World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brute-strength-centricity and expanded the sport to a wider audience outside of Europe and USA. It also introduced the 'feats of strength' series in 2020, ensuring the continuous expansion of the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition had a number of rival and parallel competitions, including the World's Strongest Man, the Arnold Strongman Classic, Rogue Invitational, Strongest Man on Earth and the Giants Live Tour.
History The inaugural edition of the competition was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and out of a very stacked field of 12 athletes, the Icelandic Giant Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson emerged victorious and was crowned the inaugural champion. The 2019 edition was also held in Dubai and was won by Poland's Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
On February 22, 2020, World's Ultimate Strongman announced the competition would be expanding and would hold the championship in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit with a purse of $350,000 which was the largest for any strongman competition. However, on March 13, 2020, they released a statement entailing that it had to be postponed due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, until a new date would be announced when it's logistically feasible. The 2020 competition was finally held in March 2021 in Muharraq under the name '2021 WUS Strength Island' and in September they hosted the 2021 competition back in Dubai. Both competitions were won by Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov.
The first three competitions out of the four are widely regarded as International strongman majors.
Championships 2018 World's Ultimate Strongman
Events: Truck pull, Arm over arm pull, Silver Dollar Deadlift, Overhead Medley, Super Yoke, Atlas stones Place Athlete Nation Points Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson 60.5 Brian Shaw 57 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 52.5 4 JF Caron 48 5 Laurence Shahlaei 42.5 6 Konstantine Janashia 38 7 Martins Licis 34.5 8 Tom Stoltman 31.5 9 Terry Hollands 31 10 Žydrūnas Savickas 27.5 11 Luke Stoltman 25 12 Cheick Sanou 18
2019 World's Ultimate Strongman
Events: Deadlift, Truck pull, Log lift, Medley, Atlas stones Place Athlete Nation Points Mateusz Kieliszkowski 55.5 Luke Stoltman 50.5 Tom Stoltman 47.5 4 Brian Shaw 44.5 5 Oleksii Novikov 42.5 5 Rauno Heinla 42.5 7 JF Caron 39 8 Mikhail Shivlyakov 36 9 Matjaz Belsak 31.5 10 Ramin Farajnejad 30 11 Cheick Sanou 28 12 Krzysztof Radzikowski 24 13 Jerry Pritchett 21.5 14 Terry Hollands 15
2020 World's Ultimate Strongman (a.k.a. 2021 WUS Strength Island) Events: Axel Deadlift, Flag Hoist, Circus Dumbbell press, Loading race, Atlas stones Place Athlete Nation Points Oleksii Novikov 70 JF Caron 58 Aivars Šmaukstelis 55 4 Luke Stoltman 47 5 Tom Stoltman 43 5 Ramin Farajnejad 43 5 Mohammed Ezatpour 43 8 Bobby Thompson 41.5 9 Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð 33.5 10 Adam Bishop 33 11 Rauno Heinla 32 12 Ervin Toots 30.5 13 Rob Kearney 26.5 14 Konstantine Janashia 24 15 Mikhail Shivlyakov 17
2021 World's Ultimate Strongman Events: Log lift, Super yoke, Farmer's walk, Chain Railway carriage, Atlas stones Place Athlete Nation Points Oleksii Novikov 45.5 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 44.5 Aivars Šmaukstelis 34.5 4 JF Caron 32 5 Konstantine Janashia 27 6 Bobby Thompson 26.5 7 Mohammed Ezatpour 18 8 Ervin Toots 17 9 Rauno Heinla 15 10 Ramin Farajnejad 12
Championship breakdown Podiums YearChampionRunner-up3rd placeLocation 2018 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Brian Shaw Mateusz Kieliszkowski 2019 Mateusz Kieliszkowski Luke Stoltman Tom Stoltman 2020 Oleksii Novikov Jean-François Caron Aivars Šmaukstelis 2021 Oleksii Novikov Mateusz Kieliszkowski Aivars Šmaukstelis
Most championships No.ChampionTimesYears1 Oleksii Novikov 2 2020, 2021
Most podium finishes No. Name Times 1 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 3 2 Oleksii Novikov 2 Aivars Šmaukstelis
Championships by country Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 2 0 0 2 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 2
Feats of Strength series Due to the postponement of worldwide sporting events and travel restrictions being in place for many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World's Ultimate Strongman announced an at home/private gym Feats of Strength series with differing strongman record attempts to be live streamed for free. Below are the record attempts (Men's World Record unless otherwise stated):
Season 1 Date Attempt Athlete Record Broken? Existing Record and Holder New Record if Broken May 2, 2020 Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson ( Eddie Hall) May 16, 2020 Maximum Log Lift Luke Stoltman ( Žydrūnas Savickas) – May 23, 2020 Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Tom Stoltman ( Tom Stoltman) May 30, 2020 Dumbbell Press for Repetitions Oleksii Novikov 10 repetitions ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) 11 repetitions June 6, 2020 Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Under-64kg Record Rhianon Lovelace ( Alana Curnow) June 13, 2020 Maximum Log Lift American Record Rob Kearney ( Rob Kearney) June 20, 2020 Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions Jerry Pritchett 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Konstantine Janashia) – Rauno Heinla – June 20, 2020 Raw Bench Press (power bar) Julius Maddox 1 ( Julius Maddox) – June 27, 2020 Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record Terry Hollands ( James Hickey) – Mikhail Shivlyakov – July 4, 2020 Maximum Log Lift Women's Record Andrea Thompson ( Danielle Vaji) July 11, 2020 Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions Adam Bishop 2 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) – Jean-François Caron –
1 It was found during the event that Maddox's bar had been misloaded with one side being 25 kg heavier than the other. 2 It was found during the event that Bishop had 402.5 kg on the barbell, rather than 400 kg, causing an unofficial world record of 402.5 kg for 4 repetitions.
Season 2 Date Attempt Athlete Record Broken? Existing Record and Holder New Record if Broken September 13, 2020 Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions Rauno Heinla 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) 6 repetitions Konstantine Janashia – September 20, 2020 Trey Mitchell 6 repetitions ( Rauno Heinla) – September 27, 2020 Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Tom Stoltman ( Tom Stoltman) – Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Record Donna Moore ( Donna Moore) October 4, 2020 Maximum Deadlift (strongwoman) - standard bar Women's Record Andrea Thompson ( Melissa Edwards) October 11, 2020 Maximum Log Lift Rob Kearney ( Žydrūnas Savickas) – Luke Stoltman – October 18, 2020Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Rauno Heinla ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) – Ivan Makarov – Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record Mikhail Shivlyakov (James Hickey)
Commonly contested events Deadlift – Lifting weights or vehicles straight off the ground until knees lock in a standing position. The 2018 edition consisted of a max Silver Dollar Deadlift, a variation in which the weight is lifted from . Straps are allowed for this variation. The 2019 edition used the conventional strongman version of the deadlift, using a standard deadlift bar with straps and a deadlift suit. Super Yoke – Apparatus composed of a crossbar and two uprights. The uprights each have a heavy weight attached to them, such as a refrigerator or diesel engine, and the competitors must carry the yoke on their shoulders for a short distance. Shield Carry – Athletes compete in carrying a 'shield' usually weighing between for distance or a set distance for the fastest time. The Shield Carry can be its own event or be used alongside the super yoke. Press Medley – Athletes must press various equipment overhead such as a log, axle, circus barbell, and giant dumbbell. The event is scored based on the number of implements completed, then the fastest time. Vehicle pull – Vehicles such as transport trucks, trams, boxcars, buses, or planes are pulled across a course as fast as possible. One variation sees the competitors pull the object with a rope toward them. Another has them attached to a rope which is attached to a vehicle, while they use another rope to pull themselves down the course. McGlashen Stones / Atlas Stones – Five heavy round stones increasing in weight from are lifted and set on platforms. When the stones were first introduced to the competition, it was an individual event and the platforms were all of equal height. The modern Atlas Stones event takes place on a long course and the competitors participate two at a time. In the 2019 edition, a 10 stone event was introduced with stones ranging from , a first of its kind.
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