Day One of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic took place on March 6th in Columbus, Ohio. It featured three events and a total of nine athletes, all of which looked to secure as many points as possible. Mitchell Hooper and Austin Andrade ended up with 23.5 points each and tied for first place at the end of day one.
The first day of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic kicked off with the elephant bar deadlift, where the defending champion, Mitchell Hooper, secured the win. It also saw some surprising results, as Trey Mitchell and Martins Licis placed lower than expected.
Moving on to the second event, the athletes overhead pressed some massive dumbbells. Lucas Hatton and Mitchell Hooper ended up tying for first place, as both of them locked out one repetition with the 300-pound (136-kilogram) implement.
The final event on day one was arguably the most unpredictable, as the athletes had to lift a massive stone to the shoulder. Austin Andrade and Martins Licis achieved three repetitions each, but Andrade took the win based on a tiebreaker. One of the contenders for the title and the podium, Lucas Hatton, failed to get a rep on the board, which definitely changed the situation on the leaderboard.
2026 Arnold Strongman Classic Results — Day One [Live Updates]
- Austin Andrade — 23.5 points
- Mitchell Hooper — 23.5 points
- Trey Mitchell — 16.5 points
- Lucas Hatton — 14.5 points
- Martins Licis — 14 points
- Bryce Johnson — 14 points
- Thomas Evans — 12.5 points
- Nick Guardione — 8.5 points
- Andrew Burton — 2 points
Event Recap
Event One — Elephant Bar Deadlift
The Elephant Bar Deadlift was the first event of the Arnold Strongman Classic once again. It has been one of the most exciting events in previous editions of the competition and the fact that it was the opening challenge means that the athletes were well rested and capable of pulling tremendous loads off the floor. Each athlete got a total of three attempts to establish a one-rep max.
As many expected, the defending champion and the only athlete in the roster that is not a US representative, Mitchell Hooper, managed to win the elephant bar deadlift. He approached the event strategically, opening heavy and monitoring what other athletes were capable of doing. So, having deadlifted 981 pounds (445 kilograms) on his second attempt, Mitchell secured the event win and preserved a lot of energy by not having to go out for his final lift.
Austin Andrade is known for being a massive deadlifter, which made him one of the favorites for the opening event of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic. He ended up placing second with a 976-pound (442.7-kilogram) deadlift that he achieved on his second attempt. Austin tried to pull over 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) on his final attempt and even got the barbell up to his knees but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Bryce Johnson finished in third place, which might have surprised some. He pulled 951 pounds (431.4 kilograms) and beat everyone except for Hooper and Andrade. On the other hand, Martins Licis made a mistake and chose too big of a jump for his second and third attempts, ending up with two unsuccessful lifts and having to settle for seventh place. Furthermore, Trey Mitchell made the same mistake and finished in fifth place despite being a candidate for a top three finish.
- Mitchell Hooper — 981 pounds
- Austin Andrade — 976 pounds
- Bryce Johnson — 951 pounds
- Lucas Hatton — 936 pounds
- Trey Mitchell — 926 pounds
- Thomas Evans — 911 pounds
- Martins Licis — 906 pounds
- Andrew Burton — 856 pounds
- Nick Guardione — 846 pounds
Event Two — Cyr Dumbbell Challenge
The second event of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic was a Dumbbell Challenge. It consisted of multiple implements all varying in weight. The athletes could decide what dumbbell they wanted to lift. They were encouraged to perform as many reps as possible, since the number of reps was used as a tiebreaker for those who decided to lift the same implement. The available weights started at 253 pounds (115 kilograms) and ended at 325 pounds (147.5 kilograms). However, a lift achieved with a heavier dumbbell trumped any number of reps achieved with the lighter one. The time cap was set to 90 seconds.
Lucas Hatton was a heavy favorite to win the Dummbell Challenge, as it has historically been one of his best events. So, he immediately went to the 300-pound (136-kilogram) dumbbell. He did manage to lift it, but it looked a lot more difficult than anyone expected. He spent some time deliberating whether he should go for another rep but ultimately decided against it. Well, this was potentially a costly mistake, since Mitchell Hooper managed to get into a tie for first place with Hatton.
Hooper initially lifted one of the lighter dumbbells, beating everyone apart from Hatton. With that out of the way, Hooper decided to go for the 300-pound (136-kilogram) dumbbell. The result shocked everyone, as Hooper lifted the dumbbell with ease, tying Hatton with time to spare. So, he tried to lock out another repetition to break into first place but was unable to do so.
Austin Andrade and Trey Mitchell both locked out one repetition with the 280-pound (127-kilogram) dumbbell, which put them in a tie for first place. The result suited both athletes, giving them a decent number of points and allowing them to continue battling for the title and the podium.
- Mitchell Hooper — 300 pounds (1 rep)
- Lucas Hatton — 300 pounds (1 rep)
- Austin Andrade — 280 pounds (1 rep)
- Trey Mitchell — 280 pounds (1 rep)
- Thomas Evans — 274 pounds (1 rep)
- Nick Guardione — 274 pounds (1 rep)
- Martins Licis — 253 pounds (1 rep)
- Bryce Johnson — No Lift
- Andrew Burton — No Lift
Event Three — Stone to Shoulder
The third and final event of day one at the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic was the Stone to Shoulder. As the name suggests, the men had to lift the 410-pound (186-kilogram) Odd Haugen’s Tombstone off the floor and up to their shoulders. The time cap was set to two minutes, giving athletes time to perform as many reps as possible.
Fun Fact: The implement is appropriately named, as rumors suggest that it will be Odd Haugen’s real tombstone once he passes. It currently has his name and date of birth engraved on it, while a second date will be added following his death.
Austin Andrade and Martins Licis tied for first place on the final event of day one. Both of them achieved a total of three repetitions, but a tiebreaker was put in place to solve these situations. Namely, getting the stone to the lap was worth 1 tiebreaking point, while getting the stone to the chest was worth 5 tiebreaking points.
After completing his three reps, Austin Andrade got the stone to his lap in an attempt to get another rep, receiving one tiebreaker point. Martins did not go for the fourth rep, which pushed him down to second place.
A similar situation happened between Bryce Johnson, Mitchell Hooper, and Trey Mitchell. All of them completed two reps, but Bryce continued trying, first getting the stone to his chest, dropping it, and then getting it to his lap once again. Consequently, he got six tiebreaker points and beat both Hooper and Trey.
- Austin Andrade — 3 reps (1)
- Martins Licis — 3 reps (0)
- Bryce Johnson — 2 reps (6)
- Mitchell Hooper — 2 reps (5)
- Trey Mitchell — 2 reps (0)
- Thomas Evans — 1 rep (0)
- Nick Guardione — No Lift
- Lucas Hatton — No Lift
- Andrew Burton — No Lift
Watch day one livestream here:
Related: Tom Stoltman Withdraws From 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic
Remaining Events
- 11:55 a.m. EST: Strongman Event 4 — The Stone Drag
- 1:30 p.m. EST: Strongman Event 5 — Austrian Oak
- 3:15 p.m. EST: Strongman Event 6 — Ramp Rage
The first day of the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic is set to give us some important insights into the athletes’ ability to perform, especially considering how unpredictable certain events, like the Stone to Shoulder, are. However, with three events remaining on day two, a lot is still left to play out before this year’s champion is crowned.
Past Arnold Strongman Champions
- 2025: Mitchell Hooper
- 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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