2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK Results — Mitchell Hooper Triumphant

The 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK took place on March 16-17, in Birmingham. The competition consisted of five events, designed carefully in order to push the athletes to their limits and show who the greatest one is. Despite the strong lineup of athletes, the fantastic Mitchell Hooper once again came out victorious.

The first day of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK featured two out of the five events overall. However, Hooper immediately seized his opportunity to get in the lead, and managed to get just 0.5 points less than the max points available. So, he set himself up extremely well for the second day of the competition.

The second day of the competition proved to be even more exciting, courtesy of Lucas Hatton’s incredible performance on the Power Medley and Hafthor Bjornsson’s prowess on the Bag Over Bar and the Deadlift. However, despite their amazing performances, none of them managed to threaten Hooper.

Mitchell Hooper once again displayed incredible consistency, never allowing himself to drop too many points in any of the events. His overall athleticism is unmatched in Strongman currently, as seen at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK.

2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK Results

1. Mitchell Hooper — 34.5 points
2. Hafthor Bjornsson — 32.5 points
3. Lucas Hatton — 24 points
4. Bobby Thompson — 23.5 points
5. Maxime Boudreault — 19 points
6. Oskar Ziółkowski — 16 points
7. Gavin Bilton — 12.5 points
8. Rauno Heinla — 11 point

Read also: 2024 Arnold Strongwoman Classic UK Results — Lucy Underdown Wins

Day Two (March 17th)

Event Three — Power Medley

The power medley event kicked off day two at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK. It consisted of two parts, the first one being a 454-kilogram (1,000-pound) Yoke Carry for 15 meters. Once the athletes finished the carry, they moved on to a dumbbell overhead press. In this second part of the event, the athletes had to overhead press three progressively heavier dumbbells with one arm. The weight of the dumbbells came out to 110-120-130 kilograms (242-264-286 pounds). The fastest person to complete all aspects of the event was crowned the winner.

Only one man finished the Yoke Carry as well as all three dumbbells, and it was none other than the rookie, Lucas Hatton. In a moment of revelation that seemed like the birth of a new Strongman star, Lucas crushed all of the implements, despite the fact that some much more seasoned athletes couldn’t even make it past the Yoke Carry or the first dumbbell.

Mitchell Hooper placed second, having locked out two of the dumbbells, something that no other athlete apart from Lucas Hatton managed to do. Hooper also had a great attempt at the final dumbbell, managing to get it above his head. However, he did not show control over the implement, so the main judge, Zydrunas Savickas, did not validate his rep.

Hafthor Bjornsson has acknowledged that overhead press events are his weakness since he tore his pec. However, he still managed to place third in this event as he was the fastest man to complete the Yoke and lift the first dumbbell.

• Lucas Hatton — 4 in 131.81 s
• Mitchell Hooper — 3 in 39.78 s
• Hafthor Bjornsson — 2 in 69.73 s
• Maxime Boudreault — 2 in 106.18 s
• Bobby Thompson — 1 in 21.24 s
• Rauno Heinla — 1 in 28.71 s
• Oskar Ziółkowski — 1 in 37.58 s
• Gavin Bilton — 0 (1.5 meter Yoke Carry)

Event Four — Bag Over Bar

The fourth and penultimate event of the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK was the bag over bar. Although it’s an event that is often a scene and a lot of Strongman competitions, it has been a bit altered in order to make it more challenging for the athletes.

In this case, the competitors could only use one arm to pick up a bag filled with lead and throw it over a beam which was set to a certain height. The height of the beam increased with each round until the maximum throw height was determined for all athletes. Although the bag seemed a bit small, its weight came out to a massive 25 kilograms (56 pounds).

Hafthor Bjornsson was the biggest favorite for the Bag Over Bar event coming into the competition since he holds the World Record. So, he managed to get his first win of the competition with a throw of 5.79 meters (19 feet) and get a bit closer to Mitchell Hooper on the overall standings.

Three men tied for second place, as they all struggled to throw the bag any higher than 5.49 meters. The men in question are Mitchell Hooper, Maxime Boudreault, and Oskar Ziółkowski. All of them attempted to toss the bag over the 19 feet high beam as well, but, despite some close calls, none managed to match Hafthor’s effort.

• Hafthor Bjornsson — 5.79 meters
• Mitchell Hooper — 5.49 meters
• Maxime Boudreault — 5.49 meters
• Oskar Ziółkowski — 5.49 meters
• Gavin Bilton — 5.18 meters
• Bobby Thompson — 4.88 meters
• Rauno Heinla — No Lift
• Lucas Hatton — No Lift

Event Five — Deadlift

The last event of the competition was the deadlift for maximum repetitions. The weight for this event was set at 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds), while deadlift suits were disallowed. Moreover, the athletes had 60 seconds to lock out as many reps as possible.

Ever since he came back to Strongman, Hafthor Bjornsson reclaimed his status as the world’s greatest deadlifter. So, not even a 350-kilogram (771.6-pound) deadlift posed a challenge for him, as he managed to lock out 10 repetitions in just 60 seconds. If he had more time, there was no doubt that Bjornsson was capable of more.

Rauno Heinla also had an incredible performance, locking out 9 repetitions despite just recently recovering from a knee injury. So, he managed to get close to Hafthor and ultimately placed second.

Mitchell Hooper needed to place third in order to win the competition overall. So, with a set task ahead of him, he picked up a fast pace and managed to lock out 8 reps. With this, Hooper officially won the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK. In turn, Hafthor came out, kneeled before Hooper, and later raised his arm, thus paying his respect to this year’s champion.

• Hafthor Bjornsson — 10 reps
• Rauno Heinla — 9 reps
• Mitchell Hooper — 8 reps
• Bobby Thompson — 7 reps
• Lucas Hatton — 7 reps
• Oskar Ziółkowski — 3 reps
• Gavin Bilton — 2 reps
• Maxime Boudreault — No Lift

Day One (March 16th)

Event One — Austrian Oak

The Austrian Oak was a name for the iconic wooden Log that had to be lifted from the floor and then overhead pressed for as many reps as possible. The athletes had a choice of lifting the 195-kg (430-lb) or 175-kg (385-lb) Log. However, just one rep with the heavier log ranked higher than any number of reps with the lighter one. The time cap was 90 seconds.

Mitchell Hooper had an idea of what he would need to do in order to claim the maximum points, and he performed as great as he planned. However, he was surprised to see the debutant, Lucas Hatton, equal his effort. Both men managed to lock out three repetitions and thus had to share the top spot and the points that came with it. Hooper gave it his all to perform a fourth rep as well, but fell short of locking it out.

The third place went to the only other man who managed to lift the heavy log, and it was Bobby Thompson. The US representative struggled to stabilize the humongous weight on both reps, but his persistence allowed him to come out successful.

• Mitchell Hooper — 3 reps (195-kg / 430-lb)
• Lucas Hatton — 3 reps (195-kg / 430-lb)
• Bobby Thompson — 2 reps (195-kg / 430-lb)
• Maxime Boudreault — 2 reps (175-kg / 385-lb)
• Hafthor Bjornsson — 1 rep (175-kg / 385-lb)
• Gavin Bilton — 1 rep (175-kg / 385-lb)
• Oskar Ziółkowski — No Lift
• Rauno Heinla — No Lift

Event Two — Farmer’s Carry

The Farmer’s Carry event at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic UK tasked the athletes with picking up a 400-pound (181-kilogram) implement in each hand and carrying it for the maximum distance possible. The time cap for the event was 60 seconds.

Mitchell Hooper won the second event of day one as well, having displayed incredible strategy on the Farmer’s Walk. Before starting the event, Hooper made sure to leave pieces of chalk next to the course. So, when he dropped the implements, he made sure to chalk up his hands again, thus allowing himself to grip the handles better. In the end, Hooper managed to carry the implements for 29.2 meters, just enough to beat Hafthor Bjornsson.

Although grip strength was not one of Hafthor Bjornsson’s greatest assets in the past, it now seems to be. His performance on the Farmer’s Carry was nothing short of exceptional, as he managed to carry the implements for 28.6 meters. This was enough to secure him a second-place finish.

Bobby Thompson once again found himself in third-place, with a total distance of 27.1 meters. He was far ahead of everyone that was placed behind him, but he was not close enough to threaten Hooper and Bjornsson for their top two spots. However, the consistency that Thompson displayed is truly remarkable.

• Mitchell Hooper — 29.2 meters
• Hafthor Bjornsson — 28.6 meters
• Bobby Thompson — 27.1 meters
• Oskar Ziółkowski — 23.6 meters
• Lucas Hatton — 17.9 meters
• Maxime Boudreault — 8.5 meters
• Gavin Bilton — 8.4 meters
• Rauno Heinla — 1.1 meters

Although it seemed almost impossible that Mitchell Hooper could have a better season than he did in 2023, his start to 2024 definitely looks extremely promising. He has already won the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic in Ohio, as well as the UK edition. To do so, he beat the likes of Hafthor Bjornsson, and many other former WSM champions. So, it will be exciting to see what the rest of the season has in store for Hooper.

Related:

• 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic Results — Mitchell Hooper Defends His Title
• 2024 Arnold Strongwoman Classic Results — Angelica Jardine Victorious

---