The Scottsman, Tom Stoltman wins the World's Strongest Man as he's just won his second title back to back!
The pinnacle of strongman events arrived on May 24th as the 2022 World’s Strongest Man kicked off. This year’s WSM is held from May 24-29th in Sacramento, California.
30 strongmen from countries around the world are vying for the coveted title of World's Strongest Man. There are three days of qualifying rounds with two events each day. The top athletes will move on to the finals where they will compete in 3 events for a chance to win it all.
SET FOR SET will keep you posted on updates throughout the competition, so check back for results as they come in.
In typical WSM fashion, the event isn’t live-streamed anywhere, but former strongman Terry Hollands is hosting a show Backstage Live! Presented by The Beard Struggle recapping each day’s events.
2022 World’s Strongest Man Results & Recap
Tom Stoltman defended his title and won the event by being the most consistent big man throughout the week.
The first day of the 2022 World’s Strongest Man began on May 24th, and it consisted of 30 strongmen from around the world split into 5 groups of 6 athletes.
This year is the first time all the athletes will compete in the same events in all 5 groups during the qualifying rounds.
This year’s WSM had some notable withdrawals of Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Ruano Heilna, but the 2022 WSM lineup is still jam-packed with talent.
2022 World’s Strongest Man Final Results
Below are the final standings with the total points each athlete has accrued.
- Tom Stoltman: 53.5 points
- Martins Licis: 43 points
- Oleksii Novikov: 43 points
- Brian Shaw: 37.5 points
- Maxime Boudreault: 34.5 points
- Trey Mitchell: 34 points
- Luke Stoltman: 30.5 points
- Mitchell Hooper: 30 points
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 13 points
- Gabriel Rheaume: 11 points
Let’s breakdown the action of each day below:
2022 World's Strongest Man Finals Day 2 Results
The last day of the 2022 WSM saw the athletes compete in three events; the Bus Pull, Reign Total Body Fuel Power Stairs and the Atlas Stones.
Event 1: Bus Pull
The strongmen had to pull a bus weighing 18.5 tons through a 30 meter course for the fastest time.
- Oleksii Novikov: 41.51 seconds
- Martins Licis: 42.18 seconds
- Tom Stoltman: 44.5 seconds
- Brian Shaw: 44.69 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: 45.72 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: 47 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: 47.2 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper: 49.24 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 51.32 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 53.22 seconds
Event 2: Reign Total Body Fuel Power Stairs
With this event, the athletes had to carry three implements weighing 500 lb (226 kg) each up a total of nine stairs for the fastest time.
- Maxime Boudreault: Nine stairs | 39.07 seconds
- Tom Stoltman: Nine stairs | 41.04 seconds
- Martins Licis: Nine stairs | 44.56 seconds
- Brian Shaw: Eight stairs | 1:09.03
- Mitchell Hooper: Seven stairs | 32.36 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: Seven stairs | 59.47 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov: Six stairs | 34.20 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: Six stairs | 35.78
- Trey Mitchell: Six stairs | 1:10.22
- Gabriel Rhéaume: Five stairs | 35.78 seconds
Event 3: Atlas Stones
With this strongman classic the athletes had to hoist 5 atlas stones onto raised platforms for time.
- Tom Stoltman: Five stones | 25.76 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: Five stones | 28.04 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: Five stones | 33.06 seconds
- Brian Shaw: Five stones | 39.29 seconds
- Martins Licis: Five stones | 45.74 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: Four stones | 25.78 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: Four stones | 28.87 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume: Four stones | 33.55 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper: Four stones | 33.78 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov: Four stones | 36.7 seconds
2022 World’s Strongest Man Finals Day 1 Results
The first day of the 2022 WSM saw the athletes compete in three different events; the KNAACK Giant’s Medley, Car Deadlift, and the Flintstone Barbell. Let’s look at how the first half of the finals played out.
Event 1: KNAACK Giant’s Medley
The athletes had to carry two KNAACK boxes weighing 275 lb (125 kg) each to a halfway point on a 20 meter course length. They had to complete two laps of back and forth on the course then they carried a super yoke that weighed 1,001 lb (455 kg) super yoke to finish out the course for the best time
- Mitchell Hooper: 21.96 seconds
- Tom Stoltman: 24.75 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov: 24.86 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: 28.72 seconds
- Martins Licis: 30.6 seconds
- Brian Shaw: 30.78 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: 32.54 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 33.87 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: 34.11 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 37.61 seconds
Event 2: Car Deadlift
The second event of the finals saw the strongmen tasked with deadlifting a Jeep that weighed 795 lb (360 kg) for max reps during a 60 seconds time cap.
- Oleksii Novikov: 15 reps
- Tom Stoltman: 13 reps (Tied-second)
- Trey Mitchell: 13 reps (Tied-second)
- Mitchell Hooper: 12 reps (Tied-fourth)
- Martins Licis: 12 reps (Tied-fourth)
- Brian Shaw: 12 reps (Tied-fourth)
- Maxime Boudreault: 10 reps
- Luke Stoltman: 9 reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 8 reps (Tied-ninth)
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 8 reps (Tied-ninth)
Event 3: Flintstone Barbell
For the last event of the day the athletes had to lift the prehistoric-looking barbell in various rounds as the weight increased steadily. If the athlete could lock out the weight they would move on to the next round until they could no longer get it done.
The starting weight was 385 lb (175 kg). The weights jumped from there each round to 418 lb (190 kg), 440 lb (200 kg), 466 lb (212 kg), 486 lb (221 kg), 506 lb (230 kg), 528 lb (240 kg) and 541 lb (246 kg).
- Oleksii Novikov: 8 rounds | New World Record
- Tom Stoltman: 7 rounds
- Martins Licis: 6 rounds
- Trey Mitchell: 4 rounds (Tied-fourth)
- Brian Shaw: 4 rounds (Tied-fourth)
- Maxime Boudreault: 4 rounds (Tied-fourth)
- Luke Stoltman: 4 rounds (Tied-fourth)
- Mitchell Hooper: 3 rounds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 2 rounds (Tied-ninth)
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 2 rounds (Tied-ninth)
Check out the recap of the first day presented by Backstage Live below:
2022 World’s Strongest Man Day 3 Results
Day three of the 2022 WSM was filled with excitement as Mark Felix set a new world record on the Wrecking Ball Hold with a time of 2:20.49. Then we saw the giants go neck and neck during the Stone-Off to secure their place in the finals.
Wrecking Ball Hold
This event is the ultimate test of grip strength where each athlete had to hold the 500 lb (228 kg) load for as long as possible.
Group 1
- Kevin Faires: 1:35.18
- Andy Black: 1:26.92
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 1:24.10
- Manuel Angulo: 1:11.66
- Aivars Šmaukstelis: 0:57.44
- Tom Stoltman: 0:4.63
Group 2
- Mark Felix: 2:20.49
- Bobby Thompson: 1:21.33
- Brian Shaw: 1:06.13
- Konstantine Janashia: 1:01.38
- Gabriel Peña: 0:48.27
- Mitchell Hooper: 0:06.40
Group 3
- Trey Mitchell: 2:06.46
- Mika Törrö: 1:53.17
- Grzegorz Szymanski: 1:46.49
- Oleksii Novikov: 1:38.63
- Adam Bishop: 1:31.35
- Rob Kearney: 1:01.95
Group 4
- Maxime Boudreault: 1:33.93
- Pavlo Kordiyaka: 1:31.33
- Martins Licis: 1:25.63
- Nedžmin Ambešković: 1:12.47
- Gavin Bilton: 1:07.15
- Shane Flowers: Withdrew
Group 5
- Kelvin De Ruiter: 1:45.65
- Evan Singleton: 1:40.34
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 1:03.42
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf: 1:00.70
- Kim Ujarak: 36.24 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: Didn’t attempt
Stone-Off Results
The athletes that found themselves in second or third place had to hoist six stones weighing 330 lb (150 kg), 352 lb (160 kg), 352 lb (160 kg), 396 lb (180 kg), 396 lb (180 kg) and 440 lb (200 kg) back and forth to each other over a raised bar with the last stone being as many reps as possible.
The five winners in bold below made it through to the finals.
- Group 1: Kevin Faires vs. Gabriel Rhéaume
- Group 2: Bobby Thompson vs. Brian Shaw
- Group 3: Trey Mitchell vs. Adam Bishop
- Group 4: Maxime Boudreault vs. Pavlo Kordiyaka
- Group 5: Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted vs. Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf
Watch Backstage Live for the recap of Day 3 2022 WSM below:
2022 WSM DAY 2 Results
Day two of the qualifying rounds at the 2022 WSM just came to a close on May 25th. The top spots in each group have guaranteed themselves a spot in the Finals with their point totals thus far. Tome Stoltman, Mitchell Hooper, Martins Licis, Oleksii Novikov and Luke Stoltman have commanding leads in their respective groups.
Let’s look at how the day two events of the log lift and car walk played out for the strongmen.
Event One: Log Lift
The athletes had to attempt to lift a 320 lb (145 kg) log overhead for as many reps as possible within a time cap of 75 seconds. The most impressive athletes across all groups were Luke Stoltman and Maxime Boudreault who made it into the double digits.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman: 8 reps
- Kevin Faires: 7 reps
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 6 reps
- Aivars Šmaukstelis: 4 reps
- Andy Black : 0 reps
- Manuel Angulo: 0 reps
Group 2
- Bobby Thompson: 8 reps
- Mitchell Hooper: 7 reps
- Brian Shaw: 7 reps (Tied-second)
- Konstantine Janashia: 5 reps
- Gabriel Peña: 1 rep
- Mark Felix: 0 reps
Group 3
- Oleksii Novikov: 9 reps
- Trey Mitchell: 9 reps (Tied-first)
- Adam Bishop: 7 reps
- Rob Kearney: 6 reps
- Grzegorz Szymanski: 3 reps
- Mika Törrö: 2 reps
Group 4
- Maxime Boudreault: 10 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka: 9 reps
- Martins Licis: 9 reps (Tied-second)
- Gavin Bilton: 7 reps
- Nedžmin Ambeškovic: 2 reps
- Shane Flowers: Withdrew
Group 5
- Luke Stoltman: 10 reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 8 reps
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf: 7 reps
- Kim Ujarak: 6 reps
- Kelvin De Ruiter: 1 rep
- Evan Singleton: 1 rep (Tied-fifth)
EVENT 2: Car Walk
The strongmen had to carry a Volkswagen Bug weighing in at 950 lb (430 kg) on a 20 meter long course for the fastest time. Evan Singleton who had come back from a hospitalization was the only man to hit a time under 10 seconds. Rob Kearney and the sleeper pick Mitch Hooper clocked the next fastest times.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman: 14.65 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 16.44 seconds
- Kevin Faires: 19.32 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis: 19.91 seconds
- Andy Black: 32.71 seconds
- Manuel Angulo: 60 seconds
Group 2
- Mitchell Hooper: 11.64 seconds
- Mark Felix: 13.96 seconds
- Bobby Thompson: 16.05 seconds
- Konstantine Janashia: 18.16 seconds
- Brian Shaw: 19.97 seconds
- Gabriel Peña: Didn’t finish
Group 3
- Rob Kearney: 11.63 seconds
- Grzegorz Szymanski: 14.26 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov: 15.23 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: 19.24 seconds
- Adam Bishop: 23.38 seconds
- Mika Törrö: Didn’t finish
Group 4
- Pavlo Kordiyaka: 12.92 seconds
- Martins Licis: 18.93 seconds
- Gavin Bilton: 23.67 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: 49.28 seconds
- Nedžmin Ambešković: Didn't finish
- Shane Flowers: Withdrew
Group 5
- Evan Singleton: 9.86 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: 16.65 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 29.07 seconds
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf: 41.34 seconds
- Kelvin De Ruiter: 60 seconds
- Kim Ujarak: Didn’t finish
Watch Backstage Live for the recap of Day 2 2022 WSM below:
DAY 1
The first day of the competition played out in the blistering California heat. It was full of surprises, with a last-minute replacement athlete Mitchell Hooper of Canada, doing better than most expected, leading his group.
We also saw strongman Evan Singleton withdraw due to an injury but has since been cleared to return the action.
Event 1 Deadlift Ladder
The strongmen have to deadlift five different ascending weights from 660 lb (300 kg), 705 lb (320 kg), 750 lb (340 kg), 795 lb (360 kg), and 840 lb for the best time.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman: 5 reps | 51.46 seconds
- Kevin Faires: 4 reps | 45.89 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis: 4 reps | 55.91 seconds
- Andy Black: 4 reps | 1:02
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 4 reps | 1:09.50
- Manuel Angulo: 3 reps | 38.62 seconds
Group 2
- Mitchell Hooper: 5 reps | 31.21 seconds
- Bobby Thompson: 5 reps | 42.56 seconds
- Gabriel Peña: 5 reps | 52.53 seconds
- Mark Felix: 4 reps | 28.64 seconds
- Brian Shaw: 4 reps | 32.36 seconds
- Konstantine Janashia: 3 reps | 19.05 seconds
Group 3
- Oleksii Novikov: 5 reps | 35.64 seconds
- Adam Bishop: 5 reps | 37.44 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: 5 reps | 59 seconds
- Rob Kearney: 4 reps | 41.28 seconds
- Mika Törrö: 2 reps | 26.65 seconds
- Grzegorz Szymanski: 2 reps | 26.91 seconds
Group 4
- Martins Licis: 5 reps | 43.51 seconds
- Gavin Bilton: 5 reps | 52.28 seconds
- Shane Flowers: 4 reps | 36.39 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: 3 reps | 21.12 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka: 3 reps |38.50 seconds
- Nedžmin Ambešković: 3 reps | 45.45 seconds
Group 5
- Luke Stoltman: 5 reps | 42.87 seconds
- Kelvin De Ruiter: 3 reps | 56.44 seconds
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf: 4 reps | 53.87 seconds
- Kim Ujarak: 4 reps | 56.48 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 3 reps | 40.88 seconds
EVENT 2: Loading Race
This event saw the big men race to load 5 implements, including a 275 lb anvil, atlas stone, two sandbags, and a keg that weighed 265 lb each for time.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman: 5 implements | 38.39 seconds
- Kevin Faires: 5 implements | 43.36 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis: 5 implements | 44.37 seconds
- Andy Black: 5 implements | 50.81 seconds
- Gabriel Rhéaume: 5 implements | 53.39 seconds
- Manuel Angulo: 4 implements | 70 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper: 5 implements | 38.31 seconds
- Brian Shaw: 5 implements | 45 seconds
- Gabriel Peña: 5 implements | 45.88 seconds
- Konstantine Janashia: 5 implements | 49.47
- Bobby Thompson: 5 implements | 49.70 seconds
- Mark Felix: 5 implements | 54.96 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov: 5 implements | 37.25 seconds
- Adam Bishop: 5 implements | 45.85 seconds
- Mika Törrö: 5 implements | 47.84 seconds
- Trey Mitchell: 5 implements | 48.76 seconds
- Rob Kearney: 5 implements | 54.62 seconds
- Grzegorz Szymanski: 4 implements | 29.89 seconds
- Martins Licis: 5 implements | 37.73 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault: 5 implements | 40.68 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka: 5 implements | 43.70 seconds
- Gavin Bilton: 5 implements | 45.76 seconds
- Shane Flowers: 5 implements | 48.70 seconds
- Nedžmin Ambešković: 1 implement | 10.2 seconds
- Luke Stoltman: 5 implements | 37.95 seconds
- Kelvin De Ruiter: 5 implements | 39.18 seconds
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: 5 implements | 49.69 seconds
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf: 5 implements | 52.70 seconds
- Evan Singleton: 5 implements | 1:08
- Kim Ujarak: 4 implements | 34.49 seconds
At the end of day one, the leaders of each group were Tom Stoltman, Mitchell Hooper, Oleksii Novikov, Martins Licis, and Luke Stoltman.
Day 2 of the qualifying rounds will consist of two events; the car walk and log lift.
Check out the full event list of 2022 WSM if you need a refresher.
Below you can watch the WSM Backstage live for a full recap.
Kiel DiGiovanni
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