The 2026 World’s Strongest Man is the premier Strongman event of the year, and it kicked off with the first day of qualifiers on April 23rd in sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is set to be a day filled with action, featuring 25 well-rested and motivated athletes along with three extremely demanding events.
Day one of the 2026 World’s Strongest Man is crucial because it makes up the larger portion of the qualifying stage with three events. So, with just two events remaining on day two, the path toward the finals will depend a lot on the performances from the opening day.
2026 World’s Strongest Man Results — Day One Point Standings [Live Updates]
Group One
- Rayno Nel — 5 points
- Nick Guardione — 4 points
- Tristain Hoath — 3 points
- Luke Richardson — 2 points
- Ben Glasscock — 1 point
Group Two
- Mathew Ragg — 5 points
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 4 points
- Levi Strong — 3 points
- Austin Andrade — 2 points
- Tom Stoltman — 1 point
Group Three
- Eddie Williams — 5 points
- Mitchell Hooper — 4 points
- Paddy Haynes — 3 points
- Matyáš Funiok — 2 points
- Lucas Hatton — 1 point
Group Four
- Ondrej Fojtu — 5 points
- Bryce Johnson — 4 points
- James Jeffers — 3 points
- Kevin Hazeleger — 2 points
- Martins Licis — 1 point
- Adam Bishop — Withdrew
Group Five
- Evan Singleton — 5 points
- Andrew Flynn — 4 points
- Evans Nana — 3 points
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 2 points
- Trey Mitchell — 1 point
Related: Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei Breaks Down Predictions for the 2026 World’s Strongest Man Qualifiers
Event Recap — Day One Qualifiers
Event One — Carry & Climb
The first event of the 2026 World’s Strongest Man immediately put the men through an intense challenge, as they had to complete two exercises in succession. Firstly, they had to carry two 140-kilogram (308.6-pound) Farmer’s Walk implements for a distance of 33 meters. Then, the men took on the Power Stairs, where they had to carry 225 kilograms (496 pounds) up a flight of nine steps. The time limit for the event was set to 75 seconds.
Group One
Rayno Nel came back determined to defend his title and made it clear in the very first event of the competition. He is known for his speed but still shocked everyone with an incredibly quick time of 37.06 seconds. With that, Nel earned his first event win of the competition, boosting his confidence and taking a big step toward the final.
Nick Guardione has been improving consistently in recent years and showed signs of greatness once again in the Carry & Climb event. He scored a valuable second-place finish, narrowly beating Tristain Hoath with a time of 43.91 seconds. Luke Richardson has not been in top form in recent months, as he has been dealing with the passing of Pa O’Dwyer, who was a very close friend of his. Consequently, he placed fourth in the opening event, which is a bit lower than some might have expected.
- Rayno Nel — 37.06 seconds
- Nick Guardione — 43.91 seconds
- Tristain Hoath — 46.78 seconds
- Luke Richardson — 60.34 seconds
- Ben Glasscock — 65.68 seconds
Group Two
The first event produced some very surprising results in the second group since the 3x World’s Strongest Man champion, Tom Stoltman, finished in last place. He got stuck while trying to reach the final step on the power stairs, which put him in a very difficult position at the start of the competition. His performance in the early stages of the event was great, but fatigue seemed to be his biggest limiting factor.
On the other hand, Mathew Ragg finished the event in just 38.29 seconds, proving that he is in top form and claiming max points. This was just enough to beat Jaco Schoonwinkel, who ended up being just 0.51 seconds slower than Ragg. Third place went to Levi Strong with a time of 51.84 seconds.
- Mathew Ragg — 38.29 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 38.80 seconds
- Levi Strong — 51.84 seconds
- Austin Andrade — 53.85 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 70.21 seconds
Group Three
Eddie Williams topped the leaderboards in Group Three on the first event, having put up a time of 37.88 seconds. Coming into the competition, Williams was one of the main contenders for the top two spots in the group and his win in event one definitely put him on track to qualify for the finals.
Mitchell Hooper was blisteringly fast throughout the entire event. However, once he reached the top of the power stairs, his implement fell over and the time kept running until he lifted it upright. Hooper put in an appeal, but the judges stood by their initial decision. In turn, the mishap cost Hooper first place, as he finished two seconds slower than Williams. Paddy Haynes finished in third place with a time of 46.21 seconds after Matyáš Funiok received a two-second penalty.
- Eddie Williams — 37.88 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 39.64 seconds
- Paddy Haynes — 46.21 seconds
- Matyáš Funiok — 47.58 seconds
- Lucas Hatton — 50.16 seconds
Group Four
The reigning Europe’s Strongest Man, Ondrej Fojtu, continued his run of success and secured a win in the first event of the 2026 World’s Strongest Man competition. He finished in 38.22 seconds, which is similar to the winning times from other groups as well. Despite being just 24 years old, Ondrej proved that he is definitely a candidate for the most coveted title in the sport.
The battle for second place came down to less than three seconds, with Bryce Johnson and James Jeffers moving at a similar pace. Johnson’s time of 41.53 seconds, however, was enough to get him in second place behind Fojtu. In turn, James had to settle for third, finishing with a time of 43.91 seconds.
Adam Bishop was forced to withdraw from the competition. However, he was replaced by Kevin Hazeleger, who ended up placing fourth ahead of Martins Licis.
- Ondrej Fojtu — 38.22 seconds
- Bryce Johnson — 41.53 seconds
- James Jeffers — 43.91 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 45.78 seconds
- Martins Licis — 46.08 seconds
- Adam Bishop — Withdrew
Group Five
The 2025 Strongest Man on Earth, Evan Singleton, came back from a pec injury and managed to win the event. Many wondered how well his recovery went, but the ‘T-Rex’ proved that he is in great shape once again. His time came out to 38.58 seconds.
Andrew Flynn secured second place with a time of 51.95 seconds, while Evans Nana rounded out the top three, just less than three seconds behind. Pavlo Kordiyaka was unable to reach the top of the Power Stairs, while Trey Mitchell’s nerve injury hampered his grip strength and prevented him from completing the Farmer’s Walk.
- Evan Singleton — 38.58 seconds
- Andrew Flynn — 51.95 seconds
- Evans Nana — 54.62 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 6 in 74.05 seconds
- Trey Mitchell — 22 meters
Event Two — Circus Press Medley
Moving on to the second event of the 2026 World’s Strongest Man competition, the competitors are met with another medley. For starters, they have to lift an 80-kilogram (176.4-pound) dumbbell, after which they take on another slightly heavier dumbbell of 90 kilograms (198.4 pounds). It does not end there, as those who are successful will then try to overhead press a 100-kilogram (220.5-pound) dumbbell. While that is the end of the dumbbell, the final hurdle is a 159-kilogram (350.5-pound) barbell, which has to be lifted for as many reps as possible within the given time limit of 75 seconds.
The Circus Press Medley is scheduled to take place at 1:30 PM local time.
Event Three — Squat Lift
The first qualifying day of the 2026 World’s Strongest Man will conclude with the Squat Lift. The squat is an exercise that is rarely seen in modern Strongman, but it has now returned to the biggest stage once again. It is one of the most unpredictable challenges of the entire competition, since the athletes have not shared much from their preparation process. The weight of the squat is set to 320 kilograms (705.5 pounds), setting the task of achieving as many reps as possible within one minute.
The Squat Lift is scheduled to take place at 4:30 PM local time.
Related: Luke Stoltman Withdraws From 2026 World’s and Europe’s Strongest Man After Breaking His Leg
World’s Strongest Man Remaining Schedule
Day Two — Friday, April 24th
- 10:00 AM — Truck Pull
- 3:30 PM — Natural Stone Medley
Day Three — Saturday, April 25th
- 10:00 AM — Knaack® Monster Box® Flip & Carry
- 1:00 PM — Deadlift
- 3:00 PM — Titan’s Toss
Day Four — Sunday, April 26th
- 10:00 AM — Max Log
- 1:30 PM — Atlas Stones
- 2:45 PM — WSM Trophy Ceremony
Previous World’s Strongest Man Winners
- Bruce Wilhelm — 1977
- Bruce Wilhelm — 1978
- Don Reinhoudt — 1979
- Bill Kazmaier — 1980
- Bill Kazmaier — 1981
- Bill Kazmaier — 1982
- Geoff Capes — 1983
- Jon Pall Sigmarsson — 1984
- Geoff Capes — 1985
- Jon Pall Sigmarsson — 1986
- Not Held — 1987
- Jon Pall Sigmarsson — 1988
- Jamie Reeves — 1989
- Jon Pall Sigmarsson — 1990
- Magnus Ver Magnusson — 1991
- Ted van der Parre — 1992
- Gary Taylor — 1993
- Magnus Ver Magnusson — 1994
- Magnus Ver Magnusson — 1995
- Magnus Ver Magnusson — 1996
- Jouko Ahola — 1997
- Magnus Samuelsson — 1998
- Jouko Ahola — 1999
- Janne Virtanen — 2000
- Svend Karlsen — 2001
- Mariusz Pudzianowski — 2002
- Mariusz Pudzianowski — 2003
- Vasyl Virastyuk — 2004
- Mariusz Pudzianowski — 2005
- Phil Pfister — 2006
- Mariusz Pudzianowski — 2007
- Mariusz Pudzianowski — 2008
- Zydrunas Savickas — 2009
- Zydrunas Savickas — 2010
- Brian Shaw — 2011
- Zydrunas Savickas — 2012
- Brian Shaw — 2013
- Zydrunas Savickas — 2014
- Brian Shaw — 2015
- Brian Shaw — 2016
- Eddie Hall — 2017
- Hafthor Julius Bjornsson — 2018
- Martins Licis — 2019
- Oleksii Novikov — 2020
- Tom Stoltman — 2021
- Tom Stoltman — 2022
- Mitchell Hooper — 2023
- Tom Stoltman — 2024
- Rayno Nel — 2025
Follow the 2026 World’s Strongest Man – event breakdowns, athlete interviews, full results, and all the latest news at our WSM hub: FitnessVolt.com/wsm
