The 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic was a strongman contest that took place in Columbus, Ohio, from March 6–7, 2020 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The Arnold Strongman Classic is the finale of the Arnold Strongman Tour and is seen as one of the biggest and most prestigious strongmen events on the circuit.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's competition was closed to general spectators with the crowd consisting of the athletes' family or team members.

Hafþór Björnsson won the competition for the third time, becoming only the second man to win the competition three consecutive times after Žydrūnas Savickas. Mateusz Kieliszkowski finished a close 2nd, while Martins Licis secured the 3rd place.

Qualifying

To qualify for the Arnold Strongman Classic, athletes have to either win a sanctioned event on the Arnold Classic Tour or gain enough points to be invited through a wildcard system. Athletes that qualified and their method for qualification are as follows: Name Nationality Method of Qualification Hafþór Björnsson 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic Champion Rob Kearney 2019 Arnold Classic Australia Champion Bobby Thompson 2019 Arnold Amateur World Champion Oleksii Novikov 2019 Arnold Classic South America Champion Mateusz Kieliszkowski 2019 Arnold Classic Africa Runner-up JF Caron 2019 Arnold Pro Strongman Forts Warwick Champion Mikhail Shivlyakov 2019 Arnold Pro Strongman Europe Fourth-Place Finisher Martins Licis 2020 Arnold Pro Strongman USA Champion Matjaz Belsak First Place, Season Qualifying Points Jerry Pritchett Second Place, Season Qualifying Points

Event results

Event 1: Trial by Stone Weight: 1 x stone overhead press, 1 x stone overhead press, 1 x natural stone load, 1 x natural stone load, 1 x Husafell Stone carry. Time Limit: 60 seconds per stone. Course Length: Notes: Stones must be attempted in ascending order. Each stone apparatus is worth a differing number of points. The order of the event will be determined by number of points, then time. # Athlete Nation Points Event Points Overall Points 1 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 10 in 53.72 10 10 2 Hafþór Björnsson 10 in 55.47 9 9 3 Rob Kearney 10 in 2:11.00 8 8 4 JF Caron 10 in 2:19.00 7 7 5 Oleksii Novikov 8 6 6 6 Jerry Pritchett 7 4.5 4.5 6 Martins Licis 7 4.5 4.5 8 Bobby Thompson 2 3 3 9 Matjaz Belsak 1 1.5 1.5 9 Mikhail Shivlyakov 1 1.5 1.5

Event 2: Bag Over Bar Weight: going up in increments. Bar Height: Time Limit: 30 seconds per throw Notes: All athletes start at . Athletes are allowed to skip weights. # Athlete Nation Weight Event Points Overall Points 1 Hafþór Björnsson 90 lb (41 kg) 10 19 2 Mikhail Shivlyakov 85 lb (38 kg) 9 10.5 3 JF Caron 75 lb (34 kg) 7.5 14.5 3 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 75 lb (34 kg) 7.5 17.5 5 Martins Licis 70 lb (32 kg) 6 10.5 6 Rob Kearney 55 lb (25 kg) 3.5 11.5 6 Oleksii Novikov 55 lb (25 kg) 3.5 9.5 6 Bobby Thompson 55 lb (25 kg) 3.5 6.5 6 Jerry Pritchett 55 lb (25 kg) 3.5 8 10 Matjaz Belsak N/A 1 2.5

Event 3: Wheel of Pain Weight: for max distance. Time Limit: 60 seconds. Notes: Athletes are only to push using their hands and shoulders. Neck usage is not allowed. # Athlete Nation Distance Event Points Overall Points 1 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 34.1 m (112 ft 0 in) 10 27.5 2 Martins Licis 31.1 m (102 ft 0 in) 9 19.5 3 Hafþór Björnsson 31.0 m (101 ft 4 in) 8 27 4 Oleksii Novikov 27.7 m (90 ft 9 in) 7 16.5 5 Rob Kearney 24.0 m (78 ft 8 in) 6 17.5 6 Matjaz Belsak 23.6 m (77 ft 3 in) 5 7.5 7 Jerry Pritchett 22.0 m (72 ft 3 in) 4 12 8 Bobby Thompson 21.4 m (70 ft 2 in) 3 9.5 9 JF Caron 19.3 m (63 ft 3 in) 2 16.5 10 Mikhail Shivlyakov 14.6 m (47 ft 10 in) 1 11.5

Event 4: Elephant Bar Deadlift Time Limit: 60 seconds per lift Notes: 3 lifts per athlete. Figure-8 straps and deadlift suit are not allowed. # Athlete Nation Weight Event Points Overall Points 1 Hafþór Björnsson 465.5 kg (1,026 lb) 10 37 2 JF Caron 433.5 kg (956 lb) 9 25.5 3 Mikhail Shivlyakov 427 kg (941 lb) 8 19.5 4 Bobby Thompson 420 kg (926 lb) 7 16.5 5 Rob Kearney 418 kg (921 lb) 6 23.5 6 Martins Licis 411 kg (906 lb) 4.5 24 6 Jerry Pritchett 411 kg (906 lb) 4.5 16.5 8 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 402 kg (886 lb) 3 30.5 9 Oleksii Novikov 372.5 kg (821 lb) 2 18.5 10 Matjaz Belsak N/A 1 8.5

Event 5: Frame Carry Weight: Course Length: ramp Time Limit: 30 seconds Notes: No straps are allowed. Fastest time wins, then distance. # Athlete Nation Time Event Points Overall Points 1 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 7.00 10 40.5 2 Jerry Pritchett 10.31 9 25.5 3 Martins Licis 17.37 8 32 4 Hafþór Björnsson 9.76 m (32 ft 0 in) 7 44 5 JF Caron 8.07 m (26 ft 6 in) 6 31.5 6 Mikhail Shivlyakov 5.87 m (19 ft 3 in) 5 24.5 7 Oleksii Novikov 4.21 m (13 ft 10 in) 4 22.5 8 Bobby Thompson 3.18 m (10 ft 5 in) 3 19.5 9 Matjaz Belsak 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) 2 10.5 10 Rob Kearney 0.00 m (0 ft 0 in) 1 24.5

Event 6: Strategic Cyr Dumbbell Challenge Weight: 124–150 kilograms (274–330 lb) Time Limit: 90 seconds # Athlete Nation Weight Event Points Overall Points 1 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 145 kg (320 lb) 10 50.5 2 Hafþór Björnsson 136 kg (300 lb) 8.5 52.5 2 Oleksii Novikov 136 kg (300 lb) 8.5 31 4 Matjaz Belsak 127 kg (280 lb) 7 17.5 5 Martins Licis 124 kg (274 lb) 4.5 36.5 5 Mikhail Shivlyakov 124 kg (274 lb) 4.5 29 5 Bobby Thompson 124 kg (274 lb) 4.5 24 5 Rob Kearney 124 kg (274 lb) 4.5 29 9 Jerry Pritchett N/A 1.5 27 9 JF Caron N/A 1.5 33

Final standings # Athlete Nation Points Hafþór Björnsson 52.5 Mateusz Kieliszkowski 50.5 Martins Licis 36.5 4 JF Caron 33 5 Oleksii Novikov 31 6 Mikhail Shivlyakov 29 7 Rob Kearney 29 8 Jerry Pritchett 27 9 Bobby Thompson 24 10 Matjaz Belsak 17.5

References

External links