately with his Arnold Strongman Classic & Europe's Strongest Man wins and it just feels like this will be his year to finally win the WSM, though I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Big Z or Shaw win their 5th WSM title and tie Mariusz Pudzianowski's record. We will know soon enough.

[peter yates]

Hi Danny,
yes a bit of a surprise but the obvious contenders are all there. Should be Thor's time but as we all know anything can happen. Should be a good contest though.
Regards,Peter.

[DannyBoy]

Here are the final 2018 WSM results. Again, if you don't wanna see the results before seeing the competition then please don't read past this point.
!SPOILER ALERT!

























2018 World's Strongest Man Finals Results
1. Hafthor Björnsson — 51.5 Points
2. Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 45 Points
3. Brian Shaw — 44 Points
4. Martins Licis — 38.5 Points
5. Jean-François Caron — 35 Points
6. Johan Els — 30 Points
7. Matjaž Belšak — 28.5 Points
8. Konstantine Janashia — 22 Points
9. Robert Oberst — 19.5 Points
10. Žydrūnas Savickas (withdrew after Event 4) — 9 Points

Congratulations to Thor on his 1st WSM victory! It just felt like this was finally gonna be his year and he didn't disappoint, and he also made some history too; he's the first to win the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe's Strongest Man & World's Strongest Man all in the same year. Congratulations to Mateusz Kieliszkowski as well, 2nd place is a great result for him and shows just how quickly he's progressed, and he has all the potential to be a WSM champion in the not too distant future himself. Much respect to all of the strongmen and I'm looking forward to watching the whole competition on TV next month. I hear some of the guys were competing through injuries, so I wish them all full & speedy recoveries, especially Big Z who unfortunately had to withdraw from the final due to Achilles tendon & biceps injuries I understand.

[peter yates]

Thanks Danny, congratulations to Thor and all contestants. Like you i am looking forward to watching the events.
Regards,Peter.

[peter yates]

The UK Strongest Man competitions will be held this weekend Friday27 - Sunday29 at St.Albans, England. The event organized each year by Glenn Ross is usually held in Belfast N. Ireland and is the first time in 15 years to be held in England. Glenn Ross always organizes a good show and comes up with interesting and innovative events.One special event that will be taking place at the comps. over the weekend is Grip Master David Horne's world record, bar bending attempt. David will attempt to bend three bars in succession, each bar is 16mm x 24" and rated a 173kg. A tremendous feat of hand, wrist and overall strength. I am sure everyone will join me in wishing David the best of luck with his attempt.
Regards,Peter.

[Tom K]

I just only watched the grand final on channel 5 catch up the other day, after missing it over Christmas.

I was not surprised by Thors win, but I was surprised that Brian Shaw didn't make it a closer competition. I think him being beaten in the truck pull by a thousandth of a second by Belsak really opened up a gap.

However, when Thor pretty much strict pressed the overhead press event... you knew he wasn't going to lose. A real statement of intent. I think with Eddie Hall being so dominant in the pressing events in the years prior to his retirement, that Thor really must have worked hard on his pressing.

It always amazes me what titans Shaw and Bjornsson are compared to the other guys. When Shaw literally kicked that safe onto the podium... whilst everyone else was struggling to even get their arms around it! Another level. I think Eddie Hall retiring whilst up against 2 men like that maybe a good idea. I think you'd almost kill yourself to keep up with such huge genetic advantages.

I hope Shaw gets another chance to win a WSM, as he really is such a lovely guy by all accounts. Big gentle giant. It must be like living in a world made of cardboard being him!