The 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASM) took place on March 1-2 in Columbus, Ohio, with the venue not having an empty seat throughout both days. The crowd gathered in the hopes of witnessing one of the greatest Strongman competitions in history, and they were lucky to get just that. However, even among numerous other WSM and ASM champions, Mitchell Hooper managed to win the competition and defend his title.
Hafthor Bjornsson had an insane day one at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, most notably winning the Max Elephant Bar Deadlift. However, his second place finish on the Timber Carry is almost equally impressive, as it was not an event that was great for him in the past.
Mitchell Hooper concluded day one with an event victory, and opened up the second day of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic by winning the Dinnie Stone Carry as well. However, he then moved on to the Apollon Wheels event, where he secured his third consecutive event win and his most important of all. Namely, Hafthor Bjornsson placed fourth in the same event, losing a substantial amount of points against Hooper.
Mitchell Hooper had a task of bringing the win home on the final event, the Stone Medley. Luckily for him, he did not succumb to the pressure and managed to show why he is the best Strongman in the world right now.
Unfortunately for Hafthor Bjornsson, his No Lift on the final event cost him the podium, as Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Tom Stoltman overtook him.
2024 Arnold Strongman Classic Results
- Mitchell Hooper — 52 points
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 40.5 points
- Tom Stoltman — 38.5 points
- Hafthor Björnsson — 38 points
- Bobby Thompson — 32 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 25 points
- Evan Singleton — 24 points
- Martins Licis — 23 points
- Tom Evans — 10 points
- Oskar Ziółkowski — 8 points
- Maxime Boudreault — 0 points (Withdrew)
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Day Two (March 2nd) Event Recap
Event Three — Dinnie Stone Carry
The Dinnie Stones are one of the most iconic implements in the history of Strongman. However, they were just recently introduced into the competitive scene, mainly making appearances at the Arnold Strongman Classic. This year the athletes once again faced the stones, having to carry them for the max distance possible. One of the stones weighed 188 kilograms (414.5 pounds), while the other weighed 145 kilograms (319.5 pounds).
Mitchell Hooper had some experience lifting the Dinnie Stones beforehand, and it proved to be quite useful. He won the event by carrying them for a distance of 12.6 meters. Moreover, once he realized that he reached a length that would secure him the victory, Hooper stood still, holding the stones, and looked towards the stands filled with fans. This served as a statement that he came to defend his title.
Hafthor Bjornsson was not in a great position after seeing what Mitchell Hooper managed to do. However, while he perhaps could not beat the Canadian, he still had to make sure to not lose too many points. Luckily for him, he managed to outperform all other competitors and place second.
Evan Singleton finished just 0.1 meters behind Hafthor, but was still extremely satisfied with his third place finish. This solidified his overall standing, paving his way towards a podium finish.
- Mitchell Hooper — 12.6 meters
- Hafthor Björnsson — 10.7 meters
- Evan Singleton — 10.6 meters
- Tom Stoltman — 9.4 meters
- Bobby Thompson — 3.5 meters
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 9.7 meters
- Martins Licis — 2.8 meters
- Oleksii Novikov — 4 meters
- Tom Evans — 2.3 meters
- Oskar Ziółkowski — 0.3 meters
Event Four — Apollon Wheels
The Apollon Wheels was another iconic event, inspired by a legend of the past. It was basically an Axle Press with a large wheel at each end of the barbell. The total weight that the athletes were required to press was 182 kilograms (400 pounds). In addition, they were supposed to perform as many reps as possible.
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The fantastic Mitchell Hooper managed to outperform everyone in the Apollon Wheels event, being the only man to successfully lock out five repetitions. He was the only one who used the Split Jerk technique as well, and it proved to be extremely beneficial for him. With this performance, Hooper secured a decent lead for himself going into the final event.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Tom Stoltman tied for second place with four repetitions each. The Polish athlete was the first one to achieve it, which motivated Stoltman to match his efforts later on. The amazing performances pushed the duo up the leaderboard, making them the main contenders for the bronze medal with one event left.
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 4 reps
- Hafthor Björnsson — 2 reps
- Martins Licis — 1 rep
- Bobby Thompson — 1 rep
- Evan Singleton — No Lift
- Oleksii Novikov — No Lift
- Tom Evans — No Lift
- Oskar Ziółkowski — No Lift
Event Five — Stone Medley
The final event of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic was the Stone Medley. Going into the competition, Mitchell Hooper and Hafthor Bjornsson described the event as extremely difficult, with the Icelandic Strongman going as far as calling it “brutal”.
In order to perform the event, the athletes had to Overhead Press a 136-kg (300-lb) stone, lift a 166-kg (366-lb) stone over a bar, and finally pick up a huge 186-kg (410-lb) stone from the floor to their shoulder for as many reps as possible.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski managed to win the event and secure a podium finish overall for himself. Many athletes were not even capable of doing one repetition, but Mateusz managed to lock out five of them.
Mitchell Hooper and Tom Stoltman performed two reps each, thus ending up with a tie for second place. With this, Mitchell officially secured his second consecutive title at the Arnold Strongman Classic.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 5 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 2 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 2 reps
- Bobby Thompson — 1 rep
- Oleksii Novikov — 1 rep
- Hafthor Björnsson — No Lift
- Martins Licis — No Lift
- Oskar Ziółkowski — No Lift
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
- Tom Evans — Withdrew
Watch day two of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic here:
Day One (March 1st) Event Recap
Event One — Max Elephant Bar Deadlift
The Max Elephant Bar Deadlift once again made an appearance at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic. However, this time the athletes were only allowed to use a lifting belt and lifting straps. So, needless to say, the new rule made the event much more difficult for everyone.
Hafthor Bjornsson marked his comeback to Strongman with an event win, showing signs of his peak form. He was the only man to deadlift over 1,000 pounds and seemed to be capable of much more. Hafthor was confident in his abilities to break the record, but recognized that it wasn’t the best decision when looking at the bigger picture.
Bobby Thompson made just one attempt, but that was still enough to secure him a second place finish. He warmed up backstage, before walking out and crushing a 436-kilogram (961-pound) deadlift. Mitchell Hooper settled for a third place finish, lifting just 5 kilograms (11 pounds) less than Bobby.
- Hafthor Björnsson — 456-kg
- Bobby Thompson — 436-kg
- Mitchell Hooper — 431-kg
- Evan Singleton — 427-kg
- Tom Stoltman — 415-kg
- Oleksii Novikov — 409-kg
- Tom Evans — 397-kg
- Martins Licis — 391-kg
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 388-kg
- Oskar Ziółkowski — 370-kg
- Maxime Boudreault — No lift
Event Two — Timber Carry
The second event of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic was the Timber Carry, where the athletes picked up a 400-kilogram (881-pound) wooden frame and attempted to carry it up a slanted platform. They had the freedom to drop and pick up the frame as many times as they wished, but were limited by a time cap of 30 seconds.
Mitchell Hooper announced that he would be going for a World Record on the Timber Carry and was nearly successful in his intention. He won the event with a time of 7.10 seconds, missing out on the new record by just 0.10 seconds.
Hafthor Bjornsson surprised everyone with his abilities on the Timber Carry, having placed second, beating even the current World Record holder, Mateusz Kieliszkowski. Bjornsson finished with a time of 8.40 seconds, while Mateusz settled for third place, being 0.29 seconds slower.
- Mitchell Hooper — 7.10 seconds
- Hafthor Björnsson — 8.40 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 8.69 seconds
- Martins Licis — 14.81 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 8.89 meters
- Tom Stoltman — 8.13 meters
- Oleksii Novikov — 7.49 meters
- Oskar Ziółkowski — 4.9 meters
- Bobby Thompson — 4.01 meters
- Tom Evans — 3.99 meters
- Maxime Boudreault — Withdrew
Watch day one of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic here:
Mitchell Hooper has now opened up his 2024 season with a successful title defense at the Arnold Strongman Classic. So, he has set himself up pretty well to do the same at the 2024 World’s Strongest Man, which will take place in just a couple of months. Moreover, Hooper is proving that he was not just a one-season wonder, but instead one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in Strongman.
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Prize Purse Breakdown
The prize purse for the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic comes out to $182,000.
- 1st Place: $80,000
- 2nd Place: $25,000
- 3rd Place: $20,000
- 4th Place: $15,000
- 5th Place: $13,000
- 6th Place: $8,000
- 7th Place: $7,000
- 8th Place: $6,000
- 9th Place: $5,000
- 10th Place: $3,000
Past Arnold Strongman Classic Champions
- 2023: Mitchell Hooper
- 2022: Martins Licis
- 2020: Hafthor Bjornsson
- 2019: Hafthor Bjornsson
- 2018: Hafthor Bjornsson
- 2017: Brian Shaw
- 2016: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2015: Brian Shaw
- 2014: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2013: Vytautas Lalas
- 2012: Michael Jenkins
- 2011: Brian Shaw
- 2010: Derek Poundstone
- 2009: Derek Poundstone
- 2008: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2007: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2006: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2005: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2004: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2003: Zydrunas Savickas
- 2002: Mark Henry