The 2023 edition of World’s Strongest Man (WSM) wrapped up on Sunday, April 2023 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After a hard-fought first round of competition, 30 athletes were narrowed down to just 10 who had the chance to be crowned strongest in the world. American Brian Shaw was taking part in his final WSM competition while searching for a record-breaking fifth title. Two-time defending champion Tom Stoltman and his brother Luke Stoltman, a perennial finalist in his own right, were also back on the big stage. They were accompanied by 2020 champion Oleksii Novikov and two-time Shaw Classic champion Trey Mitchell. Elsewhere, a few newcomers joined the ranks. Evan Singleton, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Mat Ragg and Jaco Schoonwinkel all took part in their first final.
Going into the final, there were a few clear favorites. Mitchell Hooper qualified from the group phase with the most points of any athlete and having made the podium in each show he had competed in since last year’s WSM. Novikov also looked promising in the first round, qualifying easily and with several events in the final looking to be favored toward more dynamic athletes like him. Shaw was also an outside favorite; despite his age, experience is a big factor in winning shows of the magnitude of WSM. Stoltman looked as likely as anyone to win and three-peat.
Event one in the final was the shield carry. Athletes had to carry a metal shield weighing 190 kg as far as possible by walking up and down a defined straight course, with the furthest distance winning the most points. Plenty of drama ensued. Kordiyaka walked the furthest distance but was faulted 20 meters for not getting his foot over the line at the end of the course before turning around during his run, and so he only finished sixth with 46.59m. Stoltman and Hooper went head-to-head in the most exciting heat, with the Scotsman rushing out to a massive 63.15m before setting the implement down thinking he’d won. But in a tortoise and the hare-esque story, Hooper slowly but surely clawed back the distance and won the event with 64.8m and set the tone for the final as a whole. Elsewhere, Shaw lost ground with an eighth place finish, while Novikov was predictably in the fold, finishing third.
Hooper pulled further away from the chasing pack in the second event, the deadlift for reps. He managed eight reps with the 773 lb weight, one more than the four athletes who tied on seven reps. This meant Novikov, Mitchell, Shaw and Ragg all shared 7.5 points apiece while Hooper took the winner’s share of 10. Importantly, Stoltman only managed five points, finishing on six reps and in sixth place.
The third event was the Fingal’s Fingers, which required athletes to lift and flip a series of increasingly heavy metal poles attached to the ground with a hinge. Stoltman began his late push, winning the event handily by completing all five implements in the fastest time. Hooper also managed all five, but took the longest time of any of the six athletes who managed this feat, meaning he placed sixth. Novikov came second, meaning he too made up ground on Hooper. The Canadian now led with 25 points, with Novikov on 24.5 and Stoltman on 24.
But Hooper was not to be denied, tying for the win on the max weight dumbbell lift and winning the bus pull before coming second in the atlas stones to claim Canada’s first-ever WSM title. Stoltman managed to climb into second, while Novikov rounded out the top three. Brian Shaw finished seventh in his final WSM appearance, while Mitchell made a statement by getting himself a fourth place finish. Singleton can also be proud of his performance, finishing fifth in his first ever finals appearance at WSM.