Day Two of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest in Myrtle Seashore, SC, was crammed with drama, triumph, heartbreak, and strength. The three occasions featured so as on the day have been Conan’s Wheel within the morning, the Kettlebell Toss within the afternoon, and the Stone-Offs within the night.
In the end, 10 of the 30 strongmen within the area superior to the 2023 WSM Closing, the place the strongest among the many strongest will contend to dethrone two-time reigning WSM champion, Tom Stoltman. Right here is the 2023 WSM Final roster:
2023 World’s Strongest Man Closing Roster
Take a look at a recap of the motion from Day Two of the Qualifying Stage under.
[Related: 2023 World’s Strongest Man Live Results and Leaderboard]
2023 World’s Strongest Man Day Two Recap
Three occasions comprised Day Two of competitors. The outcomes and highlights are detailed under.
Conan’s Wheel
Athletes tried to traverse a 440-pound equipment round a circumference for the farthest distance attainable with out dropping.
Group One
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 742 levels
- Pa O’Dwyer — 722 levels
- Bobby Thompson — 649 levels
- Konstantine Janashia — 633 levels
- Eddie Williams — 614 levels
- Tom Stoltman — 598 levels
Group Two
- Oleksii Novikov — 897 levels
- Gavin Bilton — 557 levels
- Luke Stoltman — 545 levels
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 524 levels
- Fadi El Masri — 70 levels
- Thomas Evans — 69 levels
Group Three
- Mitchell Hooper — 636 levels
- Mathew Ragg — 628 levels
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 575 levels
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 538 levels
- Spenser Remick — 470 levels
- Graham Hicks — 425 levels
Group 4
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 713 levels
- Kevin Faires — 636 levels
- Rauno Heinla — 572 levels
- Gabriel Rhéaume — 476 levels
- Brian Shaw — 411 levels
- Adam Bishop — 292 levels
Group 5
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 629 levels
- Evan Singleton — 589 levels
- Trey Mitchell — 523 levels
- Paul Smith — 518 levels
- Mark Felix — 470 levels
- Jean-Stephan Coraboeuf — 143 levels
The 440-pound Conan’s Wheel tasked athletes to traverse the equipment round a circumference for the farthest distance attainable. It was a showcase for the Ukrainian strongmen’s work capacity as Novikov and Kordiyaka scored the farthest and second-farthest distances, respectively — securing each occasion wins.
Hooper leveraged his chief’s benefit of going final within the flip order to dig deep to maneuver the equipment simply far sufficient to beat Ragg’s runner-up distance. Schoonwinkel displayed his rookie luck as extra of an expert’s ability as he racked up an occasion win in Group 4.
Ingolfsson Melsted scored the farthest distance in occasion 5 to tighten up the leaderboard between Mitchell and Singleton heading into the Kettlebell Toss. Mitchell gave it his all to eclipse Singleton’s distance, however Singleton’s effort held the road.
Kettlebell Toss
Athletes tried to toss seven kettlebells with the highest bell weighing 68 kilos over a 15-foot bar within the quickest attainable time.
Group One
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — six in 18.09
- Konstantine Janashia — six in 19.93 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — six in 21.99 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — six in 31.71 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — six in 35.67 seconds
- Eddie Williams — six in 36.40 seconds
Group Two
- Gavin Bilton — six in 19.9 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — six in 49.35 seconds
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 5 in 15.57 seconds
- Thomas Evans — 5 in 28.68
- Fadi El Masri — 4 in 20.61 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — one in 9.56 seconds
Group Three
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — seven in 32.44 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — six in 17.18 seconds
- Mathew Ragg — six in 21.96 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — six in 25.41 seconds
- Spenser Remick — 5 in 24.31 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 20.51 seconds
Group 4
- Brian Shaw — seven in 48.45 seconds
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — six in 47.32 seconds
- Adam Bishop — six in 32.29 seconds
- Kevin Faires — 5 in 34.09 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 5 in 44.51 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume — three in 14 seconds
Group 5
- Trey Mitchell — seven in 34.42 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — six in 27.66 seconds
- Evan Singleton — six in 28.81 seconds
- Mark Felix — 4 in 42.66 seconds
- Jean-Stephan Coraboeuf — two in 23.65 seconds
- Paul Smith — one in 28.62 seconds
The tosses for Group One have been blazingly quick regardless of not one of the six athletes changing the seventh kettlebell. Kordiyaka displayed that in a shifting occasion, he’s unparalleled on the high stage. A rating of six kettlebells in simply over 18 seconds was sufficient to safe the general group win by a considerable 4.5 factors.
Novikov had the group win hard-locked earlier than the occasion started, therefore a single kettlebell transformed paired with celebration. The battle was the tight scores between Luke Stoltman, Bilton, and Evans, and which two would attain the Stone-Off. Stoltman and Bilton delivered of their heats, however Evans didn’t have the identical expertise within the occasion, and it price him his WSM Closing debut.
Kieliszkowski was successfully eradicated from the competitors getting into the occasion — sitting in final place in his group. Nevertheless, with the strain off him in certainly one of his greatest occasions, he grew to become the third man in WSM historical past to transform all seven kettlebells, becoming a member of Brian Shaw, Mikhail Shivlyakov, and, a couple of hours later, Trey Mitchell.
Shaw’s WSM profession may produce hours of footage of his dominance in tossing occasions. Today was no totally different, and he ran by way of his group with a fast seven-kettlebell run. Schoonwinkel’s lead getting into the occasion meant he solely wanted to attain six kettlebells to take the general group win, and he succeeded.
One of the stunning performances on Day Two was Trey Mitchell’s kettlebell toss. Traditionally a weaker occasion for him, his training paid dividends as he ran a flawless warmth, scoring all seven kettlebells — sufficient to fend off Singleton and place “T-Rex” into the Stone-Off in opposition to Ingolfsson Melsted.
Notably, the Kettlebell Toss marked the tip of Mark Felix’s legendary WSM profession. He’s a hall-of-fame caliber strongman who appeared in 18 WSM contests and by no means did not stun the viewers with how aggressive he remained nicely into his 50s. At 57, he’s the oldest strongmen ever to compete on the WSM.
Stone-Off
The very best stakes occasion of the competitors yearly is undoubtedly the Stone-Off. Each head-to-head warmth sends one athlete to the Closing and eliminates the opposite from competitors. The drama in Myrtle Seashore lived as much as the expectations the occasion has constructed over years and years of highlight-worthy moments as opponents lifted six stones, scaling from 120-200 kilograms.
Tom Stoltman def. Bobby Thompson
Group One noticed Bobby Thompson endure a hamstring harm in opposition to Tom Stoltman. Thompson initially appeared to injure his hamstring within the Log Ladder on Day One. It was clearly exacerbated when Thompson tried to elevate the third stone.
Luke Stoltman def. Gavin Bilton
Group Two featured a warrior’s conflict between Luke Stoltman and Gavin Bilton. Stoltman is an impeccable stone-lifter — one thing that arguably flies below the radar. Bilton was a home within the occasion, trying robust til the final second when he merely didn’t have sufficient time to hoist the ultimate stone once more.
[Related: Seated vs. Standing Shoulder Press: How to Know Which One Is Right for You]
Mathew Ragg def. Aivars Šmaukstelis
Group Three let Ragg proceed his spectacular WSM debut run in opposition to the juggernaut that’s Aivars Šmaukstelis. Although the Latvian put up a good bout that carried the warmth to a number of reps on the ultimate 200-kilogram stone, Ragg’s benefit of lifting second paid off for him.
Brian Shaw def. Rauno Heinla
Essentially the most jaw-dropping efficiency within the 5 Stone-Offs needed to be Rauno Heinla, whose engine simply appeared to by no means burn out. Going in opposition to Shaw and having to elevate first is a burden no strongman ever hopes to come across, significantly not with their competitors life on the road.
Heinla lifted the 200-kilogram stone a staggering six instances earlier than having to faucet out. Nobody within the crowd anticipated him to press Shaw to the boundaries like that. Shaw, who may elevate heavy stones eternally, actually earned his solution to the Closing in his final WSM look in a Stone-Off that won’t be forgotten anytime quickly.
Evan Singleton def. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted
Ingolfsson Melsted examined Singleton in an area Singleton didn’t have a lot expertise in. Nevertheless, the American’s intense focus was undeterred by the Icelandic strongman’s regular pacing by way of to a number of reps on the sixth stone. A Closing-worthy efficiency by Singleton in Qualifying secured him his first profession journey to the WSM Closing.
[Related: Mark Felix to Compete in Final World’s Strongest Man Contest in 2023]
The Closing Approaches
The Fingal’s Fingers will kick off the two-day WSM Closing on April 22, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. The Finalists have a relaxation day on April 21 to recover from the Qualifying stage and put together themselves to try to dethrone Tom Stoltman. Stoltman, then again, seeks to assert his third consecutive title to tie the legendary Bill Kazmaier.
Featured picture courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
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