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Mitchell Hooper is the year's Strongman Classic winner after a historic performance on Saturday in London.
After finishing in the top three at the Strongman Classic in 2022 and 2023, he finally can claim the title.
Hooper set the tone early in the competition, setting a world record in the axle press at 218kg. The competition in the axle press wasn't exactly close as the second-place finishers, Tom Stoltman and Pavlo Kordiyaka, each put up 195kg.
Hooper then finished first in the 360kg axle deadlift with eight reps, narrowly edging out Matthew Ragg in second place. Hooper's eight reps tied the world record for the axle deadlift.
While Kordiyaka couldn't best Hooper in Saturday's action, he still managed to beat his own world record in the Conan's Wheel with a run of 1035 degrees. Hooper finished just behind him at 836 degrees.
Hooper's second-place finish in the Conan's Wheel was one of the only events where he didn't land at the top of the leaderboard, as he set a world record in the wrecking ball hold just a moment later. Hooper held the 267kg sphere for 118.72 seconds.
Hooper struggled in the castle stones, finishing 11th in that event as Stoltman finished atop the leaderboards, but with such a large gap it didn't impact his standings.
Hooper finished the day with 49 total points to take the win and Stoltman came in second with 47 points. An impressive day from Kordiyaka saw him finish in third.
It's been an impressive year for Hooper, who won the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, the Arnold Pro Strongman World Series and finished second in the World's Strongest Man competition.
Salmen senior Dwayne Coleman broke the Louisiana high school powerlifting record when he squatted 900 pounds, according to NOLA.com's Christopher Dabe.
"Coleman successfully set the record and ended the meet as Louisiana's strongest high school lifter of all time, based on a three-lift total of 2,005 pounds that included a bench press of 500 pounds and deadlift of 630," Dabe reported.
Per Hunter Bower of GeauxPreps.com, Coleman was crowned the Division II champion for the super heavyweight class and received Outstanding Lifter for the division. Thanks in large part to his efforts, Salmen tied for 10th in the team standings.
Coleman's mark blew last year's super heavyweight champions out of the water. Woodlawn's Mehki Smith had the highest total with 715 pounds in the squat en route to a Division I title.
If LSU football coach Brian Kelly is looking for any additional help along the offensive or defensive lines, it might be worth giving Coleman a call.
Mitchell Hooper is the champion of the 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals after a 52-point performance at the competition from Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.
Hooper led a 12-man field that went through five separate contests: Nicol Stones, carry and drag, deadlift, dumbbell press and power stairs.
The top finisher in each event took 12 points. The second-place participant got 11, and then each remaining participant got one fewer point down the line.
The Canadian finished first in the carry and drag (12 points), second in Nicol Stones (11), third in both the deadlift and dumbbell press (10 points each) and fourth in the power stairs (nine) for his championship-winning score.
Aivars ล maukstelis of Latvia took second with 47.5 points. He finished first in the power stairs and tied for first in the dumbbell press.
Kevin Faires of the United States took third thanks to a first-place finish in Nicol Stones and a pair of third-place efforts in carry and drag and power stairs. Faires set a world record in the process for Nicol Stones, traveling 24.61 meters (80.7 feet).
Hooper has enjoyed an impressive run of late. He finished first at the 2022 Arnold Strongman UK Classic in September, second at the Giants Live World Open in August and second at the Giants Live Strongman Classic in July. Now he's a champion once again, with his second title in as many months.
Tamara Walcott broke her own World Raw Powerlifting Federation record on Saturday when she successfully completed a 639-pound deadlift.
Per ESPN's Maya A. Jones, Walcott hit the mark on her third attempt at the American Pro powerlifting competition.
The historic moment came roughly 10 months after Walcott set the record with a deadlift of 636 pounds at The Bucked Up Showdown in Kansas City, Missouri.
Deadlift was Walcott's third event of the day after the squat and bench press.
According to Jones, Walcott's first deadlift was just 275 kilograms (606 lbs). The 38-year-old received approval from the judges and increased the weight on her second attempt to 290 kilograms (639 lbs).
The judges ruled that Walcott didn't clear the lift, setting her up for a third attempt to hit the mark.
"I didn't feel defeated because I know I had it in me," Walcott told Jones. "As soon as I found out what needed to be corrected, I was able to regroup. I knew what I needed to fix."
Walcott made her adjustment and successfully lifted all 639 pounds on her third try.
It's telling of how dominant Walcott is at this stage in her career that a new World Raw Powerlifting Federation record in the deadlift isn't even her most successful attempt in this event.
She set a women's world record with a 641-pound deadlift at the Arnold Sports Festival in March.
The first day of the 2022 World's Strongest Man finals is complete, and Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov and the United Kingdom's Tom Stoltman are neck-and-neck ahead of the rest of the 10-competitor field.
Novikov and Stoltman won the 2020 and 2021 contests, respectively, and it appears one of them will become a two-time victor when the competition concludes Sunday from Sacramento, California.
Competitors ran through three of the six events Saturday: KNAACK Giant's Medley, Deadlift and Flintstone Barbell. Sunday, the field will roll through Bus Pull, Reign Total Body Fuel Power Stairs and Atlas Stones. A description of all events can be found through this link.
Here's a look at Saturday's results as well as highlights of the event winners' performances.
Day 1 Results
1. Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine): 27.5 (8 Medley, 10 Deadlift, 9.5 Barbell)
2. Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom): 27 (9 Medley, 8.5 Deadlift, 9.5 Barbell)
3. Martins Licis (United States): 20 (6 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 8 Barbell)
4. Mitchell Hooper (Canada): 19 (10 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 3 Barbell)
5. Trey Mitchell (United States): 18 (4 Medley, 8.5 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)
6. Brian Shaw (United States): 16.5 (5 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)
7. Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom): 15.5 (7 Medley, 3 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)
8. Maxime Boudreault (Canada): 11.5 (2 Medley, 4 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)
9. Gabriel Rheaume (Canada): 6 (3 Medley, 1.5 Deadlift, 1.5 Barbell)
10. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland): 4 (1 Medley, 1.5 Deadlift, 1.5 Barbell)
Source: Official World's Strongest Man website
Notes and Highlights
The highlight of the day may have been courtesy of Novikov, who set the world record in the barbell competition:
He also dominated the deadlift with an astounding 15 reps:
Novikov took first in both those events, but Canada's Mitchell Hooper ruled the giant's medley by finishing in 21.96 seconds, or nearly three seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
Stoltman didn't win any events, but he finished solo second or tied for second in all three competitions, setting up a fantastic duel with Novikov on Sunday.
The 2022 Arnold Sports Festival wrapped up Sunday in front of a full crowd at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Sunday's events were highlighted by records set in the women's elephant bar deadlift and the dinnie stone carry. In addition, the strongest firefighter competition debuted in Columbus for the first time ever.
Tamara Walcott had arguably the most impressive performance of any of the competitors in Sunday's competition, lifting 641 pounds in the women's elephant bar deadlift event. Andrea Thompson owned the previous record of 621 pounds.
The 38-year-old struggled to get the bar off the ground and came up slowly into a standing position before closing out the lift confidently.
Walcott began her weightlifting journey in 2018 and before Sunday had competed in seven competitions, six of which she had won.
Like Walcott, Kevin Faires also set a record Sunday, doing so in the dinnie stone carry. The World's Strongest Man finalist carried two rocks, which combine to weigh 733 pounds, 25 feet and eight inches to set the world record.
Faires cleared the track that was laid out for competitors and carried the replica stones beyond the measuring tape for the win.
Faires broke Laurence Shahlaei's record of 14 feet, 10 inches by nearly 10 feet.
Another record-setting athlete was Trey Mitchell, who set a new record in the men's forward hold event, which requires competitors to hold a 65-pound Thor's hammer replica for time. Mitchell held the hammer for 60.72 seconds, besting the previous record of 49.24 seconds.
Both Faires and Mitchell have been competing in events since 2016.
As for the strongest firefighter competition, Daniel Camacho came out on top. The competition was created out of Arnold Schwarzenegger's admiration for the men and women who fight wildfires in California.
Other events that took place Sunday included foosball, the 5K Pump and Run, kettlebells, wrestling, jump rope and grappling.
With this year's Arnold Sports Festival officially over, competitors can begin preparing for next year's event in the hopes of breaking some more records.
The penultimate day of competition at the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival was also one of the busiest.
Saturday's schedule of events was highlighted by the finals of the Arnold Classic, men's physique and wellness international.
The Arnold Classic is one of the premier bodybuilding competitions in the world. Defending champion Nicholas Walker announced in January he wouldn't be competing this year to give himself more time to prepare for Mr. Olympia.
Brandon Curry won the top prize in the men's open for the second time in his career. He previously won in 2019, the same year he took home the Mr. Olympia title.
Here are the results from each of Saturday's events from the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Men's Open Results
1. Brandon Curry ($200,000)
2. William Bonac ($120,000)
3. Steve Kuclo ($70,000)
4. Samson Dauda ($37,500)
5. Justin Rodriguez ($20,000)
6. Brett Wilkin ($12,500)
Pro Wheelchair Results
1. Gabriele Andriulli
2. Harold Kelley
3. Bradley Betts
4. Chad McCrary
Pro Strongwoman Results
1. Victoria Long - 54.5 points
2. Andrea Thompson - 45.5 points
T3. Hannah Linzay - 40 points
T3. Olga Liashchuk - 40 points
5. Melissa Peacock - 34.5 points
Pro Strongman Classic Results
1. Martins Licis - 41 points
2. Oleksii Novikov - 37.5 points
T3. Luke Stoltman - 30.5 points
T3. Bobby Thompson - 30.5 points
5. Rob Kearney - 28.5 points
Bikini International Results
1. Lauralie Chapados ($10,000)
2. Maureen Blanquisco ($6,000)
3. Ashley Kaltwasser ($4,000)
4. Elisa Pecini ($3,000)
5. Jourdanne Lee
Men's Physique Results
1. Erin Banks ($10,000)
2. Emmanuel Hunter ($6,000)
3. Diogo Montenegro ($4,000)
4. Antoine Weatherspoon ($3,000)
5. Choi Bong-Seok ($2,000)
Wellness International Results
1. Isabelle Nunes ($7,000)
2. Angela Borges ($4,000)
3. Sunny Andrews ($3,000)
4. Julia Chitarra ($2,000)
5. Yarishna Ayala ($1,500)
Full results via GenerationIron.com
The field for the men's open portion of the Arnold Classic took a hit leading up to the event. In addition to Walker not participating, Nathan De Asha, Mohamed Shaaban, Rafael Brandao, Akim Williams and Cedric McMillan pulled out.
De Asha and Shaaban had to miss the competition due to injuries.
The 2021 Arnold Classic took place in September after being delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic. A quick six-month turnaround may not have given some of the athletes the necessary time to be in peak physical condition.
Prejudging for the men's open took place on Friday. Curry, Bonac and Kuclo were among the group in the first callout. They were also brought back onto the stage for the third callout, along with Justin Rodriguez.
That foursome comprised the top four after the fifth callout. Kuclo wound up coming in third for the second straight year. Bonac got the most muscular aware for his performance in the competition, but Curry took the top spot thanks to winning the best posing routine.
Isabelle Nunes was part of history on Saturday night. She won the first-ever wellness international event at the Arnold Classic by beating out Angela Borges and Sunny Andrews.
The men's physique competition made a return to the event after not being contested last year. It was open for a new winner because Andre Ferguson, who won this event for three straight years from 2018-20, didn't return in 2022.
Erin Banks took advantage of the opening to win thanks to outstanding conditioning that stood out in the field.
An autopsy has revealed steroids were a contributing factor in bodybuilder George Peterson's death.
Per the autopsy results obtained by TMZ Sports, Peterson's official cause of death was listed as "sudden cardiac dysrhythmia due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease."
It was also noted in the documents that "anabolic steroid use" contributed to his death.
The Mr. Olympia competition announced Oct. 6 that Peterson died at the age of 37.
"It is with great sadness that we report the unexpected passing of George Peterson, a champion on stage and off," the statement said. "Our condolences go out to his family and all who respected and admired one of the kindest men we have ever known."
Per TMZ Sports, Peterson was in Orlando at the time of his death preparing for the Mr. Olympia competition that was being held at the Orange County Convention Center.
Roger Lockridge of Muscle and Fitness noted Peterson was considered a favorite to win at Mr. Olympia before he died.
Peterson competed in Mr. Olympia each of the previous four years. He won the 2019 Arnold Classic Physique Championship.
Tom Stoltman won Britain's Strongest Man competition Saturday from Utilita Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, England.
Stoltman, who also won the World's Strongest Man competition this year, beat a 10-man field that also included runner-up Adam Bishop and third-place finisher Graham Hicks.
Andy Black, Desmond Gahan, Luke Stoltman, Mark Felix, Pa O'Dwyer, Paul Smith and Shane Flowers rounded out the competition.
Stoltman finished second to Bishop at the 2020 Britain's Strongest Man competition. The placements were reversed this time around as the 27-year-old Scot continued his excellent 2021 campaign.
His accolades also include back-to-back wins at the 2018 and 2019 Scotland's Strongest Man events.
According to Tom Sandford of BarBend, the one-day event included five competitions: giant dumbbell medley, super yoke carry, giant axle deadlift, loading medley and Atlas Stones.
Per Ryan Rowe of the Scottish Sun, Stoltman's brother, Luke, took the lead after the dumbbell medley. Bishop was first after the super yoke and axle deadlift.
Bishop, Tom Stoltman and Hicks all shined in the axle deadlift, managing eight reps apiece.
Stoltman took the lead following the loading medley and held off Bishop in the Atlas Stones finale for the victory.
