The first day of the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic took place in Columbus, Ohio, on February 28th. The opening day brought a total of three events, which were designed to test ten of the strongest guys in the world. The roster featured winners of multiple elite competitions, which made for some interesting battles. However, the overall leader after day one was Mitchell Hooper.
The first event was definitely a one-man show, as Hafthor Bjornsson lifted over 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) to take the event win in the Elephant Bar Deadlift. Moreover, he tried to deadlift 1,104.5 pounds (501 kilograms) a few minutes later but was unfortunately unsuccessful.
Moving on to the second event, the rookie, Lucas Hatton, was the one who took the maximum points. The USA representative put up an incredible display on the Log Lift, outshining everyone else. Lastly, the Frame Carry event win went to Mitchell Hooper, who finished the entire event in 10 seconds.
2025 Arnold Strongman Classic Day One Results
- Mitchell Hooper — 27 points
- Lucas Hatton — 23 points
- Hafthór Björnsson — 22 points
- Austin Andrade — 19 points
- Evan Singleton — 18 points
- Trey Mitchell — 17 points
- Bobby Thompson —13 points
- Tom Stoltman — 11 points
- Nick Guardione — 8 points
- Maxime Boudreault — 6 points
Related: Hafthor Bjornsson Narrowly Avoids Injury After Dropping Over 200-kg (440.9-lb) on His Back
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Event Recap
Event One — Elephant Bar Deadlift
The first event of the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic was also arguably the most highly anticipated one as well. Namely, the athletes took turns establishing a one-rep max on the Elephant Bar Deadlift, with the goal of lifting heavier than their rivals. Moreover, a challenge to lift 501 kilograms (1,104.5 pounds) was also put in place, along with a $101,000 prize for anyone who achieved it.
Hafthor Bjornsson won the event on his second attempt, which came out to 1,026 pounds (465.3 kilograms). So, he left his final attempt for the 501-kilogram (1,104.5-pound) deadlift. However, he first requested a 10-15 minute break, which was granted to him because of how monumental the attempt was. Unfortunately, Hafthor was unable to lift half a ton and break the World Record.
Mitchell Hooper was the second-place finisher in the opening event of the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic. He only performed two attempts, with the heaviest one coming out to 991 pounds (449.5 kilograms). Hooper did not want to go for the third attempt since the only person ahead of him was Hafthor and his deadlift was significantly heavier.
Bobby Thompson displayed incredible static strength in the deadlift event, locking out 986 kilograms (447.3 pounds). That was clearly his upper limit, as Bobby had to give it his all to lock it out. He got the bar up to his knees and had to hitch the bar up to lock it out. Trey Mitchell tried to beat Bobby but was unable to get the bar off the floor on his third attempt.
- Hafthor Björnsson — 1026-lb (465.3-kg)
- Mitchell Hooper — 991-lb (449.5-kg)
- Bobby Thompson — 986-lb (447.3-kg)
- Trey Mitchell — 981-lb (445.1-kg)
- Evan Singleton — 966-lb (438.2-kg)
- Austin Andrade — 961-lb (435.9-kg)
- Lucas Hatton — 926-lb (420.1-kg)
- Tom Stoltman — 861-lb (390.5-kg)
- Nick Guardione — 781-lb (354.3-kg)
- Maxime Boudreault — No Lift
Event Two — Overhead Gauntlet
The focus shifted to the upper body strength on the second event of the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic. Consequently, in this event, the athletes had to lift multiple implements above their heads. Those included a 113-kg (249.1-lb) Dumbbell and a 125-kg (275.5-lb) Stone, followed by a 175-kg (385.8-lb) Log or a 195-kg (429.9-lb) Log for reps. The time limit to complete the event was set to two minutes.
It is important to note that lifting the Dumbbell, Stone, and lighter Log was awarded with 1 point each. On the other hand, those who chose to lift the heavier log got 10 points per rep.
The debutant, Lucas Hatton managed to claim his first event win at the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic. Coming into the competition, he pointed out that this was one of the best events for him. That turned out to be the case, as he lifted the dumbbell, stone, and then locked out three reps with the heavier Log, which came out to 32 points.
Trey Mitchell also ended up with 32 points, having lifted the same implements and the same number of reps as Lucas. However, Trey was six seconds slower than the event winner, meaning that he had to settle for second. However, following up a great deadlift performance with a second-place finish in the Overhead Gauntlet was more than impressive.
Mitchell Hooper battled with Austin Andrade for second place, as both men ended up with one rep on the heavier Log. So, both of them had a total of 12 points. The tiebreaker went in Hooper’s favor, as he finished his rep 13 seconds ahead of Andrade. Hooper had a struggle to pick up the Log from the floor, nearly collapsing on his back while doing so. Luckily, he managed to stabilize himself and overhead press the Log.
- Lucas Hatton — 32 points (1:45.02)
- Trey Mitchell — 32 points (1:51.15)
- Mitchell Hooper — 12 points (1:07.94)
- Austin Andrade — 12 points (1:20.64)
- Hafthor Björnsson — 4 points
- Tom Stoltman — 3 points
- Evan Singleton — 2 points
- Bobby Thompson — 1 point (0:12.01)
- Nick Guardione — 1 point (0:28.34)
- Maxime Boudreault — 1 point (0:45.65)
Event Three – Timber Carry
The final event of the first day was the Timber Carry. It is a well-known event, having been featured in multiple editions of the competition over the years. So, the athletes had to pick up a 400-kilogram (881.9-pound) wooden frame and carry it for a distance of 11 meters on a platform that was also slightly inclined. The goal was to finish the event in the shortest time possible.
Mitchell Hooper took the win in the final event of the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic. He was the last one to perform the event, meaning that he knew what the time to beat was. So, he picked up a fast pace from the start but dropped the frame midway. Luckily, Hooper quickly picked it back up and crossed the finish line in 10.77 seconds.
Lucas Hatton continued his impressive performance, following up an event win with a second-place finish in the Frame Carry. He was just 1.6 seconds slower than Hooper, showing that he can definitely keep up with one of the quickest Strongmen in the world.
Evan Singleton was the one who wrapped up the top three on the Frame Carry, finishing in a time of 17.91 seconds. Evan dropped the Frame during the carry, and it took him some time to pick it up and get the balance right. However, his speedy legs ended up carrying him over the finish line and securing him a significant amount of points.
- Mitchell Hooper — 0:10.77 seconds
- Lucas Hatton — 0:12.37 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 0:17.91 seconds
- Austin Andrade — 0:18.94 seconds
- Hafthor Björnsson — 0:22.88 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 38′ 2″
- Nick Guardione — 33′ 10″
- Tom Stoltman — 12′ 6″
- Bobby Thompson — 8′ 0″
- Trey Mitchell — 0′ 1″
Watch day one livestream here:
Related: Mateusz Kieliszkowski Withdraws From 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic
Remaining Events
- 11:25 AM EST — Men’s Event 4: The Big Jerk
- 2:10 PM EST — Men’s Event 5: Timber Trial
- 4:25 PM EST — Men’s Event 6: Atlas Stone to Shoulder
The first day of the Arnold Strongman Classic has always been very important, as those hoping to claim the title cannot afford to drop many points. So, this year is no different, especially with the increase of the number of events on day one. Moreover, the athletes are coming into day one fully rested and prepared, while the second day also includes the element of endurance.
Past Arnold Strongman Classic Champions
- 2024: Mitchell Hooper
- 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
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