Weightlifting

Tom Stoltman is in line to win his first World's Strongest Man competition.

The 27-year-old Scottish competitors ended Day 1 of the two-day finals with 28.5 points, five-and-a-half clear of second-place finisher Brian Shaw. Stoltman won the Giant Medley and Titan's Turntable and tied for second in the Reign's King Toss.

OId Sacramento Waterfront in Sacramento, California, is the home of the World's Strongest Man. Ten finalists emerged from a three-day qualifying round that ran from Tuesday through Thursday.

After a one-day break, the finalists were tasked with participating in the aforementioned three events Saturday.

Each competitor was given anywhere from one through 10 points based on his finish. First place merited a 10-point result, second place was worth nine points and so on.

Here's a look at the standings through Saturday. Results are through Andrew Gutman of BarBend. As Gutman noted, all results should be considered unofficial until the conclusion of the World’s Strongest Man Facebook Live show.

    

Standings

1. Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom): 28.5 points

2. Brian Shaw (United States): 23 points

3. Maxime Boudreault (Canada): 18.5 points

4. Konstantine Janashia (Georgia): 18 points

5. Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom): 17 points

T6. JF Caron (Canada): 13 points

T6. Adam Bishop (United Kingdom): 13 points

T6. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland): 13 points

9. Trey Mitchell (United States): 12 points

10. Bobby Thompson (United States): 9 points

   

Giant Medley involves competitors carrying a 970-pound Super Yoke for 10 meters. The men then had to hoist a 772-pound Frame Carry for 15 meters to the finish line.

Adam Bishop and Shaw can be seen here in the final portion of that event:

BISH BASH BOSH 🚀 @AJBishe pic.twitter.com/W4UVR43tlu

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 19, 2021

Another World’s Strongest Man, another @shawstrength Final appearance 😤 pic.twitter.com/Y7rvMdhMHL

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 19, 2021

The Titan's Turntable was a particularly grueling endeavor, with competitors taking a 30-ton train and moving it around a wooden turntable. Per Gutman, it was 97 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of this competition. Here's how that one looked:

#STRONGLIKEBULL 🚂 pic.twitter.com/78AnvqM6Dw

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 19, 2021

    

The Reign's King Toss

Shaw was the star of the final event, breaking his own world record and registering a toss of 7.75 meters:

Brian Shaw resets his own World Record in the @ReignBodyFuel Keg Toss by launching one 7.75M in the sky. pic.twitter.com/sFYNHiqt4u

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 20, 2021

Shaw, Tom Stoltman and Maxime Boudreault all managed to complete the toss at 7.5 meters, continuing an epic three-man battle. In the end, Shaw was the only one to launch a successful 7.75-meter toss for the event win.

Stoltman has made four World's Strongest Man appearances. He didn't make the finals in 2017 but took fifth in 2018 and second in 2020.

The 27-year-old looks like he'll take it home, but he's not in the clear just yet. That's because Shaw, a four-time World's Strongest Man winner who hasn't finished worse than sixth since 2009, is still in the mix.

Sunday will mark the final day of the World's Strongest Man competition. The 10 finalists will take part in three events: Log Lift, Knaack Deadlift and Atlas Stones. The action will start at 11 a.m. ET.

The third and final day of the World's Strongest Man qualifiers took place on Thursday at Old Sacramento Waterfront in Sacramento, California.

Competitors, who have been split into five groups during qualifiers, took part in three events Thursday: Overhead Medley, Pickaxe Hold and Stone Off.

Following the Pickaxe Hold, the five group leaders with the most points accumulated until that juncture moved onto the finals, with the second- and third-place finishers in each group facing off in individual Stone Off battles to determine the last crew of finalists.

There was more news outside those results, however.

It was also a bittersweet day as WSM legend Terry Hollands, who withdrew from the competition, announced his retirement at 42 years of age:

https://twitter.com/WorldsStrongest/status/1405628743490605061

    

Hollands registered third-place finishes in the 2007 and 2011 Strongman competitions.

The finals are up next, and they will occur over a two-day period beginning Friday. Until then, however, here's a look at results and highlights from that trio of competitions.

All results are via Andrew Gutman of BarBend.

     

Overhead Medley (Group Winners)

Group 1: Brian Shaw (United States): 4 reps, 34.72 seconds

Group 2: Trey Mitchell (United States): 4 reps, 29.77 seconds

Group 3: JF Caron (Canada): 4 reps, 33.72 seconds

Group 4: Adam Bishop (United Kingdom): 3 reps, 27.74 seconds

Group 5: Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine): 4 reps, 24.83 seconds

    

Pickaxe Hold (Group Winners)

Group 1: Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia): 32.51 seconds

Group 2: Trey Mitchell (United States): 29.77 seconds

Group 3: Robert Oberst (United States): 48.03 seconds

Group 4: Jerry Pritchett (United States): 35.39 seconds

Group 5: Bobby Thompson (United States): 41.72 seconds

    

10 Finalists

Group Winners

Group 1: Brian Shaw (United States): 19.5 points

Group 2: Trey Mitchell (United Stated): 19 points

Group 3: JF Caron (Canada): 20 points

Group 4: Konstantine Janashia (Georgia): 21 points

Group 5: Bobby Thompson (United States): 18 points

   

Stone-Off Winners

Group 1: Maxime Boudreault (Canada) def. Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia)

Group 2: Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom) def. Mark Felix (United Kingdom)

Group 3: Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland) def. Robert Oberst (United States)

Group 4: Adam Bishop (United Kingdom) def. Jerry Pritchett (United States)

Group 5: Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom) def. Bobby Thompson (United States)

     

Overhead Medley

Fourteen competitors were able to successfully complete the overhead medley, which consisted of strongmen performing an overhead press on four successive weights of increasing heaviness. There were two heavy dumbbells (210 pounds and 220 pounds), a circus barbell (342 pounds) and an axle barbell (360 pounds).

Tom Stoltman completed the task in 38.02 seconds:

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘼𝙇𝘽𝘼𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙎𝙎 🏋️‍♂️ @stoltman_tom pic.twitter.com/879cMzs8s9

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 17, 2021

However, that was only good enough for third in his group, which Trey Mitchell won thanks to a time of 29.77 seconds.

The star of the show was Ukranian strongman (and 2020 WSM winner) Oleksii Novikov, who dominated with a 24.83-second performance. That mark was the fastest of the day by just eighth-tenths of a second over Luke Stoltman.

Unleash the beast 😤 pic.twitter.com/JGNAzRAbFg

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 17, 2021

That duo finished two seconds clear of anyone else in this competition.

     

Pickaxe Hold

This task was quite simple, as competitors needed to hold a pickaxe for as long as possible in front of them. The longest time won.

Robert Oberest's competition-best performance of 48.03 seconds secured a stone-off spot for the American, who was cheered on by adoring fans during his epic performance:

OBIE OBIE OBIE!!! pic.twitter.com/pMuKT2cz82

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 17, 2021

Group 1 was an incredibly close affair, as Aivars Smaukstelis (32.51 seconds) edged Gavin Bilton (31.02 seconds) and Maxime Boudreault (30.64 seconds). Mitchell was the only other competitor to come close to Oberst's time, as he managed to hold the axe for 46.13 seconds to win Group 2.

    

Stone-Off

The unique stone-off competition involved two competitors taking turns lifting stones above a wooden bar.

Per Gutman, the duos lifted six stones of ascending weights from 310 to 465 pounds. If the two men were able to get that far, then they took turns lifting the 465-pound stone until a winner was declared.

Here's Luke Stoltman (the eventual winner) and Kevin Faires in action.

🇬🇧 @luke_stoltman vs. 🇺🇸 Kevin Faires in the Stone Off 👊 pic.twitter.com/1Us5jaxOFx

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 18, 2021

There was one notable absence in this round: Novikov finished fourth in his group, losing out on a spot in the final due to a tiebreaker with Faires. The tough Group 4 saw Bobby Thompson and Luke Stoltman finish with 18 points and Faires and Novikov tying for 17.

In the end, the five Stone-Off winners filled out the 10-finalist group to officially end the qualifying round.

The World's Strongest Man is back, with the event opening on Tuesday and set to run until June 20. 

Below we'll preview the day's action, as competitors participated in the loading medley, squat and deadlift during qualifying. 

---

Day 1 Leaders

Group 1: Brian Shaw (8.5 points)

Group 2: Tom Stoltman (9 points)

Group 3: JF Caron (9 points)

Group 4: Konstantine Janashia (9 points)

Group 5: Kevin Faires and Bobby Thompson (tied with 8 points)

Results per Barbend.com.

---

Recap

The first day had participants competing in two events—the loading medley and either the squat or deadlift.

The loading medley was no joke, requiring the athletes to load a 275-pound anvil and two 225-pound barrels onto a platform before racing to carry the 825 pounds to the finish. 

Only seven participants fully completed the event, with Stoltman (0:46.69) easily registering the best time. Faires (0:59.64) had the second best showing.  

Captain America 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4CqC72RBWP

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 15, 2021

The squat lift was a bit more straightforward, with the athletes attempting to squat 700 pounds for as many reps as possible. Only two groups participated in squats. 

Drop it like it’s squat 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YHqVGo3kQe

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 15, 2021

JF Caron topped the event at 11 reps, while Shaw, Aivars Smaukstelis and Mikhail Shivlyakov all reached 10 reps. 

Never, ever count out Aivars Smaukstelis 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/pXJljuLl2t

— SBD World's Strongest Man (@WorldsStrongest) June 16, 2021

Finally, three groups competed in the deadlift, with Thompson and Adam Bishop topping the event at nine reps.  

Not everybody made it through the day's competition, with Luke Richardson withdrawing from the event. 

The World's Strongest Man continues Wednesday, with the qualifying events of Fingal's Fingers and the train pull. 

One of the most imposing figures both on screen and in sports, Hafthor Bjornsson, is retiring from the World's Strongest Man Competition:

Known best among wider audiences for portraying Ser Gregor Clegane on HBO's Game of Thrones—better known as "The Mountain"—the 6'9", 452-pound athlete earned the title of World's Strongest Man in 2018, earned three consecutive Arnold Strongman Classics (2018, 2019, 2020) and currently holds the record for the heaviest deadlift at 1,104 pounds.

Bjornsson, 31, made his decision following his 10th-straight win at Iceland's Strongest Man competition where he finished first in all six events. 

"Great way to finish my strongman career," Bjornsson said. "Now a different journey starts and I'm super excited. Maybe I'll never return but never say never right. I'm still only 31 years old and could come back in a few years if my heart wants it."

The Iceland native says right now his heart tells him to be with his family. 

He deserves just as much credit for not ending his career with the Game of Thrones cliche that would fit way too perfectly here. 

The Arnold Sports Festival, an annual multisport event held in Columbus, Ohio that features more than 22,000 athletes competing in 85 competitions, will largely be held without spectators and canceled its trade expo as a result of growing concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Max Filby of the Columbus Dispatch quoted Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who said that having spectators at the events and holding the large trade show "simply was an unacceptable risk."

"Things are rapidly evolving, and given the uniqueness of this particular event we must do anything we can to slow the spread of the disease into Ohio and keep our guests and citizens as safe as we can," DeWine added.

The four-day event is slated to begin Thursday. Fans will be let in the doors Sunday for finals.

Columbus mayor Andrew J. Ginther noted that the plan was a "safer and healthier path forward" and that he "needed to listen to public health officials, experts and the changing advice and guidance given to us by the CDC."

A total of 92,700 coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, with 118 in the United States per the New York Times. At least 3,158 people have died.

No cases have been confirmed in Ohio, but the state's health department director Dr. Amy Action said that "this situation is going to continue to spread" and that "we will see cases in Ohio eventually."

Former actor, bodybuilder and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the namesake for the event, and he issued a statement on Twitter following the news:

It’s a sad day for me and everyone at the @ArnoldSports team. But we will always put our fans’ health first. After discussions with @GovMikeDeWine, @MayorGinther, and the CDC, we will be postponing the expo because we can’t risk bringing 250,000 people together with #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/Fuzcmapxiy

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 3, 2020

Most of the events will take place in the Columbus Convention Center. Weightlifting is the first sport on the schedule.

Adam Bishop was named the 2020 Britain's Strongest Man on Saturday after last year's runner-up clinched his maiden title at the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield, England.

Defending champion Graham Hicks was absent from the Giants: Live lineup as Britain crowned a new Strongest Man, while brothers Tom and Luke Stoltman finished in second and third, respectively.

Bishop's victory means an Englishman has won the last 16 editions of this competition. Northern Irishman Glenn Ross was the last non-English competitor to clinch the title in 2001.

Scot Tom Stoltman, 25, improved to take the silver medal this year after finishing third on this podium 12 months ago, while older sibling Luke, 35, finished among the top three for the first time in this contest.

The runner-up registered a new world record of 16.01 seconds in the final event, the Castle Stones, but failed to surpass champion Bishop's mark of 56 points, per charity organiser Peter Cross:

Congratulations to #BritainsStrongestMan 2020 Adam Bishop with 56pts, 2nd & a new world record of 16.01 in the Stones for Tom Stoltman & 3rd Luke Stoltman with 52.5 @SheffieldArena @GiantsLiveWSM pic.twitter.com/peDKTgkbHP

— Peter Cross (@CronoYellow27) January 18, 2020

One-time World's Strongest Man Eddie Hall (2017), whose five Britain's Strongest Man titles (2014-18) are more than any other competitor, was also in attendance at the FlyDSA Arena.

The field looked close after the opening event, the Log Ladder, but Bishop opened an advantage in front after the second challenge and never relinquished first place.

Younger Stoltman brother Tom closed the gap to within half a point after Event 3, but he lost pace with the leader when Irishman Pa O'Dwyer won the Conan's Wheel with a triumphant turn of 782 degrees.

Bishop, who has worked as a strength and conditioning coach for Premiership rugby club Harlequins, should be overjoyed with his result after he was only 1.5 points shy of Hicks' winning score in 2019.

The Stoltman siblings can also be proud of their achievement of stepping on the podium together, the first time two Scots have finished among the top three in this competition since 1995.

No strongman has managed to successfully defend the trophy since the event moved to Sheffield in 2018, though Bishop will hope to break that curse should he return in 2021.  

Mahailya Reeves, 15, made waves for her record-breaking 360-pound bench press. The Florida native makes sure she doesn't forget leg day, either.

Watch the video above for more about the high school sophomore shattering state and national weightlifting records.

    

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In an interview with ESPN's E:60, Game of Thrones star and World's Strongest Man Hafthor Julius Bjornsson says he's used steroids, noting he'll do whatever is necessary to find success.

In the interview, which took place in 2017 and aired Sunday, he said, "When you want to be the best, you do whatever it takes."

Bjornsson, who plays Gregor Clegane―better known as "The Mountain"―on the HBO hit show Game of Thrones, has been a top competitor in strongman events for a decade.

He won his first World's Strongest Man title in 2018 after three second-place and three third-place finishes and is a five-time winner of the Europe's Strongest Man contest.

E:60 shared part of the interview where Bjornsson explained his motivation for turning to strongman:

Before he was “The Mountain” on #GameofThrones, @ThorBjornsson_ was an athlete with a mission: become the strongest man ever to walk the earth. pic.twitter.com/igeoSeWlzy

— E60 (@E60) April 10, 2019

Per ESPN, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has long plagued the strongman sport. While the 30-year-old admitted to using steroids, he didn't elaborate on when or how long, and when asked if he still takes steroids today, he said, "Can we just skip those questions?"

Bjornsson turned to weightlifting after ankle injuries prematurely ended his career in basketball. The Game of Thrones producers approached him to take part in the show, which has been partly filmed in his home country of Iceland, and he has played Gregor Clegane since Season 4.

He had a hard time believing the offer to play "The Mountain" was real at first:

"Getting an email like that out of nowhere from Game of Thrones? ... This has gotta be bulls---." @ThorBjornsson_ tells @e60 the unlikely story of how he became "The Mountain." pic.twitter.com/iNqovXJ28I

— ESPN (@espn) April 11, 2019

The role has made him a mainstream celebrity, leading to plenty of appearances in commercials and other events. While the increased work somewhat worries Bjornsson, he has no plans of stopping: "When you are putting yourself through all this. I've always thought about, 'What if I pass away?' It would be very hard to know that I left my family too soon. I want to be there for my family. I want to be there for my daughter. But this is my life. This is what I enjoy to do."

Per ESPN, Bjornsson said he plans on competing in this year's World's Strongest Man competition to defend his title. The competition will run in Bradenton, Florida, between June 13 and June 16.

Those who brag about their workouts at the gym should prepare to be humbled by Mahailya Reeves.

The 15-year-old freshman from Union County High School broke the Florida state record by benching 355 pounds while much of her school cheered:

https://twitter.com/Mahailya3/status/1088984816899510272

This feat wasn't a fluke. Reeves posts her weightlifting videos on her Instagram account, including a 430-pound front squat.

Reeves didn't even seem to struggle with her bench press, which could indicate much more is coming from the young star. If she keeps up her pace, she could be a world-class weightlifter before long.