The 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman took place on February 20-21 in Joensuu, Finland. It marked the first stage of the 2026 SCL, which spans the entire season and consists of multiple competitions all across the world. The ‘Iceman’ featured a total of ten athletes, with Jaco Schoonwinkel coming out victorious after eight events.
Jaco Schoonwinkel immediately proved that he came to battle for the title, having won two events on day one of the competition. However, he still ended up trailing Brian Kichton by one point going into day two. Kichton extended his lead at the start of the second day, but Schoonwinkel managed to overtake him with two more event wins along with one second-place finish to wrap up the competition.
2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman Results
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 69.5 points
- Brian Kichton — 63.5 points
- Kevin Hazeleger — 56.5 points
- William Relf — 49 points
- Jesper Hansson — 47 points
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 37.5 points
- Tuomas Lindroos — 34 points
- Mika Törrö — 28.5 points
- Thomas Glatzl — 15 points
- Antti Mourujärvi — 13.5 points
Related: 2026 Britain’s Strongest Man Results — Tom Stoltman Wins
Day One
Event One — Frame Carry for Time
The first event of the 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman was the Frame Carry. It consisted of 320-kilogram (705.5-pound) implements, which had to be carried across the field spanning a total distance of 30.2 meters. It was a true test of grip strength and speed, as the main goal was to finish in the quickest time possible.
Jaco Schoonwinkel got off to a great start, finishing the event in a time of 12.32 seconds. He sprinted across the field and beat everyone with relative ease. Jesper Hansson was the closest to Jaco, finishing nearly 1.5 seconds later. Brian Kichton secured third place with a time of exactly 14 seconds.
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 12.32 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 13.46 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 14.00 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 14.19 seconds
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 16.75 seconds
- William Relf — 17.09 seconds
- Mika Törrö — 20.34 seconds
- Thomas Glatzl — 30.25 seconds
- Antti Mourujärvi — 31.22 seconds
- Tuomas Lindroos — 54.59 seconds
Event Two — Front Hold
The second event of the 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman was the Front Hold. In turn, the athletes had to hold a 30-kilogram (66.1-pound) implement straight in front of them for as long as possible. Although it seems like a simple challenge on the surface level, the Front Hold requires activation of multiple muscle groups, but also high levels of endurance and determination.
Brian Kichton set the winning time of 45.44 seconds and got involved in the title race early on. However, Jaco Schoonwinkel did not drop too many points, placing second in the Front Hold event with a score of 40.78 seconds. Kevin Hazeleger beat William Relf by just 0.13 seconds to place third.
- Brian Kichton — 45.44 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 40.78 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 38.22 seconds
- William Relf — 38.09 seconds
- Tuomas Lindroos — 37.91 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 28.84 seconds
- Antti Mourujärvi — 25.50 seconds
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 23.57 seconds
- Mika Törrö — 18.91 seconds
- Thomas Glatzl — 16.41 seconds
Event Three — Super Yoke Medley
The third event, Super Yoke Medley, consisted of two parts. The first was a 400-kilogram (881.8-pound) Super Yoke carry for 15 meters. Once that was done, the athletes moved on to the second task, pushing a 350-kilogram (771.6-pound) Wheelbarrow for another 15 meters. It was a timed event, meaning that the aim was to set the quickest time possible.
Jaco Schoonwinkel stood atop the leaderboards once again, claiming his second win very early on and increasing his lead over the others. He needed just 20.06 seconds to complete both parts of the workout, while the second-place finisher, Kevin Hazeleger, did so in 21.38 seconds.
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 20.06 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 21.38 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 23.56 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 26.00 seconds
- William Relf — 29.00 seconds
- Tuomas Lindroos — 34.28 seconds
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 39.19 seconds
- Mika Törrö — 41.75 seconds
- Thomas Glatzl — 15 meters
- Antti Mourujärvi — 3.85 meters
Event Four — Bag Toss Medley
The final event of day one at the 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman was the Bag Toss Medley. It was quite a dynamic challenge, as it revolved around power, agility, and technique. The athletes had to throw five bags over a beam that was set to a height of 4.3 meters. The weight of the bags ranged from 20 kilograms (44.1 pounds) to 30 kilograms (66.1 pounds).
Brian Kichton was comfortably the quickest man to finish the event, doing so in a time of 16.55 seconds. Mika Törrö was the only one who was relatively close to Brian, trailing the winner by nearly 2.5 seconds. Palmi Gudfinnsson grabbed third with a time of 21.85 seconds.
- Brian Kichton — 5 in 16.55 seconds
- Mika Törrö — 5 in 18.95 seconds
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 5 in 21.85 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 5 in 35.07 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 5 in 35.41 seconds
- William Relf — 4 in 12.11 seconds
- Thomas Glatzl — 4 in 26.13 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 4 in 53.92 seconds
- Tuomas Lindroos — 3 in 12.69 seconds
- Antti Mourujärvi — No Lift
Day Two
Event Five — Forrester Machine Pull
The second day of the competition started off with a 20,000-kilogram (44,092.5-pound) Forrester Machine Pull. Consequently, the athletes were strapped to the vehicle and had to pull it for a distance of 15 meters.
Interestingly, no one was able to complete the event, so it came down to the distance covered within the 75-second time limit. Jesper Hansson moved the machine 3.6 meters, which was enough to secure him the event win. Brian Kichton came just short of the 3-meter mark, with his final results being 2.95 meters. This was enough to give him a second place in the event, just ahead of Kevin Hazeleger, who finished with a score of 2.9 meters.
- Jesper Hansson — 3.6 meters
- Brian Kichton — 2.95 meters
- Kevin Hazeleger — 2.9 meters
- Tuomas Lindroos — 2.85 meters
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 2.8 meters
- Antti Mourujärvi — 2.8 meters
- Mika Törrö — 2.6 meters
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 2.6 meters
- Thomas Glatzl — 2.55 meters
- William Relf — 2.4 meters
Event Six — Conan’s Wheel
The sixth event of the 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman was the Conan’s Wheel. It is recognized as one of the most difficult events in Strongman, as it pushes the athletes to the point of complete failure. The athletes first have to pick up a beam with a technique similar to a ‘Zercher Hold’, and follow it up with carrying the implement for the longest distance possible. The beam is fixed to one point in the middle.
Five athletes were unable to get a score on the board, showing just how difficult the event is. On the other hand, Jaco Schoonwinkel secured an incredible result, reaching 43.55 meters and adding another event win to his tally.
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 43.55 meters
- William Relf — 37.5 meters
- Tuomas Lindroos — 17.17 meters
- Kevin Hazeleger — 11.41 meters
- Brian Kichton — 10.91 meters
- Jesper Hansson — No Lift
- Antti Mourujärvi — No Lift
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — No Lift
- Mika Törrö — No Lift
- Thomas Glatzl — No Lift
Event Seven — Powerlifting Deadlift for Reps
The penultimate event of the 2026 Strongman Champions League was the deadlift. It was loaded up to 340 kilograms (749.6 pounds) and prompted the athletes to perform as many repetitions as possible. The use of deadlift suits was prohibited, but the athletes were allowed to use lifting straps.
Similarly to the previous event, four athletes were unable to get a successful lift. Moreover, Jaco came out on top once again, as his seven repetitions were enough to beat Brian Kichton and Kevin Hazeleger, who tied for second place with six reps each.
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 7 reps
- Kevin Hazeleger — 6 reps
- Brian Kichton — 6 reps
- Jesper Hansson — 5 reps
- William Relf — 2 reps
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 1 reps
- Tuomas Lindroos — No Lift
- Mika Törrö — No Lift
- Antti Mourujärvi — No Lift
- Thomas Glatzl — No Lift
Event Eight — Loading Race
The 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman concluded with the Loading Race event. It consisted of two 130-kilogram (286.6-pound) bags and two 120-kilogram (264.6-pound) boxes, all of which had to be lifted, carried, and loaded onto a platform.
William Relf excelled in the final challenge of the weekend, completing his impressive performance with a win in the Loading Race. Furthermore, he was the only one who finished the event in under 20 seconds. Jaco Schoonwinkel achieved another top-three event finish, which officially secured him the overall title as well.
- William Relf — 19.03 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 21.03 seconds
- Palmi Gudfinnsson — 21.84 seconds
- Mika Törrö — 22.59 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 22.75 seconds
- Tuomas Lindroos — 22.82 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 23.06 seconds
- Thomas Glatzl — 23.94 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 25.53 seconds
- Antti Mourujärvi — 32.72 seconds
Related: 2026 World’s Strongest Man Events Revealed
Jaco Schoonwinkel has taken part in ten major Strongman competitions so far and has won two of them. That includes three appearances at the World’s Strongest Man competition, with his best result so far being a 10th-place finish in 2023. However, Jaco’s win at the 2026 Strongman Champions League Iceman shows that he could have a very successful season ahead of him.
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