The 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition is currently being held from April 19-23 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The competition aims to determine the world’s greatest Strongman athlete, and has brought together 30 contestants from around the globe. These competitors have competed over the course of two days in the qualifying stage, after which the field was narrowed down to only ten athletes. After a rest day, these finalists are now competing in an additional six events over two days to determine the ultimate winner.
The 2023 World’s Strongest Man Finals encountered some setbacks at the start of the competition due to bad weather. However, some changes to the schedule fixed everything. Be sure to stay tuned to Fitness Volt for every detail as it unfolds.
2023 World’s Strongest Man Leaderboard[LIVE]
| Rank | Athlete Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine) | – |
| 2 | Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine) | – |
| 3 | Mitchell Hooper (Canada) | – |
| 4 | Jaco Schoonwinkel (South Africa) | – |
| 5 | Trey Mitchell (USA) | – |
| 6 | Tom Stoltman (UK) | – |
| 7 | Luke Stoltman (UK) | – |
| 8 | Mathew Ragg (New Zealand) | – |
| 9 | Brian Shaw (USA) | – |
| 10 | Evan Singleton (USA) | – |
Related: Brian Shaw Reveals How He Almost Lost His Leg In Preparation For 2023 World’s Strongest Man
Finals Recap — Day One
Reign Shield Carry
For this event of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition the athletes were tasked with carrying a massive metal shield weighing 196 kilograms (432.1 pounds). They did not have a time limit either, since the goal was to carry it for max distance.
- Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine) —
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine) —
- Mitchell Hooper (Canada) —
- Jaco Schoonwinkel (South Africa) —
- Trey Mitchell (USA) —
- Tom Stoltman (UK) —
- Luke Stoltman (UK) —
- Mathew Ragg (New Zealand) —
- Brian Shaw (USA) —
- Evan Singleton (USA) —
Knaack Deadlift
It would be impossible to ignore the deadlift this year, as they always make for a great show. With two huge Knaack boxes hanging on either side of the barbell, the athletes had to perform as many reps as possible. The total weight of the deadlift came out to 353 kilograms (778.2 pounds) and the time limit was 60 seconds.
Results are coming soon.
Fingal’s Fingers
The Fingal’s Fingers are often seen in the World’s Strongest Man competition due to their complexity. So, they found their place among the final events this year as well. The athletes have to flip five pole-like Fingal’s Finger implements in a time limit of 60 seconds. The weight of the implements ranged from 145 kilograms (319.7 pounds) to 172 kilograms (379.2 pounds).
*Originally, Fingal’s Fingers was going to be the first event on the first day of finals. However, the rain caused the poles to become too slippery to perform safely. Therefore, this event was changed to be the last event of the day.
2023 World’s Strongest Man Group Stage Leaderboard
| Group 1 | ||
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pavlo Kordiyaka — Ukraine (QUALIFIED) | 25 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman — United Kingdom (QUALIFIED THROUGH STONE-OFF) | 20.5 |
| 3 | Bobby Thompson — USA | 20 |
| 4 | Konstantine Janashia — Georgia | 17.5 |
| 5 | Pa O’Dwyer — Ireland | 13 |
| 6 | Eddie Williams — Australia | 9 |
| Group 2 | ||
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov — Ukraine (QUALIFIED) | 23 |
| 2 | Luke Stoltman — United Kingdom (QUALIFIED THROUGH STONE-OFF) | 21 |
| 3 | Gavin Bilton — United Kingdom | 20 |
| 4 | Thomas Evans — USA | 18 |
| 5 | Kristján Jón Haraldsson — Iceland | 15.5 |
| 6 | Fadi El Masri — Lebanon | 7.5 |
| Group 3 | ||
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper — Canada (QUALIFIED) | 29 |
| 2 | Mathew Ragg — New Zealand (QUALIFIED THROUGH STONE-OFF) | 22.5 |
| 3 | Aivars Smaukstelis — Latvia | 17.5 |
| 4 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski — Poland | 14 |
| 5 | Graham Hicks — United Kingdom | 11.5 |
| 6 | Spenser Remick — USA | 10.5 |
| Group 4 | ||
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | Jaco Schoonwinkel — South Africa (QUALIFIED) | 24 |
| 2 | Brian Shaw — USA (QUALIFIED THROUGH STONE-OFF) | 23.5 |
| 3 | Rauno Heinla — Estonia | 20.5 |
| 4 | Adam Bishop — United Kingdom | 14 |
| 5 | Kevin Faires — USA | 13.5 |
| 6 | Gabriel Rhéaume — Canada | 9.5 |
| Group 5 | ||
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | Trey Mitchell — USA (Qualified) | 26 |
| 2 | Evan Singleton — USA (QUALIFIED THROUGH STONE-OFF) | 24.5 |
| 3 | Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Iceland | 22.5 |
| 4 | Mark Felix — United Kingdom | 12.5 |
| 5 | Paul Smith — United Kingdom | 11 |
| 6 | Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — France | 8.5 |
Qualifying Recap — Day Two
Conan’s Wheel
The Conan’s Wheel, known for the pain it produces, depletes many strongmen’s energy reserves. The challenge involves holding a 200-kilogram beam in their forearms while attempting to cover as much distance as possible. This often proves to be one of the most difficult challenges in Strongman. After picking up the beam, which is fixed to the pivot in the center, athletes were not allowed to drop it. Once it was dropped, their result was calculated in degrees.
Group One
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 742 °
- Pa O’Dwyer — 722 °
- Bobby Thompson — 649 °
- Konstantine Janashia — 633 °
- Eddie Williams — 614 °
- Tom Stoltman — 598 °
Group Two
- Oleksii Novikov — 897 °
- Gavin Bilton — 557 °
- Luke Stoltman — 545 °
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 524 °
- Fadi El Masri — 70 °
- Thomas Evans — 69 °
Group Three
- Mitchell Hooper — 636 °
- Mathew Ragg — 628 °
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 575 °
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 538 °
- Spenser Remick — 470 °
- Graham Hicks — 425 °
Group Four
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 713 °
- Kevin Faires — 636 °
- Rauno Heinla — 572 °
- Gabriel Rheaume — 476 °
- Brian Shaw — 411 °
- Adam Bishop — 292 °
Group Five
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 629 °
- Evan Singleton — 589 °
- Trey Mitchell — 523 °
- Paul Smith — 518 °
- Mark Felix — 470 °
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 143 °
Kettlebell Toss
The Kettlebell Toss was another interesting qualifying event, but this one focused more on speed than endurance. Participants in the 2023 World’s Strongest Man faced seven kettlebells weighing between 20 and 31 kilograms, which they had to throw over a 4.57-meter-tall beam as quickly as possible.
Group One
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 6 in 18.09 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 6 in 19.93 s
- Tom Stoltman — 6 in 21.99 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 6 in 31.71 s
- Bobby Thompson — 6 in 35.67 s
- Eddie Williams — 6 in 36.40 s
Group Two
- Gavin Bilton — 6 in 19.90 s
- Luke Stoltman — 6 in 49.35 s
- Thomas Evans — 5 in 28.68 s
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 5 in 15.57 s
- Fadi El Masri — 4 in 20.61 s
- Oleksii Novikov — 1 in 9.56 s
Group Three
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 7 in 32.44 s
- Mitchell Hooper — 6 in 17.18 s
- Mathew Ragg — 6 in 21.96 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 6 in 25.41 s
- Spenser Remick — 5 in 24.31 s
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 20.51 s
Group Four
- Brian Shaw — 7 in 48.45 s
- Adam Bishop — 6 in 32.29 s
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 6 in 47.32 s
- Kevin Faires — 5 in 34.09 s
- Rauno Heinla — 5 in 44.51 s
- Gabriel Rheaume — 3 in 14.00 s
Group Five
- Trey Mitchell — 7 in 34.42 s
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 6 in 27.66 s
- Evan Singleton — 6 in 28.81 seconds
- Mark Felix — 4 in 42.66 s
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 2 in 23.65 s
- Paul Smith — 1 in 28.62 s
Stone Off
The Stone Off was the final event of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man Qualifying stage, and only the 2nd and 3rd place finishers from each group took part. The athletes dueled against each other by lifting and tossing increasingly heavy Atlas Stones to the other man’s side. The first athlete unable to lift the stone anymore was declared the loser. The 2nd place finisher from the group did have a slight advantage, since the 3rd place finisher had to lift the stone first and thus had a higher chance of failing the lift.
Group One
- Tom Stoltman: Won
- Bobby Thompson: Lost
Group Two
- Luke Stoltman: Won
- Gavin Bilton: Lost
Group Three
- Mathew Ragg: Won
- Aivars Smaukstelis: Lost
Group Four
- Brian Shaw: Won
- Rauno Heinla: Lost
Group Five
- Evan Singleton: Won
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted: Lost
Qualifying Recap — Day One
Loading Race
The first event of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition was the Loading Race. In this event, athletes had to pick up, carry, and load a Husafell sandbag, heavy sandbag, anvil, and two bundles of logs within a time limit of 90 seconds.
Group One
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 in 41.38 s
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 43.84 s
- Bobby Thompson — 5 in 56.56 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 5 in 61.10 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 in 65.89 s
- Eddie Williams — 5 in 66.44 s
Group Two
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 in 52.15 s
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 5 in 54.18 s
- Thomas Evans — 5 in 57.40 s
- Luke Stoltman — 5 in 62.78 s
- Gavin Bilton — 5 in 63.01 s
- Fadi El Masri — 4 in 49.57 s
Group Three
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 42.05 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 in 52.71 s
- Mathew Ragg — 5 in 58.72 s
- Spenser Remick — 5 in 67.15 s
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 5 in 67.53 s
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 53.40 s
Group Four
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 5 in 47.10 s
- Rauno Heinla — 5 in 51.41 s
- Brian Shaw — 5 in 53.70 s
- Adam Bishop — 4 in 43.12 s
- Gabriel Rheaume — 4 in 51.03 s
- Kevin Faires — 3 in 65.30 s
Group Five
- Evan Singleton — 5 in 46.90 s
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 5 in 56.41 s
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 66.64 s
- Paul Smith — 4 in 44.79 s
- Mark Felix — 4 in 54.32 s
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 3 in 40.63 s
Deadlift Machine
The next challenge at the 2023 World’s Strongest Man was the Deadlift Machine. A specialized piece of equipment was created for athletes to perform quick transitions to heavier weights between each repetition. The weights used in this event ranged from 290 kilograms to 385 kilograms.
Group One
- Bobby Thompson — 7 reps
- Konstantine Janashia — 6 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 6 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 reps
- Eddie Williams — 5 reps
Group Two
- Oleksii Novikov — 6 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 5 reps
- Thomas Evans — 5 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 5 reps
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 4 reps
- Fadi El Masri — 4 reps
Group Three
- Mitchell Hooper — 8 reps
- Graham Hicks — 7 reps
- Mathew Ragg — 7 reps
- Spenser Remick — 5 reps
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 reps
Group Four
- Rauno Heinla — 8 reps
- Brian Shaw — 8 reps
- Adam Bishop — 7 reps
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 6 reps
- Kevin Faires — 5 reps
- Gabriel Rheaume — 5 reps
Group Five
- Trey Mitchell — 8 reps
- Evan Singleton — 6 reps
- Mark Felix — 6 reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 5 reps
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 5 reps
- Paul Smith — 4 reps
Log Ladder
At the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, participants found themselves at the starting line facing five logs with increasing weights. Their goal was to complete all the logs in the shortest time possible, but they also had a time limit of 75 seconds.
Group One
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 41.50 s
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 in 46.00 s
- Bobby Thompson — 4 in 25.83 s
- Eddie Williams — 4 in 55.89 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 4 in 68.35 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 3 in 25.80 s
Group Two
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 41.50 s
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 in 46.00 s
- Bobby Thompson — 4 in 25.83 s
- Eddie Williams — 4 in 55.89 s
- Konstantine Janashia — 4 in 68.35 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 3 in 25.80 s
Group Three
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 39.51 s
- Mathew Ragg — 5 in 55.84 s
- Graham Hicks — 4 in 28.31 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 4 in 30.44 s
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 in 33.24 s
- Spenser Remick — 4 in 38.79 s
Group Four
- Brian Shaw — 4 in 33.99 s
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — 4 in 34.77 s
- Rauno Heinla — 3 in 21.60 s
- Kevin Faires — 3 in 28.93 s
- Gabriel Rheaume — 3 in 32.96 s
- Adam Bishop — 3 in 33.25 s
Group Five
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 39.44 s
- Evan Singleton — 4 in 35.48 s
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — 4 in 39.93 s
- Paul Smith — 4 in 45.84 s
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — 3 in 22.34 s
- Mark Felix — 1 in 7.58 s
Related: Mark Felix Retires From World’s Strongest Man Appearances; A Tribute to a Strongman Legend
Previous World’s Strongest Man Winners
- Tom Stoltman (2021, 2022)
- Oleksii Novikov (2020)
- Martins Licis (2019)
- Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson (2018)
- Eddie Hall (2017)
- Brian Shaw (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016)
- Žydrūnas Savickas (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014)
- Phil Pfister (2006)
- Vasyl Virastyuk (2004)
- Mariusz Pudzianowski (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008)
- Svend Karlsen (2001)
- Janne Virtanen (2000)
- Magnus Samuelson (1998)
- Jouko Ahola (1997, 1999)
- Gary Taylor (1993)
- Ted van der Parre (1992)
- Magnús Ver Magnússon (1991, 1994-1996)
- Jamie Reeves (1989)
- Jón Páll Sigmarsson (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990)
- Geoff Capes (1983, 1985)
- Bill Kazmaier (1980-1982)
- Don Reinhoudt (1979)
- Bruce Wilhelm (1977-1978)
Related: Every Winner of The World’s Strongest Man Competition Since 1977
FAQs
How Does The Scoring System Work?
The resulting system is based on the number of competitors. Seeing that there are six athletes in each group, the winner of the event gets six points, with every following position receiving one point less.
Who Won Last Year’s World’s Strongest Man Title?
Tom Stoltman from Scotland is the reigning 2x World’s Strongest Man champion. He won two consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022.
Which World’s Strongest Man Is Inducted Into Hall Of Fame?
The WSM Hall of Fame is a club of the most impressive Strongman athletes in history. It was established in 2008, but still features only a small number of athletes. The Hall of Fame has six members as of 2022: Bill Kazmaier, Mariusz Pudzianowski, Svend Karlsen, Magnús Ver Magnússon, Jón Páll Sigmarsson, and Magnus Samuelsson.
Is this the final appearance for Brian Shaw?
Yes, Brian Shaw no longer plans on competing at the WSM following this year. However, he will still appear at the 2023 Shaw Classic before retiring from Strongman completely.
Full WSM 2023 Coverage
Discover comprehensive coverage of the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition at our WSM coverage hub, featuring exclusive interviews, event recaps, in-depth analysis, and results: FitnessVolt.com/wsm