The 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman competition took place on October 27-28 at the Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, Texas. The two days of competition brought numerous surprises and impressive feats of strength from all ten competitors. The five events were well balanced for the lineup, which brought us to a very tight finish. In the end, Mitchell Hooper’s consistency prevailed, and he took home the title.
Mitchell Hooper had a stellar day one at the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman and managed to gain five points more than any other athlete. However, during day two, Tom Stoltman began closing in on Mitchell, which got him within reaching distance on the final event. Hooper remained composed and edged out Stoltman to win the title.
The 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman also featured the highest prize purse in the history of the sport. It exceeded $315,000 in total, with $145,000 going to the winner of the competition. Last year’s champion, Oleksii Novikov, was competing in the hopes of defending his title but could not accomplish it.
2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman Results
| Rank | Competitor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper | 42 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman | 40 |
| 3 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | 31.5 |
| 4 | Evan Singleton | 28.5 |
| 5 | Bobby Thompson | 25.5 |
| 6 | Maxime Boudreault | 23.5 |
| 7 | Tom Evans | 23 |
| 8 | Luke Stoltman | 22 |
| 9 | Oleksii Novikov | 21.5 |
| 10 | Trey Mitchell (Withdrew) | 11.5 |
Related: 2023 Rogue Invitational CrossFit Results [Live Updates]
Day Two (Saturday, October 28)
Event Three — Rogue-a-Coaster
The fourth event of the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman was a repeat of last year’s Rogue-a-Coaster, which was well received by athletes and fans. Technically, it was a seated rope pull, where the goal was to tug the cartwheel up the entire ramp. The cart was loaded with two sandbags and had to be moved up a 54-feet incline ramp.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski picked up a second consecutive event victory with another mind-blowing performance. Many of his rivals were known for being quick, but Mateusz easily outperformed everyone. He was the only man to break the 30-second barrier, which was more than worthy of max points.
Tom Stoltman finished in second place with a time of 34.79 seconds. He was under pressure because of Evan Singleton, who finished his pull less than one second after Tom. So the two men were caught up in a very tight race, but the 2x World’s Strongest Man edged out the “T-Rex”.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 29.79 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 34.79 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 35.75 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 38.41 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 42.05 seconds
- Tom Evans — 44.43 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 44.49 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — 49.29 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 50-feet
- Trey Mitchell — Withdrew
Event Four — Max Rep Log Lift
Due to the weather predicaments during the competition, the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman events had to be adjusted. So, Rogue swapped the Appolon’s Wheels event for the Max Rep Log Lift. This event was quite simple, as the sole goal for the athletes was to Clean and Overhead Press a 360-pound (163.5-kilogram) Log for as many repetitions as possible.
Tom Stoltman put the pressure on everyone with ten repetitions on the Log Lift and no one managed to outperform him or even match his effort. This secured him the first win of the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman and a very important 10 points to improve his overall placing.
Mitchell Hooper was the last man to attempt the event and it was clear that he needed to perform more than 8 repetitions in order to avoid sharing points. So, he blasted through five reps with speed, but fatigue started catching up to him. However, he still managed to complete four more reps before the 90-second time limit ran out.
Three men, Evans, Luke Stoltman, and Thompson, all tied for third place with eight repetitions each. So, they had to share the points as well, meaning each of them increased their overall tally by seven.
- Tom Stoltman — 10 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 9 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 8 reps
- Tom Evans — 8 reps
- Bobby Thompson — 8 reps
- Maxime Boudreault — 7 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 7 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 reps
- Evan Singleton — 5 reps
Event Five — The Duel
The Duel event at the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman saw all athletes take on three sandbags that were scattered in their lane. They had to pick them up and load them into a metal cage. Their times were then compared and ranked in order. The fastest time wins.
Tom Stoltman took first place in the final event of the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman with a time of 17.57 seconds. However, that only solidified his silver medal, since Mitchell Hooper finished just 0.3 seconds behind him and claimed the title overall.
A tremendous battle also occurred for third place, which went to Maxime Boudreault. This improved his ranking on the leaderboards and moved him up to sixth place.
- Tom Stoltman — 0:17.57
- Mitchell Hooper — 0:17.84
- Maxime Boudreault — 0:18.83
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 0:19.63
- Evan Singleton — 0:20.55
- Bobby Thompson — 0:20.81
- Tom Evans — 0:20.94
- Luke Stoltman — 0:22.35
- Oleksii Novikov — 0:23.38
Related: How To Watch 2023 Rogue Invitational, Events, Lineups, & Schedule
Day One (Friday, October 27)
Event One — Tower of Power Deadlift for Reps
The Tower of Power Deadlift for Reps was the first event of the 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman, and it was a repeat from last year. The weight has not changed either, as organizers decided to task the athletes with a 900-pound (408.2-kilogram) deadlift for as many reps as possible once again. They were also not allowed to use the deadlift suits, but they could put on a lifting belt and lifting straps. The time limit was 60 seconds.
While many athletes found the 900 pounds (408.2 kilograms) too heavy, Trey Mitchell and Bobby Thompson turned up ready for the deadlifts. They locked out eight repetitions each and tied for first place. Also, Trey appeared even bigger than usual, and his power was apparent. On the other hand, Bobby looked very composed and confident in his abilities.
As expected, Mitchell Hooper also put in a very good display on the deadlifts, but finished one rep short of Trey. However, the seven reps Mitchell locked out were enough for third place and the eight points that come with it.
- Trey Mitchell — 8 reps
- Bobby Thompson — 8 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 7 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 6 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 4 reps
- Tom Evans — 3 reps
- Evan Singleton — 2 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 1 rep
- Maxime Boudreault — 0 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 0 reps
Event Two — The Iron Bull Sled Pull (3:20 PM CDT)
The second event was a novelty for everyone, as the athletes were harnessed to a giant Iron Bull Sled, which they had to pull with their bodies for a distance of 15 meters. It was similar to a truck/bus pull event, but was also unpredictable in terms of the friction it produced against the floor.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski went from not being able to perform even one deadlift rep on the first event to being the only man to finish the second event. So, many were early to doubt him, but he quickly reset his mind and took the win in the Sled Pull event.
Since nine men were not able to finish the entire course in the given time limit, the points were distributed based on the distance crossed. So, Mitchell Hooper managed to pull the 1,000-pound sled for 36 feet and 7 inches, which secured him second place.
Evan “T-Rex” Singleton claimed the third place by pulling the sled for 35 feet and 10 inches. On the other hand, Trey Mitchell had an incident and needed medical attention, but it was not revealed if he was injured. Tom Stoltman’s shoe also slipped from his foot, which in turn hindered his performance.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 41.82 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 36′ 7″
- Evan Singleton — 35′ 10″
- Luke Stoltman — 33′ 10″
- Maxime Boudreault — 31′ 3″
- Tom Stoltman — 23′ 2″
- Oleksii Novikov — 22′ 1″
- Tom Evans — 21′
- Trey Mitchell — 16′ 7″
- Bobby Thompson — Approx. 10′
Related: 2023 Rogue Invitational CrossFit Legends Lineups Revealed
The 2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman was the third edition of the competition, and Mitchell Hooper became the third champion as well. He is now officially listed next to Martins Licis and Oleksii Novikov, who won the competition in 2021 and 2022, respectively. So, judging by the champions alone, it is clear to see how good the Rogue Invitational actually is.
Published: 28 October, 2023 | 11:38 AM EDT
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