The 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic took place on November 18-20, in Reykjavik, Iceland. Organized and named by the 4x World’s Strongest Man, Magnus managed to gather some of the best Strongman athletes currently competing. Magnus, however, also recruited some less experienced athletes who are likely to be the future of the sport. One of those individuals was Rongo Keene, who won the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic.
Despite competing against some athletes who made the finals and podiums at World’s Strongest Man competitions, Rongo Keene still managed to land his first International Strongman title. Most impressively, Rongo beat Maxime Boudreault and Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted, who got second and third place respectively.
2022 Magnus ver Magnusson Strongman Classic Results & Point Standings
- Rongo Keene — 87.5 points
- Maxime Boudreault — 81.5 points
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 79 points
- Vilius Jokužys — 72.5 points
- Colton Sloan — 68.5 points
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 65.5 points
- Ervin Toots — 65.5 points
- Mika Törrö — 56.5 points
- Jacob Finerty — 54.5 points
- James Jeffers — 51.5 points
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 50 points
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 46.5 points
- Pierre Motal — 33.5 points
- Ryan England — 26.5 points
Event One – Rock Press
The first event of the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic was the Rock Overhead Press. They attempted to lift six stones, which ranged in weight from 100 to 150 kilograms (220 to 330 pounds).
There was a three-way tie for first place, as Rongo, Melsted, and Finerty all lifted the 138-kilogram stone. In addition, almost every athlete on the roster tied with someone else for one of the positions.
- Rongo Keene — 138 kilograms (Tied-first)
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 138 kilograms (Tied-first)
- Jacob Finerty — 138 kilograms (Tied-first)
- Vilius Jokužys — 122 kilograms
- Colton Sloan — 112 kilograms
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 112 kilograms (Tied-fifth)
- Mika Törrö — 112 kilograms (Tied-fifth)
- James Jeffers — 112 kilograms (Tied-fifth)
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 112 kilograms (Tied-fifth)
- Maxime Boudreault — 100 kilograms (Tied-10th)
- Ervin Toots — 100 kilograms (Tied-10th)
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 100 kilograms (Tied-10th)
- Pierre Motal — 100 kilograms (Tied-10th)
- Ryan England — 100 kilograms (Tied-10th)
Event Two – Natural Stones
Very similar to the Atlas Stone event, the athletes had to lift four Natural Stones to their platforms. The stone’s weight ranged from 130 to 185 kilograms (286 to 408 pounds).
Kristján Jón Haraldsson was significantly faster than any other athlete, as he was the only one to finish all four stones in less than 30 seconds. Melsted was the second fastest, while Maxime Boudreault settled for third.
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 26.73 seconds
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 32.17 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 33.21 seconds
- Ervin Toots — 34.13 seconds
- James Jeffers — 38.79 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 45.41 seconds
- Vilius Jokužys — three in 16.33 seconds
- Rongo Keene — three in 19.39 seconds
- Jacob Finerty — three in 21.74 seconds
- Mika Törrö — three in 24.97 seconds
- Colton Sloan — three in 25.12 seconds
- Pierre Motal — three in 25.96 seconds
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — three in 33.68 seconds
- Ryan England — two in 19.9 seconds
Event Three – Hammer Throw
The Hammer Throw was the final event of day one. A bit unusual, but also traditional, it required athletes to throw the 21-kilogram (46.3-pound) hammer as far as possible.
Unusual events are known to make competitions fun, as anyone could win them. So, Torfason proved to have the best qualities for this event, which saw him almost get the 10-meter mark. Vilius Jokužys got second with a throw of 9.22 meters, while Maxime once again got third, having thrown just 0.08 meters less than Vilius.
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 9.9 meters
- Vilius Jokužys — 9.22 meters
- Maxime Boudreault — 9.14 meters
- Ervin Toots — 8.78 meters
- Mika Törrö — 8.43 meters
- Rongo Keene — 8.32 meters
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 8.03 meters
- Jacob Finerty — 7.94 meters
- James Jeffers — 7.81 meters
- Ryan England — 7.55 meters
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 7.41 meters
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 7.19 meters
- Colton Sloan — 6.62 meters
- Pierre Motal — 6.47 meters
Event Four — Husafell Stone Carry
What better way to start the second day of the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic than with the Husafell Stone Carry. The traditional Husafell Stone, weighing 186 kilograms (410 pounds), had to be carried around in a circle, with the aim being to cover the most distance. One circle around the rocks was 35 meters long.
Only two men were able to complete two revolutions and cover at least 70 meters, with Vilius Jokužys being the best. Maxime Boudreault also got second, while Colton Sloan got third.
- Vilius Jokužys — 83.9 meters
- Maxime Boudreault — 80 meters
- Colton Sloan — 75.3 meters
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 70.9 meters
- Ervin Toots — 67.2 meters
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 58.9 meters
- Rongo Keene — 51.4 meters
- James Jeffers — 51.2 meters
- Mika Törrö — 49.6 meters
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 48.9 meters
- Pierre Motal — 48.7 meters
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 45.4 meters
- Jacob Finerty — 36 meters
- Ryan England — 35.9 meters
Event Five – Stone-to-Shoulder Medley
The stones were once again a part of an event, but this time in a medley form. A total of four stones, weighing 100 to 145 kilograms (220 to 319.7 pounds), were placed ahead of the athletes, who then had to pick them off the ground and lift them to one of their shoulders.
Rongo Keene was the fastest to lift all four stones, having beaten Melsted by just two seconds. The Canadian representative, Maxime Boudreault once again found himself in a top 3 position.
- Rongo Keene — 34.16 seconds
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 36.2 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 36.91 seconds
- Colton Sloan — 52.07 seconds
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 54.77 seconds
- Ervin Toots — 1:01.89 seconds
- Vilius Jokužys — three in 22.69 seconds
- James Jeffers — three in 22.73 seconds
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — three in 26.69 seconds
- Jacob Finerty — three in 30.02 seconds
- Pierre Motal — three in 31.35 seconds
- Ryan England — three in 35.66 seconds
- Mika Törrö — three in 38.91 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — two in 12.39 seconds
Event Six – Farmer’s Walk
The Farmer’s Walk did not actually feature the regular implements. Instead, the competitors had to carry two stones which were different in weight. One stone weighed 137 kilograms (302 pounds), while the other one came out to 142 kilograms (312 pounds). The goal was to cover as much distance as possible.
Mika Törrö got his first event win with a mind-blowing carry of 35.88 meters. Rongo Keene was also amazing, as his distance of 34.77 meters meant that he was the only other person to exceed 30 meters. Torfason got third.
- Mika Törrö — 35.88 meters
- Rongo Keene — 34.77 meters
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 29.4 meters
- Maxime Boudreault — 27.95 meters
- Vilius Jokužys — 25.44 meters
- Colton Sloan — 18.6 meters
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 15.42 meters
- Ervin Toots — 15.3 meters
- Jacob Finerty — 13.78 meters
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 10.1 meters
- Pierre Motal — 8.21 meters
- James Jeffers — 5.53 meters
- Ryan England — 4.55 meters
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — 1.13 meters
Event Seven – Axle Deadlift for Reps
The penultimate event of the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic was the Axle Deadlift For Reps. The weight of 325 kilograms (716.6 pounds) was loaded onto the bar, while the time cap was 75 seconds.
No one was able to come close to Melsted who performed seven repetitions in order to get maximum points. Rongo, Sloan, Ujarak, and Motal all shared second place with five reps each.
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — seven reps
- Rongo Keene — five reps (T-second)
- Colton Sloan — five reps (T-second)
- Pierre Motal — five reps (T-second)
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — five reps (T-second)
- Jacob Finerty — four reps (T-sixth)
- James Jeffers — four reps (T-sixth)
- Mika Törrö — three reps (T-eighth)
- Stefán Karel Torfason — three reps (T-eighth)
- Maxime Boudreault — two reps (T-10th)
- Ervin Toots — two reps (T-10th)
- Vilius Jokužys — one rep (T-12th)
- Ryan England — one rep (T-12th)
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — no reps
Event Eight – Log Press Medley
The final and deciding event of the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic was the Log Press Medley. Four logs weighing between 110 and 165 kilograms (242 and 363.8 pounds) had to be completed consecutively and as fast as possible.
Known for his incredible shoulder strength, Maxime Boudreault did not find this event too difficult to win. He was followed by Melsted, while the overall winner, Rongo Keene, secured the gold medal with a third-place finish in this event
- Maxime Boudreault— 30.63 seconds
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 38.28 seconds
- Rongo Keene — three in 24.09 seconds
- Colton Sloan — three in 30.63 seconds
- Ervin Toots — three in 31.97 seconds
- Ryan England — three in 32.36 seconds
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen — three in 36.37 seconds
- Jacob Finerty — three in 1:00.86 seconds
- Vilius Jokužys — two in 14.72 seconds
- Mika Törrö — two in 17.54 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — two in 19.46 seconds
- Pierre Motal — two in 19.8 seconds
- James Jeffers — two in 20.86 seconds
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — two in 29.58 seconds
Related: Nick Best Announces His Decision To Retire From Strongman Competitions At The Age Of 54
Rongo Keene has so far taken part in 10 National and International competitions. Apart from this win, he only won the 2016 Australia’s Strongest Man. Rongo also competed at the 2018 World’s Strongest Man contest, but finished last in his qualifying group. However, the situation is looking better than ever for him, considering the effort it took to win the 2022 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic.
