A complete breakdown of the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.
The 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man competition is in the books and it featured 13 of the best strongmen from around the world. The event took place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England and lived u to the hype heading in. The competition has ended and the full results can be found below. When it was all said and done, it was Oleksii Novikov who took home the prize.
The strongman field is in a good place with the pool of talent still competing at a high level. This was on display on Saturday with all 13 competitors showing incredible feats of strength over the course of five events.
The 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man is completely broken down below. This includes a description of each event, the result of each event, and an overall breakdown of the event.
Europe’s Strongest Man Standings
For this event, there were 13 impressive and well-known strongmen competing for that top prize. You recognize the names and can easily see why this event was so great.
Below are the final standings for the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man:
- 1st Place: Oleksii Novikov – 52 points
- 2nd Place: Luke Stoltman – 48 points
- 3rd Place: Konstantine Janashia – 38.5 points
- 4th Place: Pavlo Kordiyaka – 37 points
- 5th Place: Shane Flowers – 36.5 points
- 6th Place: Aivars Smaukstelis – 33 points
- 7th Place: Eythór Melsted – 29 points
- 8th Place: Marius Lalas – 28.5 points
- 9th Place: Kelvin De Ruiter – 23 points
- 10 Place: Pa O’Dwyer – 20 points
- 11th Place: Gavin Bilton – 19.5 points
- 12th Place: Rauno Heinla – 13 points (Withdrew after third event)
Top Competitors Coming In
Heading into the competition, all athletes were fighting to knock off defending champion Luke Stoltman. If he was going to win his second consecutive ESM title, it was going to take some serious doing when looking at the rest of the field.
Oleksii Novikov is a former World’s Strongest Man and is coming off a runner-up finish during the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic. Mateusz Kieliszkowski is a two-time runner-up during the WSM and came into the event with high hopes.
Event Breakdown
The 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man featured five classic events that tested the strength of these 13 competitors in many ways. The full event list is one that made the competition even more intense because different athletes favored some over the others.
In the end, it came down to who was the most well-rounded competitor over the course of the event.
Event #1: Max Log Lift
The max log lift is an event that gives athletes a chance to advance rounds by lifting logs over their heads. If a competitor does not successfully complete the lift, they are eliminated.
- Luke Stoltman – 218 kg (12 points)
- Oleksii Novikov – 185 kg (10 points)
- Eythór Melsted – 185 kg (10 points)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka – 185 kg (10 points)
- Gavin Bilton – 170 kg (6.5 points)
- Shane Flowers – 170 kg (6.5 points)
- Konstantine Janashia – 170 kg (6.5 points)
- Marius Lalas – 170 kg (6.5 points)
- Rauno Heinla – No lift
- Kelvin De Ruiter – No lift
- Pa O’Dwyer – No lift
- Aivars Smaukstelis – No lift
Event #2: Deadlift Ladder
The weight on barbells begin at 300kg and increase by 25kg until the total weight reaches 400kg. This event can be won and lost by the transitions from barbell to barbell. This is because the weight is usually in the range that strongmen can handle so it is about how it is navigated.
- Konstantine Janashia – 4 in 35.04 s (12 points)
- Rauno Heinla – 4 in 39.49 s (11 points)
- Oleksii Novikov – 4 in 41.92 s (10 points)
- Marius Lalas – 4 in 48.05 s (9 points)
- Luke Stoltman – 4 in 55.21 s (8 points)
- Shane Flowers – 4 in 61.93 s (7 points)
- Pa O’Dwyer – 3 in 28.21 s (6 points)
- Aivars Smaukstelis – 3 in 29.23 s (5 points)
- Eythór Melsted – 3 in 32.34 s (4 points)
- Gavin Bilton – 3 in 38.19 s (3 points)
- Kelvin De Ruiter – 3 in 40.78 s (2 points)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka – 3 in 48.76 s (1 point)
Event #3: Carry & Drag
This event consists of a 120kg anchor carry with a 20-meter chain drag. The anchor must be carried across the line before competitors can begin dragging the chain. This is an event that tests footwork and agility as it is timed.
- Oleksii Novikov – 26.26 s (12 points)
- Kelvin De Ruiter – 26.5 s (11 points)
- Shane Flowers – 27.45 s (10 points)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka – 28.13 s (9 points)
- Luke Stoltman – 28.40 s (8 points)
- Aivars Smaukstelis – 29.03 s (7 points)
- Pa O’Dwyer – 29.54 s (6 points)
- Marius Lalas – 30.11 s (5 points)
- Eythór Melsted – 33.51 s (4 points)
- Konstantine Janashia – 35.28 s (3 points)
- Rauno Heinla – 35.87 s (2 points)
- Gavin Bilton – 42.22 s (1 point)
Event #4: Power Stairs
Next, the strongmen had a chance to show off their ability of moving massive objects during the power stairs. This is an event that features competitors moving five objects that keep going up in weight. They will carry the object up three stairs for a total of 15 combined.
- Aivars Smaukstelis – 27.20 s (12 points)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka – 28.09 s (11 points)
- Shane Flowers – 29.27 s (10 points)
- Luke Stoltman – 30.1 s (9 points)
- Oleksii Novikov – 30.25 s (8 points)
- Konstantine Janashia – 31.05 s (7 points)
- Marius Lalas – 32.67 s (6 points)
- Kelvin De Ruiter – 35.56 s (5 points)
- Pa O’Dwyer – 40.18 s (4 points)
- Eythór Melsted – 48.36 s (3 points)
- Gavin Bilton – 51.81 s (2 points)
- Rauno Heinla – Withdrew
Event #5: Castle Stones
This is a classic strongman event where strongmen have to lift five stones that increase in weight on different platforms. The lightest stone will go on the highest platform and repeat in that trend.
- Oleksii Novikov – 5 in 20.44 s (12 points)
- Luke Stoltman – 5 in 20.69s (11 points)
- Konstantine Janashia – 5 in 24.02 s (10 points)
- Aivars Smaukstelis – 5 in 24.34 s (9 points)
- Eythór Melsted – 5 in 25.02 s (8 points)
- Gavin Bilton – 5 in 25.28 s (7 points)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka – 5 in 25.31 s (6 points)
- Kelvin De Ruiter – 5 in 30.60 s (5 points)
- Pa O’Dwyer – 5 in 31.23 s (4 points)
- Shane Flowers – 4 in 17.06 s (3 points)
- Marius Lalas – 4 in 17.98 s (2 points)
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