The 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK was held on September 23-24, in Marston Green, England. It was a part of a sports festival, which also featured bodybuilding, powerlifting, and other competitions. However, the Strongman contest was without a doubt one of the biggest attractions at this festival, as it gathered 14 world class competitors. Their battle spread over two days and six events in total. At the end, Mitchell Hooper became the champion of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK.
The first day of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK consisted of three events, which were the deadlift for reps, bag over bar, and Arnold’s stone carry. Mitchell Hooper took an early lead, having placed second in the first two events and won the third event. He maintained this pace on day two of the competition and got a 5.5 point lead going into the final event, which were the Atlas Stones. Hooper was extremely quick, so no one got the chance to steal the title from him. Oleksii Novikov came in second, while Rauno Heinla got bronze after an incredible display.
Arnold Sports Festival UK says moving forward, the event will be called “Experience With Sports Festival UK”. As of now, it is not known whether the name change will be implemented for the 2022 event or if the organizers will initiate the step for the following year in 2023.
2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK Results
- Mitchell Hooper — 79.5 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 71 points
- Rauno Heinla — 61.5 points
- Pa O’Dwyer — 55 points
- Gavin Bilton — 47 points
- Paul Smith — 44.5 points
- Konstantine Janashia — 43 points
- Kim Ujarak — 37 points
- Ryan Bennett — 36.5 points
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 33.5 points
- Louis Jack — 33.5 points
- Ervin Toots — 31.5 points
- Ben Williams — 27 points
- Zake Muluzi — 23.5 points
Related: 2022 Arnold’s UK Strongwoman Pro Results
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Event One — Deadlift
The 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK opened with the deadlift for reps event, in which competitors were required to pull 370 kilograms (815 pounds). Almost every Strongman athlete relies on the deadlift to perform, so this event was bound to feature some impressive performances from the participants.
As expected, Rauno Heinla won the event with eight incredible repetitions. Rauno recently won the 2022 World Deadlift Championships, so it is no surprise that he was also able to perform the most reps this time. No one was really close to Rauno, as Mitchell Hooper took second place in this event with six reps. The 2020 World’s Strongest Man, Oleksii Novikov, finished in third with five reps.
- Rauno Heinla — 8 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 6 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 reps
- Kim Ujarak — 4 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 4 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
- Ben Williams — 3 reps
- Paul Smith — 3 reps
- Konstantine Janashia — 3 reps
- Ryan Bennett — 2 reps
- Louis Jack — 1 rep
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 1 rep
- Ervin Toots — 1 rep
- Zake Muluzi — 1 rep
Event Two — Bag Over Bar
Bag over bar was the second event of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK. This event included five bags with a weight of 20 kilograms (44 pounds) to 28 kilograms (61.7 pounds). The height of the bar was 4 meters (13 feet).
Gavin Bilton came through in the second event of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK and put up a mind-blowing performance. He took the maximum points, with Mitchell Hooper narrowly outperforming Oleksii Novikov for second place.
- Gavin Bilton — 5 in 17.21 s
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 18.15 s
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 in 18.35 s
- Rauno Heinla — 5 in 18.38 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 in 18.79 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 5 in 19.27 s
- Kim Ujarak — 5 in 19.76 s
- Ervin Toots — 5 in 21.47 s
- Louis Jack — 5 in 24.78 s
- Ryan Bennett — 5 in 26.53 s
- Zake Muluzi — 5 in 47.84 s
- Paul Smith — 5 in 33.81 s
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 5 in 37.90 s
- Ben Williams — 5 in 47.84 s
Event Three — Arnold Stone Carry
The Arnold Stone Carry event wrapped up day one, so the competitors found themselves in a situation where they had to carry two uneven stones, that is one in each hand. This event was very similar to the legendary Dinnie Stones. However, one Arnold stone weighed 136 kilograms (300 pounds), while the other one came out to 164 kilograms (361.5 pounds). The distance they needed to cover was 15 meters (49 feet).
Mitchell Hooper continued his amazing performances and got his first event win of the competition. This event was all about grip strength and quickness, in which Mitchell excels. The majority of Strongman fans were, however, really excited to see Žydrūnas Savickas taking second place, as it seems that the 4x WSM is once again in tip-top shape, and is getting back to where he belonged. To the surprise of many, Zake Muluzi finished in third.
- Mitchell Hooper — 34.02 s
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 14.14 m
- Zake Muluzi — 10.77 m
- Rauno Heinla — 6.19 m
- Oleksii Novikov — 5.32 m
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5.1 m
- Ervin Toots — 4.98 m
- Ryan Bennett — 4.88 m
- Gavin Bilton — 4.81 m
- Paul Smith — 4.45 m
- Konstantine Janashia — 4.27 m
- Louis Jack — 3.68 m
- Kim Ujarak — 3.2 m
- Ben Williams — 1.9 m
Fourth Event — Super Yoke
The fourth event of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK was once again made to test the speed under heavy loads. This time it was a massive Super Yoke, which weighed 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds). The distance athletes needed to cross was 10 meters.
As a result of this performance and his previous competitions, Mitchell Hooper seems to be the quickest Strongman at the moment. It was no sweat for him to carry half a ton, even beating out second-place finisher Oleksii Novikov, who is known for his speed. Paul Smith wrapped up the top three in this event.
- Mitchell Hooper — 5.70 s
- Oleksii Novikov — 8.42 s
- Paul Smith — 11.09 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 12.50 s
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 14.01 s
- Rauno Heinla — 14.82 s
- Ryan Bennett — 18.84 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 21.84 s
- Ben Williams — 22.29 s
- Gavin Bilton — 25.26 s
- Zake Muluzi — 32.07 s
- Louis Jack — 34.58 s
- Ervin Toots — 46.91 s
- Kim Ujarak — 3.85 meters
Fifth Event — Dumbbell Press
The second-to-last event of the competition seemed like tailored for Oleksii Novikov, since no one even came close to beating him on this for the past couple of years. Obviously, this was the Dumbbell Press for reps. The dumbbell weighed 100 kilograms (220 pounds), while the time limit was 75 seconds.
As expected, Oleksii Novikov won the event, but it did not seem as comfortable as before. This is because Mitchell Hooper and Paul Smith got just one rep less than Novikov, which made it even more exciting. However, Hooper’s second-place finish meant that he would be going over to the final event with great chances of winning the entire competition.
- Kim Ujarak — 2 reps
- Ben Williams — 5 reps
- Ervin Toots — 2 reps
- Rauno Heinla — 3 reps
- Paul Smith — 7 reps
- Konstantine Janashia — 0 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 6 reps
- Louis Jack — 2 reps
- Ryan Bennett — 3 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 7 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 8 reps
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 0 reps
- Zake Muluzi — 0 reps
Sixth Event — Atlas Stones
The final event of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK was the Atlas Stones, which is almost traditional in Strongman competitions. A heavier set of stones was used this time, since the five implements ranged from 120 kilograms (264.5 pounds) to 200 kilograms (440 pounds).
Mitchell Hooper stayed calm and did not crumble under the pressure. So, despite Louis Jack and Konstantine Janashia beating him in this event, Hooper did enough to claim his first professional victory.
- Louis Jack — 5 in 23.91 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 5 in 23.91 s
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 25.74 s
- Kim Ujarak — 5 in 31.38 s
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 in 31.98 s
- Ervin Toots — 4 in 21.02 s
- Rauno Heinla — 4 in 19.21 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 4 in 19.85 s
- Žydrūnas Savickas — 4 in 21.34 s
- Paul Smith — 4 in 22.40 s
- Ryan Bennett — 4 in 32.09 s
- Gavin Bilton — 4 in 34.09 s
- Ben Williams — 3 in 14.15 s
- Zake Muluzi — 3 in 16.59 s
Related: Strongman Mitchell Hooper Crushes Insane 695-Pound Squat For 5-Rep PR
The 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK exceeded the expectations, since the lineups got a significant upgrade shortly before the competition. This resulted in a much closer battle between the athletes and thus more enjoyment for the fans. In addition, Mitchell Hooper got his first professional victory. It did not take him long, as he just started competing a few months ago. His first major competition was the 2022 WSM, but he quickly followed that up with three more appearances.
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