After a long wait and much anticipation, the morning of 2023 World’s Strongest Man finally arrived in sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Taking place from April 19-23, the most prestigious Strongman competition features 30 athletes and three events on each of the four days. The first day of qualifying saw the athletes perform a Loading Race, Deadlift Machine, and Log Ladder. A good start was crucial for every athlete. Therefore, battles were fought for each available point.
Day one of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man event saw the withdrawal of Iron Biby, but also some outstanding performances. The star of the show, much like last year, was Mitchell Hooper. However, this time he performed even better, winning all three events in his group. Some other less experienced athletes proved themselves on day one, with the standout ones being Mathew Ragg and Jaco Schoonwinkel.
As for the big names, Brian Shaw, Tom Stoltman, and Oleksii Novikov don’t seem to be in any danger of not making the finals. In addition, they still remain the biggest favorites for their title, due to previous experiences and current physical shape.
2023 WSM Results and Point Standings [Day One]
| Group 1 | ||
| Rank | Name | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Stoltman — United Kingdom | 15.5 |
| 2 | Bobby Thompson — USA | 14 |
| 3 | Pavlo Kordiyaka — Ukraine | 13 |
| 4 | Konstantine Janashia — Georgia | 9.5 |
| 5 | Eddie Williams — Australia | 6 |
| 6 | Pa O’Dwyer — Ireland | 5 |
| Group 2 | ||
| Rank | Name | Total Points |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov — Ukraine | 16 |
| 2 | Thomas Evans — USA | 14 |
| 3 | Luke Stoltman — United Kingdom | 12 |
| 4 | Gavin Bilton — United Kingdom | 9 |
| 5 | Kristján Jón Haraldsson — Iceland | 8.5 |
| 6 | Fadi El Masri — Lebanon | 3.5 |
| Group 3 | ||
| Rank | Name | Total Points |
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper — Canada | 18 |
| 2 | Mathew Ragg — New Zealand | 13.5 |
| 3 | Aivars Smaukstelis — Latvia | 10.5 |
| 4 | Graham Hicks — United Kingdom | 9.5 |
| 5 | Spenser Remick — USA | 6.5 |
| 6 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Poland | 5 |
| Group 4 | ||
| Rank | Name | Total Points |
| 1 | Brian Shaw — USA | 15.5 |
| 2 | Rauno Heinla — Estonia | 14.5 |
| 3 | Jaco Schoonwinkel — South Africa | 14 |
| 4 | Adam Bishop — United Kingdom | 8 |
| 5 | Kevin Faires — USA | 5.5 |
| 6 | Gabriel Rhéaume — Canada | 5.5 |
| Group 5 | ||
| Rank | Name | Total Points |
| 1 | Trey Mitchell — USA | 16 |
| 2 | Evan Singleton — USA | 15.5 |
| 3 | Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Iceland | 11.5 |
| 4 | Mark Felix — United Kingdom | 7.5 |
| 5 | Paul Smith — United Kingdom | 7 |
| 6 | Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — France | 6.5 |
Related: 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results — Day Two Qualifiers
Day One Event Recap
Loading Race
For the first event of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition, the athletes were tasked with picking up, carrying, and loading five awkwardly shaped implements. Time was measured in this event, which meant that the goal was to complete the task as quickly as possible.
Group One
The newly crowned 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man, Pavlo Kordiyaka, was the quickest in group one, finishing all implements in just 41.38 seconds. Tom Stoltman finished in second just two seconds behind Pavlo. Finally, Bobby Thompson claimed a valuable third place in what seems to be the worst event for him on day one.
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- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 in 41.38 s
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 43.84 s
- Bobby Thompson — 5 in 56.56 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 5 in 61.10 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 in 65.89 s
- Eddie Williams — 5 in 66.44 s
Group Two
The 2020 World’s Strongest Man champion, Oleksii Novikov, came back ready to claim his second title, winning event one with a time of 52.15 seconds. Kristján Jón Haraldsson was the second man to cross the line, finishing almost exactly two seconds after Oleksii. Another surprising placing came from Thomas Evans, who outperformed some big names with a time of 57.40 seconds.
However, group two saw the withdrawal of Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou before the competition even started. He was replaced by Kristján Jón Haraldsson, who proved to be the right choice immediately.
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 in 52.15 s
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 5 in 54.18 s
- Thomas Evans — 5 in 57.40 s
- Luke Stoltman — 5 in 62.78 s
- Gavin Bilton — 5 in 63.01 s
- Fadi El Masri — 4 in 49.57 s
Group Three
While many athletes struggled with the awkward shape of the implements, Mitchell Hooper came in prepared and crushed it. He did not slow down for even a second, resulting in a time of 42.05 seconds. Although no one was even close to Hooper, Aivars finished in second with a time of 52.71 seconds, while Mathew Ragg from New Zealand rounded up the top three with 58.72 seconds.
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 42.05 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 in 52.71 s
- Mathew Ragg — 5 in 58.72 s
- Spenser Remick — 5 in 67.15 s
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 5 in 67.53 s
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 53.40 s
Group Four
A surprising result was achieved by Jaco Schoonwinkel in group four on the first day, as he won quite easily against a number of seasoned professionals. His time came out to 47.10 seconds, four seconds faster than Rauno Heinla and six seconds faster than the 4x WSM Brian Shaw.
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 5 in 47.10 s
- Rauno Heinla — 5 in 51.41 s
- Brian Shaw — 5 in 53.70 s
- Adam Bishop — 4 in 43.12 s
- Gabriel Rheaume — 4 in 51.03 s
- Kevin Faires — 3 in 65.30 s
Related: Brian Shaw Reveals How He Almost Lost His Leg In Preparation For 2023 World’s Strongest Man
Group Five
Evan “T-Rex” Singleton is the happiest man in group five after the first event, having put up one of the greatest starts to a competition yet. Evan was motivated to perform well in order to qualify for the finals of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man contest, and managed to load all five implements in 46.90 seconds. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted was the only other man to break the one minute barrier in this group, finishing in 56.41 seconds. Trey Mitchell finished in third as the others did not manage to load all five implements.
- Evan Singleton — 5 in 46.90 s
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 5 in 56.41 s
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 66.64 s
- Paul Smith — 4 in 44.79 s
- Mark Felix — 4 in 54.32 s
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 3 in 40.63 s
Deadlift Machine
The second event of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man was the Deadlift Machine. It featured seven progressively heavier weights, ranging from 290 to 385 kilograms (639 to 848.8 pounds). Once they get to the weight, the athletes performed as many reps as possible.
Group One
It is no secret that Bobby Thompson is one of the athletes who are loved by fans for his perseverance and determination. In addition, these personality traits were the reason for his success in this event, as he locked out all seven of the deadlift reps securing the maximum points. Bobby pushed through until the last second and it definitely paid off. Two behemoths, Konstantine Janashia and Tom Stoltman, both achieved six reps and ended up splitting the points.
- Bobby Thompson — 7 reps
- Konstantine Janashia — 6 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 6 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 reps
- Eddie Williams — 5 reps
Group Two
Oleksii Novikov continued his winning ways in group two of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man. Despite the fact that the performances in group two were not as great as the ones in group one, Oleksii Novikov stood out from the crowd. As the only man with six completed repetitions, Oleksii walked away with max points and further improved his overall lead.
Gavin Bilton and Thomas Evans both completed five reps, tying for second place and sharing the points.
- Oleksii Novikov — 6 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 5 reps
- Thomas Evans — 5 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 5 reps
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 4 reps
- Fadi El Masri — 4 reps
Group Three
Group three proved to be full of elite deadlifters, as multiple athletes completed all seven weight increments. Graham Hicks was the first to go out on the platform and, having to give his all, finished with all repetitions completed. Shortly after him, Mathew Ragg, an unexpected star of the group, matched Graham’s efforts. In an attempt to take over the lead, Ragg attempted to complete another rep with the heaviest deadlift, but he was unable to do so.
However, one man managed to complete eight repetitions and stand alone at the top. That was Mitchell Hooper, who looked like he had more in the tank, but stopped since eight reps were enough for max points.
- Mitchell Hooper — 8 reps
- Graham Hicks — 7 reps
- Mathew Ragg — 7 reps
- Spenser Remick — 5 reps
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 reps
Group Four
In the Deadlift Machine event, each group produced increasingly excellent performances, with group four’s accomplishment reaching its peak. It was expected that Rauno Heinla would win the event, due to his infamous abilities, but he had to settle for a tie with Brian Shaw, as both men performed eight reps.
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Due to Brian Shaw’s recent leg infection and previous appearance on the deadlift, no one expected him to come in the best shape of his life. However, Brian put on a pair of sunglasses and completed each of the eight reps in a firm, explosive manner. His performance on the deadlift blew minds in the crowd, as many started to believe that a fifth title is very realistic.
Coming in third was Adam Bishop, who looked very secure in the first six reps. However, his seventh rep was extremely shaky and required a lot of effort. He still attempted the eight rep, but couldn’t make it past the knees.
- Rauno Heinla — 8 reps
- Brian Shaw — 8 reps
- Adam Bishop — 7 reps
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 6 reps
- Kevin Faires — 5 reps
- Gabriel Rheaume — 5 reps
Group Five
Trey Mitchell performed his deadlifts faster than anyone else, appearing to have no difficulty performing them. He then reached a point of resistance, but still managed to lock out another 2 reps for a final score of 8. This was enough for victory, as his closest rivals had performed two reps less.
Evan Singleton and Mark Felix shared second place with six reps each. The incredible 57-year-old Mark decided to make his final WSM appearance one to remember, giving his all and grinding out the sixth rep. Evan Singleton achieved the same amount of reps, managing to clinch on to his lead overall by just 0.5 points.
- Trey Mitchell — 8 reps
- Evan Singleton — 6 reps
- Mark Felix — 6 reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 5 reps
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 5 reps
- Paul Smith — 4 reps
Log Ladder
Concluding day one of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, the Log Ladder featured a series of progressively heavier Logs, with the goal being to complete them in the shortest time possible. The time limit for this event was 75 seconds as well.
Group One
Tom Stoltman was an absolute beast on the final event of the day, almost taking no rest between either of the five logs. This event win came as a surprise, since Pavlo Kordiyaka was the favorite. However, Pavlo only finished in second, despite putting in an incredible performance.
In spite of everyone’s expectations, Bobby Thompson only completed four logs. However, it appeared he had some injury issues which may have contributed to the problem. Nevertheless, he finished third in group one.
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 41.50 s
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 in 46.00 s
- Bobby Thompson — 4 in 25.83 s
- Eddie Williams — 4 in 55.89 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 4 in 68.35 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 3 in 25.80 s
Group Two
The rookie of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition definitely goes to Thomas Evans. As surprising as it is, Thomas won the Log Ladder event with a time of 38.96 seconds for all five implements. In addition, Evans even had a faster time then the winner of the first group.
Coming in second was Luke Stoltman who is notorious for his overhead strength. Luke breezed through all five implements with ease. Rounding up the top three was Oleksii Novikov, who for the first time today did not manage to win an event.
- Thomas Evans — 5 in 38.96 s
- Luke Stoltman — 5 in 52.76 s
- Oleksii Novikov — 4 in 32.50 s
- Gavin Bilton — 4 in 56.84 s
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 2 in 16.28 s
- Fadi El Masri — 2 in 17.43 s
Group Three
Mitchell Hooper is causing chaos in the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, despite it being just his second appearance at the biggest stage. He was so eager to finish as fast as possible that he jumped over the logs he lifted. While it helped him move faster, Hooper almost tripped on the first log. It would have made the entire event a disaster for him. However, he kept his cool and continued lifting, finishing all five logs in just 39.51 seconds.
Mathew Rag was performing the event at the same time as Hooper, which made his appearance look slightly less impressive than it actually is. Despite finishing 16 seconds behind Hooper, Ragg performed better than the others, securing a second place finish. Graham Hick finished in third by outperforming Aivars Smaukstelis in a direct duel.
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 39.51 s
- Mathew Ragg — 5 in 55.84 s
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 28.31 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 4 in 30.44 s
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 in 33.24 s
- Spenser Remick — 4 in 38.79 s
Group Four
Brian Shaw got into his element for the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition and there was no way to disturb him. His full focus was on the event and he performed just good enough to secure max points. After completing the four Logs, Brian attempted the fifth one as well, but did not want to expend too much energy, so he ended up dropping it.
Jaco Schoonwinkel finished in second, being the only other man to complete four logs. Jaco also attempted to lift the fifth and heaviest log, however it was not as easy as he had hoped. Rauno Heinla started off as quick as possible, earning himself a third place in this event due to a better time than the rest.
- Brian Shaw — 4 in 33.99 s
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 4 in 34.77 s
- Rauno Heinla — 3 in 21.60 s
- Kevin Faires — 3 in 28.93 s
- Gabriel Rheaume — 3 in 32.96 s
- Adam Bishop — 3 in 33.25 s
Group Five
The results of group five for the Log Ladder event came out as expected, with Trey Mitchell finishing all five in just 39.44 seconds. He was the only man to lift every Log, thus not struggling a lot to win the event.
The battle for second place was a bit more tight though. Evan Singleton and Eythor Melsted both finished four Log and around the same time. However, due to slight technique adjustments, Evan was able to complete his run in four seconds less than Melsted.
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 39.44 s
- Evan Singleton — 4 in 35.48 s
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 4 in 39.93 s
- Paul Smith — 4 in 45.84 s
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 3 in 22.34 s
- Mark Felix — 1 in 7.58 s
Related: Eddie Hall Reveals His Top 3 Predictions For The 2023 World’s Strongest Man
2023 World’s Strongest Man Remaining Schedule
Day Two, April 20th — Qualifying
- Event Four — Conan’s Wheel – 8 a.m. EST
- Event Five — Kettlebell Toss – 1:20 p.m. EST
- Special Event — Stone Off – 6:13 p.m. EST
Day Three, April 22nd — Finals
- Event One — Fingal’s Fingers – 8 a.m. EST
- Event Two — Knaack Deadlift – 10:41 a.m. EST
- Event Three — Reign Shield Carry – 2:18 p.m. EST
Day Four, April 23rd — Finals
- Event Four — Max Dumbbell – 8 a.m. EST
- Event Five — Vehicle Pull – 10:10 a.m. EST
- Event Six — Atlas Stones – 1:54 p.m. EST
Previous World’s Strongest Man Winners
| Year | Winner | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Bruce Wilhelm | Hollywood, California |
| 1978 | Bruce Wilhelm | Hollywood, California |
| 1979 | Don Reinhoudt | Hollywood, California |
| 1980 | Bill Kazmaier | Vernon, New Jersey |
| 1981 | Bill Kazmaier | Magic Mountain, California |
| 1982 | Bill Kazmaier | Magic Mountain, California |
| 1983 | Geoff Capes | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| 1984 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | Mora, Sweden |
| 1985 | Geoff Capes | Cascais, Portugal |
| 1986 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | Nice, France |
| 1988 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | Budapest, Hungary |
| 1989 | Jamie Reeves | San Sebastián, Spain |
| 1990 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | Joensuu, Finland |
| 1991 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | Tenerife, Spain |
| 1992 | Ted van der Parre | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| 1993 | Gary Taylor | Orange, France |
| 1994 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | Sun City, South Africa |
| 1995 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | Nassau, Bahamas |
| 1996 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | Port Louis, Mauritius |
| 1997 | Jouko Ahola | Primm, Nevada |
| 1998 | Magnus Samuelsson | Tangier, Morocco |
| 1999 | Jouko Ahola | Valletta, Malta |
| 2000 | Janne Virtanen | Sun City, South Africa |
| 2001 | Svend Karlsen | Victoria Falls, Zambia |
| 2002 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 2003 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Victoria Falls, Zambia |
| 2004 | Vasyl Virastyuk | Nassau, Bahamas |
| 2005 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Chengdu, China |
| 2006 | Phil Pfister | Sanya, China |
| 2007 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Anaheim, California |
| 2008 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Charleston, West Virginia |
| 2009 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Valletta, Malta |
| 2010 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Sun City, South Africa |
| 2011 | Brian Shaw | Wingate, North Carolina |
| 2012 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Los Angeles, California |
| 2013 | Brian Shaw | Sanya, China |
| 2014 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Los Angeles, California |
| 2015 | Brian Shaw | Putrajaya, Malaysia |
| 2016 | Brian Shaw | Kasane, Botswana |
| 2017 | Eddie Hall | Gaborone, Botswana |
| 2018 | Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson | Manila, Philippines |
| 2019 | Martins Licis | Bradenton, Florida |
| 2020 | Oleksii Novikov | Bradenton, Florida |
| 2021 | Tom Stoltman | Sacramento, California |
| 2022 | Tom Stoltman | Sacramento, California |
Related: Every Winner of The World’s Strongest Man Competition Since 1977
How To Watch
A live stream of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition is not available unless you are in Myrtle Beach, SC. We will, however, provide coverage of every aspect of the competition as it unfolds.
FAQs
How Does The Scoring System Work?
The resulting system is based on the number of competitors. Seeing that there are six athletes in each group, the winner of the event gets six points, with every following position receiving one point less.
Who Won Last Year’s World’s Strongest Man Title?
Tom Stoltman from Scotland is the reigning 2x World’s Strongest Man champion. He won two consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022.
Full WSM 2023 Coverage
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results — Day Two Finals
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results — Finals Day One
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Finalist Revealed
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results — Day One Qualifiers
- 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results — Day Two Qualifiers
- Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou Withdraws From 2023 World’s Strongest Man; Kristján Jón Haraldsson Steps In
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