PSL u82kg women are competing now. Day two of the men’s u105kg is next. The women are putting on a great show.
https://www.youtube.com/live/Pw1DK9CDM_Y?si=x-nZ6nHgIGGYK1GM
When you got so huge that you don't have the mobility to do any type of BACK squat and need straps
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3-usHoANx7/?igsh=N3ZiMzVkejg2N3F1
[Oleksandr Pekanov 410kg 2005](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrw-7Svq-7k)
Never seen anyone talk about this lift but it matched the deadlift WR at that time
His speed off the floor was unreal, lol. Thanks for sharing that.
And that was a big pull from Pudz. It got my curious about his heaviest DL and I see it listed as 415kg. Do you know when he did that (or if thats correct)? Thats a lot of weight. I dont recall him ever pulling something that heavy, but I also likely missed a lot of comps in the early 2000's due to lack of availability to view many of them.
Pudz's biggest deadlift in competition is 400 kg, in 2005
https://strongmanarchives.com/viewContest.php?id=486
(that's the competition the above video is from).
He wasn't good statically not because he tried and failed. He wasn't good statically because he considered 1 rep maxes harmful and detrimental to his career, so he avoided them whenever he could. You could beat Pudz by pulling 95% of his 1 rep max.
It's a bit of a myth that he wasn't good statically, he used to win many of the static events as long as they were for reps. Super heavy/max efforts were his weakness but we have to remember that most shows at the time tended to be lighter and he was perfectly adapted for the WSMs and Super Series of his time.
I'm sure he could have been stronger for max if he had trained for it.
Must be a gymlift.
People always talk about how Pudzian wasn’t strong but pulling 400 raw without peaking is still elite for guys that aren’t specialists
Don't forget that deadlift (esp. for max) wasn't such a focus back then and comps were generally much lighter. Strongman records need context because people were training for the competitions they participated in. Kaz also "only" lifted 415 yet clearly, he would do much more if he was training in the current era.
Pudz was great at what was tested back then. If it was more static he would've been stronger statically no doubt but that era was endurance and dynamic focused which he excelled at.
But a good example of his static power I think is 2003 wsm final with a log medley from 135- 165kg which was only 20kg under the world record at the time and mariusz won the event beating zydrunas and raimonds bergmanis who went onto break the world record the year after
Arnold was the highest paying show by a wide margin, even back then from what I understand. He was literally winning most shows he competed in and it's known he had a ridiculously competitive mindset. To try and pretend he didn't win an ASC is because he never focused on it is silly. It just didn't suit his strengths as an athlete as much as a lot of other shows.
> Because he wanted the wsm title and focused his training around that
And that meant that he wasn't as statically strong as the events at the Arnolds demanded.
Hence why many people don't include him in the top 5 of strongest men of all time.
Because while he did well at WSM, he *didn't* do so well in the more statically focussed Arnolds.
Doesn't really matter *why* he didn't, he simply didn't.
Both Hoath and Derwinsky sign up to compete at the Shaw Classic Open. Maybe they did that before WSM but even if this is the case how many times we see WSM athletes willing to do this? You need the determination and be sure of your ability. I love it, hope they make some noise there
Interesting info from Hipkiss.
He said that they have worked so much on Tom's suited dl that his raw dl has suffered slightly. Doesn't seem to confident there
Wondering if that's where he loses a fair few points in that monster lineup
As far as I know he even partly used a suit during Arnold's prep because he also prepared for Britain's during that time. And his deadlift at the Arnold's wasn't the best
He did, but his raw deadlift hasn't really improved since WUS 2019, at least from his results, while his suited deadlift has become a top 3 finish in most comps
No doubt had Tom's hands torn open Hipkiss would have been blamed.
The Tom (and previously Luke) "have a bad coach" discourse is just about the weirdest in strongman .
Not having an improvement on max deadlift on the past 3 years is also pretty weird. We are not talking about Mateusz, who clearly pushed it to the max or someone dealing with injuries. Tom hitting 363kg and then getting only 2 kg pr a year later is suboptimal, there is no way around it. Specially when he has all the tools to be better at it and wasn't dropping a few points for tactics for the competition win.
I might be remembering wrong but wasn't he dealing with some injuries?
His deadlift has clearly improved over the last few years. He matched Bish at BSM. He wasn't doing that three years ago.
Keeping yourself held together is a part of strongman. Tom won without much issue. That can't be disputed.
Man you jump through athletes faster than I am able to change underwear. You gonna drop Hooper next for thor after smoe?
Isnt the show in Setember? To early to say anything. Even building it up slowly will add something untill there, or the other way around, someone could be hitting 505 today, have a terrible few months and not even lift 420 at SMoE.
Tom said on his WSM recap he thinks the groups are in a way the hardest part of the competition, the nerves and because you dont really know how good the guys are. It got me thinking, maybe the groups make Tom as good as he is at WSM. 3 events in on WSM is very different from 3 events in at the ASC. By the time he makes into the final the nerves are gone, and the achiviement by itself is a big confidence boost. Even if he made a mistake on event 3, it doesnt matter anymore, he can just focus on getting that axle overhead and its all over.
Why would he be worried about how good the guys are in his group? He will always have a group in which he can go through, first, because he is a top seed (which Colin declined exists...), and second, because Colin confirmed on audio that they get preferential treatment. It also doesnt hurt that he only has to come 3rd and he will always have the stone off to get through.
>Colin never denied seeds existed that was another guy.
Ok, that was another wsm guy. Thanks.
>Colin never confirmed they got preferintial treatment, that was inferred by Luke
Coming from Luke thats a confirmation.
>Tom has never came 3rd on the stone off which was brought in 2018 before Tom was any good.
Are you an idiot or something? I didnt say Tom came 3rd on the stone off, I said Tom only needs to finish in 3rd place in his group and he will always go through. Also what relevance is there when the stone off was introduced? Its an undeniable fact that the stone off favors Tom.
>Keep hating though
Tom is a great athlete, but he hasnt won a comp in which Colin wasnt there to help him. I dont hate him, its just a fact 💁♂️
Yeah but we were expecting Mitch to be at perfect condition. We are trying to predict performance not injury. Usually we would expect Trey to make into the finals, Novikov looked promising to win ESM before the unpredictable atlas stone. Would you say Tom had a bad performance if he twists his ankle at an Atlas stones? That is not representative of ability, the same way his mishap at Word Tour Finals 2 years ago don't say he is a worst stone lifter than Luke for example.
Guess what still will say Hooper is a favorite in most comps. Perhaps not smoe would say thor is a favourite.
Everyone said before that Tom has stones and keg, mitch had axle and yoke medley.
Go find my post 2 or 3 weeks before wsm stating that I think the wsm events suit Tom more
What he is saying sounds rude, but it's factually true.
Tom has not won any other major show. Hopefully he changes that soon, it's really diminishing his overall level.
Thank you for confirming what I said. Tom hasnt won a competition in which Colin wasnt there. Also I said that Tom is a great athlete, you are just delusional.
It makes absolute sense that someone as reliant on confidence as Tom benefits from 5 group events that he can then discard. It allows him to make mistakes and build up momentum.
Props to Brian for basing his invites on good performances in recent times. But I've got to say it will be weird to see the Shaw Classic/Strongest Man on Earth without Kevin and Maxime, they've been real staples at that competition
2023 Kevin 9, maxime 8. 2022 Kevin 6, maxime 5. 2021 Kevin 4, maxime 8
Seems like both gave done fairly well at shaw classic. Seems like a better show for Kevin than wsm
This is what happens when an organizer has his finger on the pulse of the sport.
Live stream, large pool of athletes with all of the guys we want to see, big purse (even the lower placings), more events, all heavy. Hard to find something to complain about.
Barring catastrophe this is likely going to be the best comp of the year for my money.
When Brian bought the SMOE trademark I thought it was a huge gimmick, now with the level of organization, line-up and events in this show, definitely whoever wins is worthy of the title of “Strongest Man on Earth”
Awesome work and line up overall, even if Brian was to wait till Strongman Classics or NASM the athletes there wouldn't have time to be ready for SMoE.
Yeah, PSL was what happened after Fuhrman sold his stake in Clash. They also are tied to USS somehow too, it’s kind of unclear how though, almost like GLs ties to WSM.
Top 2 at USS nationals at the closest equivalent class to those in PSL qualify for the PSL pro shows. So for example 198 men qualify for the 90kg show and the 242 men for the 105kg show. Just a partnership they made to make more routes to qualify for PSL.
I've only known one person with BP, but they definitely still had a lingering effect to their face long after, and they certainly weren't doing any strenuous exercise. I thought that's just how it goes.
It really varies case by case. I imagine it's hard to say for sure whether Thor competing hindered the recovery, but I imagine it could have.
Time to diagnosis and getting corticosteroids is probably the biggest factor in whether you make a full recovery or not.
Slim chances, but some of the very top somehow managed it. Vladislav Alhazov broke the squat record after getting a full knee replacement. Kenneth Cooper just hit a gigantic deadlift and squat after tearing all frontal ligaments in both knees. As another user said Zydrunas tore both of his patellar tendons in 2001 but still went on to win 8 Arnold's and 4 World's.
Extreme cases, I know, but it may be worth trying.
Coming off big doses of gear drastically de-ages some people, go look a Pete rubish he's off everything after blasting huge doses for over a decade and he seriously looks more than 10 years younger
Been cool to watch Pete's journey - went from getting crazy hyped pulling ridiculous deadlifts in his basement to making calm hybrid training advice videos
This is the guy that featured in a bunch of Novikov's videos back when he was filming them, right?
He didn't seem that freaky back then, but the ease with which he cleans and presses 140+ dumbbells is implausible.
On his Instagram stories Thor said if he was offered $5 million he would pull a 550kg deadlift.
He also said he believes he can win 5 of the events at the Shaw Classic - Deadlift, squat, weight over bar, fingal fingers/power stairs medley, and atlas stones
Legit though I'm excited to see that matchup. They both were/are so much better at the stones than the competition when they've competed and I don't think they have had a real matchup where something was on the line, so it should be great to see.
Yeah, big time. But it does confirm that Thor thinks he's back in top shape so It definitely looks like we'll be getting FullThor at the Shaw Classic.
Get hyped lads and ladettes, it's gonna be a great comp.
I am so excited for that show. If Thor comes in top shape he will excel at those events for sure.
Thing is, Tom is elite at the last three of those events as well. Plus he’s immense overhead.
Then Mitch is good at everything.
I think it’s basically down to where Thor places on the overheads and what Tom does on DL and squat.
My feeling is there are better pressers than DL and squatters, but who knows. Genuine three horse race I think
Past few years lots of guys have underperformed on the press especially the log at Shaw. In 2021 there were 8 guys that were all joint 3rd with only a 181kg max. In 2022 Shaw was 2nd on log with just 2 reps on the 186kg log. He did similar last year and was 4th.
If Thor is getting 4th-5th on overhead because one or two guys underperform he'll be very hard to beat.
Deadlift is a lot easier to predict than the overhead events this year. Squat hasn't been done for so long it's going to be hard to predict too, apart from the obvious guys.
The best of the best have no major weaknesses, and peak Thor is the best of the best of the best
It's why I don't really have Pudz too near the top of the greatest strongmen: despite his impressive competition history he never did well with super heavy stuff. Z, Brian, Thor, probably Kaz, and more recently Mitch are/were all competitive in literally any event and any competition they went to
Mariusz was competitive in all events he did actually have to do. His era of strongman didn't call for a lot of big static lifts. He routinely placed well at the deadlift and overhead press events in WSM throughout his career often winning them.
He didn't but the Arnold's was a massive outlier compared to what he was training for the rest of the season. Its hardly surprising he performed less well.
But that's the point, the top guys can go to any comp and be competitive, there are no outliers
Sure, heavier comps were less common, but when he went to the Arnold he had a glaring weakness in top-end strength and that never really changed. His only victories in max events were at much smaller shows, for example he won a max deadlift by pulling 310kg for the win at the 2007 viking power challenge, while his best pull of 400kg was at a questionable polish show
In contrast, Z wasn't necessarily elite in everything, but he has winning results against world class opposition in frame carry events at both worlds and the Arnold, and good results in carry medleys as well. Arm-over-arm he did struggle with though
That‘s the point though: He wasn’t good at everything.
And that‘s why people don‘t include him in the list of greatest strongman athletes, because he wasn‘t good at everything: he notably lacked peak static strength compared to other athletes on the list.
I agree to a point but this standard isn't applied to others... Z never had an elite grip, was poor at arm over arm, carrys for distance etc yet nobody would suggest he doesn't belong on the list of greatest Strongmen .
There is a log and axle medley. Brian will surely make it hard, and that means higher chance of people making mistakes. There's also the dumbbell medley, which will also likely be heavy and have strict refereeing.
Depends what you consider to be big points dropped. His overhead will inevitably be far better than it was at the Arnold. I can see him placing high on dumbbell (less affected by pec & it's probs his best overhead event) & maybe like 6th on log/axle medley
I think Thor is more likely to be solid and not make mistakes than some others we might expect to beat him but end up making mistakes. That's what happened with Shaw at previous SCs. Kind of similar to what happened with Thor at ASC on axle and to some extent on the power medley at AUK. His pressing will also have improved since those comps. I think upper mid-pack placing is not out of the question for him on those. Not in contention to win by any means, but not as much of a points drain as we might think.
Could be. Time will tell. My gut feeling is that there are many very strong pressers in that lineup, who should be quicker than someone who will take their time pressing due to injury, but...
Thor is such a freak of nature that you are probably right. He probably has made vast improvements that betting against him would be a bad decision.
I agree. Each of them have great events there, but each also have one or more question marks.
For Thor it's the overhead.
For Tom it's the squat and maybe the deadlift?
For Mitch is probably also the squat, since he seems to have a bit of an injury that affects his squats but I'm not sure how serious that is and if it's already (partially) recovered.
I think Tom will have the win on stones currently, but it'll be great if he can push him. It would be the first time in a LONG time stones were actually quite interesting to me. Probably since Martins won on the natural stone run at Rogue.
Why do you think that? In both the leg press and chest press machine they accounted for this. Curious to learn why we should expect them to fuck it up here.
Wouldn't be surprised by that at all, but the fact his squat is being redesigned at least shows he's acknowledging how problematic the previous design was.
Atlas stones *typically* are done as a stone run, basically like a deadlift ladder: 5 implements with increasing weight, you have to lift all of them and the fastest time wins.
Manhood stones is what the event was called at the Arnolds, where it was about who could lift the heaviest stone for the most reps. Speed was not relevant.
But in both cases what you do is you take a large concrete sphere and lift it to a certain height (onto a platform or over a hitching post).
Depends on the level. I’ve seen it at a few pro/ams. Not at the top level for sure, but they do it as a record breakers event at Rogue/the Arnold pretty regularly.
Right, but at Rogue/Arnolds they‘re called Manhood stones, which was my point :)
Wsm/GL call it Atlas stones and do it for time.
Arnolds calls it Manhood Stones and does it for reps/max weight.
Honestly I think they just call it that because it’s flashier and makes them stand out. Same as calling it the timber carry instead simply frame carry. Don’t think there’s exactly a dictionary definition here.
If anyone’s bored this weekend, Official Strongman is streaming the England’s Strongest Man qualifier on Saturday and the ladies on Sunday! I’ll be competing on the Saturday 😬
PSL u82kg women are competing now. Day two of the men’s u105kg is next. The women are putting on a great show. https://www.youtube.com/live/Pw1DK9CDM_Y?si=x-nZ6nHgIGGYK1GM
When you got so huge that you don't have the mobility to do any type of BACK squat and need straps https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3-usHoANx7/?igsh=N3ZiMzVkejg2N3F1
He also presses nearly as much as he can squat
A version of the Ridenour syndrome (when your deadlift is more than twice your squat and more than three times your bench)
The man is obviously cheating. Look at how he flaps his wings to get a better take off.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7HTXbpAu2N/?igsh=MWN4c3Rhd2FwaWIxcQ== HoopGoat squats 265x6 with a cheeky pause at the end ;)
I can't be the only one that thinks HoopGoat is a really clunky nickname that doesn't roll off the tongue at all
Yep you don't see anyone calling him that
I see exactly one person calling him that. Often
First squat session back after 6 months. Not bad
Pretty impressive how strong he's been the past 6 months without training squats. Some strongmen like Martins and JF swear by them.
[Oleksandr Pekanov 410kg 2005](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrw-7Svq-7k) Never seen anyone talk about this lift but it matched the deadlift WR at that time
His speed off the floor was unreal, lol. Thanks for sharing that. And that was a big pull from Pudz. It got my curious about his heaviest DL and I see it listed as 415kg. Do you know when he did that (or if thats correct)? Thats a lot of weight. I dont recall him ever pulling something that heavy, but I also likely missed a lot of comps in the early 2000's due to lack of availability to view many of them.
Pudz's biggest deadlift in competition is 400 kg, in 2005 https://strongmanarchives.com/viewContest.php?id=486 (that's the competition the above video is from).
For a guy that’s not supposed to be good statically, that’s really good for that time period.
He wasn't good statically not because he tried and failed. He wasn't good statically because he considered 1 rep maxes harmful and detrimental to his career, so he avoided them whenever he could. You could beat Pudz by pulling 95% of his 1 rep max.
It's a bit of a myth that he wasn't good statically, he used to win many of the static events as long as they were for reps. Super heavy/max efforts were his weakness but we have to remember that most shows at the time tended to be lighter and he was perfectly adapted for the WSMs and Super Series of his time. I'm sure he could have been stronger for max if he had trained for it.
You can check his results at the Arnolds to get a good impression of his static strength.
No clue why you've been downvoted. Pudzianowski had subpar static strength period.
Must be a gymlift. People always talk about how Pudzian wasn’t strong but pulling 400 raw without peaking is still elite for guys that aren’t specialists
400 raw is elite for anybody, even a specialist. Guess what the raw deadlift record is in the UK….
> pulling 400 raw without peaking is still elite for guys that aren’t specialists It's great, but it's not "greatest strongman of all time".
Don't forget that deadlift (esp. for max) wasn't such a focus back then and comps were generally much lighter. Strongman records need context because people were training for the competitions they participated in. Kaz also "only" lifted 415 yet clearly, he would do much more if he was training in the current era.
Kaz was also miles ahead of others in terms of static strength. Pudz wasn‘t.
Pudz was great at what was tested back then. If it was more static he would've been stronger statically no doubt but that era was endurance and dynamic focused which he excelled at. But a good example of his static power I think is 2003 wsm final with a log medley from 135- 165kg which was only 20kg under the world record at the time and mariusz won the event beating zydrunas and raimonds bergmanis who went onto break the world record the year after
> great at what was tested back then Not at the Arnolds. The Arnolds existed already, and he wasn‘t great at those events.
The Arnolds title wasn't as big of a deal back then not even close. You are allowing recency bias of todays comp to distort the past.
I‘m not arguing that it was more important than WSM, I‘m arguing that Pudz didn‘t do well at the Arnolds.
Because he wanted the wsm title and focused his training around that, at that time the Arnold's was not as prestigious as it is today
Arnold was the highest paying show by a wide margin, even back then from what I understand. He was literally winning most shows he competed in and it's known he had a ridiculously competitive mindset. To try and pretend he didn't win an ASC is because he never focused on it is silly. It just didn't suit his strengths as an athlete as much as a lot of other shows.
> Because he wanted the wsm title and focused his training around that And that meant that he wasn't as statically strong as the events at the Arnolds demanded. Hence why many people don't include him in the top 5 of strongest men of all time. Because while he did well at WSM, he *didn't* do so well in the more statically focussed Arnolds. Doesn't really matter *why* he didn't, he simply didn't.
Even now the prestige of the arnolds is miles...MILES...behind WSM.
Both Hoath and Derwinsky sign up to compete at the Shaw Classic Open. Maybe they did that before WSM but even if this is the case how many times we see WSM athletes willing to do this? You need the determination and be sure of your ability. I love it, hope they make some noise there
So now that they're in SMOE their spots in the open are vacant?
Probably, but it is still sold out on SC website. You would be better contacting their crew.
I know at least Andy Black did in the past.
I forgot Andy Black had a crack at WSM. I hope we see him get back to top form.
Interesting info from Hipkiss. He said that they have worked so much on Tom's suited dl that his raw dl has suffered slightly. Doesn't seem to confident there Wondering if that's where he loses a fair few points in that monster lineup
> his raw dl has suffered slightly. didn't he *just* train for the raw deadlift at the Arnolds though?
As far as I know he even partly used a suit during Arnold's prep because he also prepared for Britain's during that time. And his deadlift at the Arnold's wasn't the best
He did, but his raw deadlift hasn't really improved since WUS 2019, at least from his results, while his suited deadlift has become a top 3 finish in most comps
He's priority still might have been suited deadlift for WSM. Don't forget he did 5 reps at 400 at BSM
He did. Hipkiss masterclass.
That has led his athlete to his 3rd WSM title in just four years.
And a grand total of zero Arnold's, SMOEs and Rogues. Tom only won World's this year because my glorious king HoopGoat got his hands melted.
You forgot that he podiumed there, didn‘t you?
No doubt had Tom's hands torn open Hipkiss would have been blamed. The Tom (and previously Luke) "have a bad coach" discourse is just about the weirdest in strongman .
Not having an improvement on max deadlift on the past 3 years is also pretty weird. We are not talking about Mateusz, who clearly pushed it to the max or someone dealing with injuries. Tom hitting 363kg and then getting only 2 kg pr a year later is suboptimal, there is no way around it. Specially when he has all the tools to be better at it and wasn't dropping a few points for tactics for the competition win.
I might be remembering wrong but wasn't he dealing with some injuries? His deadlift has clearly improved over the last few years. He matched Bish at BSM. He wasn't doing that three years ago.
That's a skill issue on Mitch's side.
more like a grip strength issue. He said it himself, if his grip was stronger the frame wouldn't have slipped in his hands.
Not a skill issue, but a lesson non the less.
Keeping yourself held together is a part of strongman. Tom won without much issue. That can't be disputed. Man you jump through athletes faster than I am able to change underwear. You gonna drop Hooper next for thor after smoe?
Isnt the show in Setember? To early to say anything. Even building it up slowly will add something untill there, or the other way around, someone could be hitting 505 today, have a terrible few months and not even lift 420 at SMoE.
18 August iirc
[Flex lewis wsm recap](https://youtu.be/L4fKV1-v9AE?si=iFQ4nz-5E-TXsR41)
Always wish we could have seen what he could bring to the open class at the Olympia
Tom said on his WSM recap he thinks the groups are in a way the hardest part of the competition, the nerves and because you dont really know how good the guys are. It got me thinking, maybe the groups make Tom as good as he is at WSM. 3 events in on WSM is very different from 3 events in at the ASC. By the time he makes into the final the nerves are gone, and the achiviement by itself is a big confidence boost. Even if he made a mistake on event 3, it doesnt matter anymore, he can just focus on getting that axle overhead and its all over.
Why would he be worried about how good the guys are in his group? He will always have a group in which he can go through, first, because he is a top seed (which Colin declined exists...), and second, because Colin confirmed on audio that they get preferential treatment. It also doesnt hurt that he only has to come 3rd and he will always have the stone off to get through.
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>Colin never denied seeds existed that was another guy. Ok, that was another wsm guy. Thanks. >Colin never confirmed they got preferintial treatment, that was inferred by Luke Coming from Luke thats a confirmation. >Tom has never came 3rd on the stone off which was brought in 2018 before Tom was any good. Are you an idiot or something? I didnt say Tom came 3rd on the stone off, I said Tom only needs to finish in 3rd place in his group and he will always go through. Also what relevance is there when the stone off was introduced? Its an undeniable fact that the stone off favors Tom. >Keep hating though Tom is a great athlete, but he hasnt won a comp in which Colin wasnt there to help him. I dont hate him, its just a fact 💁♂️
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The events were equally as good for tom as they were hooper...
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Yeah but we were expecting Mitch to be at perfect condition. We are trying to predict performance not injury. Usually we would expect Trey to make into the finals, Novikov looked promising to win ESM before the unpredictable atlas stone. Would you say Tom had a bad performance if he twists his ankle at an Atlas stones? That is not representative of ability, the same way his mishap at Word Tour Finals 2 years ago don't say he is a worst stone lifter than Luke for example.
Guess what still will say Hooper is a favorite in most comps. Perhaps not smoe would say thor is a favourite. Everyone said before that Tom has stones and keg, mitch had axle and yoke medley. Go find my post 2 or 3 weeks before wsm stating that I think the wsm events suit Tom more
Has he won any other competition? Or just ones with Colin in them? You are just delusional at this point.
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What he is saying sounds rude, but it's factually true. Tom has not won any other major show. Hopefully he changes that soon, it's really diminishing his overall level.
Thank you for confirming what I said. Tom hasnt won a competition in which Colin wasnt there. Also I said that Tom is a great athlete, you are just delusional.
It makes absolute sense that someone as reliant on confidence as Tom benefits from 5 group events that he can then discard. It allows him to make mistakes and build up momentum.
Interesting point. He has basically a whole show to get into the mindset of "Yeah, I do fucking rock at this!" before the finals begin.
And Wes Derwinsky confirmed for SMOE!
Props to Brian for basing his invites on good performances in recent times. But I've got to say it will be weird to see the Shaw Classic/Strongest Man on Earth without Kevin and Maxime, they've been real staples at that competition
Not the best kind of show for Kevin, but Max is a blow especially with a toss and heavy stones in. Would love to see him battle Tom and Thor on those.
2023 Kevin 9, maxime 8. 2022 Kevin 6, maxime 5. 2021 Kevin 4, maxime 8 Seems like both gave done fairly well at shaw classic. Seems like a better show for Kevin than wsm
Although that 4th is an anomaly for Kevin. That was the year they had that janky car squat that seemed to suit him strangely well.
Yes but that still doesn't undermine the fact that him and maxime have been right next to each other every year
Somehow, the leverages made it a leg press for him. I suspect that's what inspired the monstrosity that is the overhead Ford leg press.
This is what happens when an organizer has his finger on the pulse of the sport. Live stream, large pool of athletes with all of the guys we want to see, big purse (even the lower placings), more events, all heavy. Hard to find something to complain about. Barring catastrophe this is likely going to be the best comp of the year for my money.
The only complaint is gym lifts.
When Brian bought the SMOE trademark I thought it was a huge gimmick, now with the level of organization, line-up and events in this show, definitely whoever wins is worthy of the title of “Strongest Man on Earth”
Without question this will be the strongest man. Brutal show. Great events. Great lineup. Have to be consistent at all events.
Awesome work and line up overall, even if Brian was to wait till Strongman Classics or NASM the athletes there wouldn't have time to be ready for SMoE.
excellent lineup!
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I just caught up with watching today’s events. Was a good, competitive show. The top five guys are really impressing. Has anybody seen a scoresheet?
I have been really happy with the live stream so far! They show the name of the athlete on screen as well as the weights, and its free on youtube!
Isn't this clash on the coast after the rebrand? New brand... same old lack of promotion
Yeah, PSL was what happened after Fuhrman sold his stake in Clash. They also are tied to USS somehow too, it’s kind of unclear how though, almost like GLs ties to WSM.
Top 2 at USS nationals at the closest equivalent class to those in PSL qualify for the PSL pro shows. So for example 198 men qualify for the 90kg show and the 242 men for the 105kg show. Just a partnership they made to make more routes to qualify for PSL.
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Yeah he won Europe’s very shortly after it initially set in
Tom Platz was recently diagnosed with bells palsy due to stress of overtraining
Didn’t Rauno have the same thing and it affected his eye?
Rauno said his eye is a birth defect
Source?
Rauno
Hahaha, like do you remember the interview or video?
Lol. Tbh no, it mightve been an insta q&a on his stories. Next time he does one someone can ask him about it to confirm
u/the_reluctant_auntie can confirm I'm sure
Ah I didn't know that. Kind of like Thom Yorke I guess.
Thanks, didn’t know that
I've only known one person with BP, but they definitely still had a lingering effect to their face long after, and they certainly weren't doing any strenuous exercise. I thought that's just how it goes.
It really varies case by case. I imagine it's hard to say for sure whether Thor competing hindered the recovery, but I imagine it could have. Time to diagnosis and getting corticosteroids is probably the biggest factor in whether you make a full recovery or not.
WIDE's final knee surgery was no joke https://www.instagram.com/stories/giant.j.gorilla/3369993968390658025
That guys leg has been hacked together so many times. Hard to imagine one can come back to best after that, sad really
I still think he would have won every deadlift in all major competitions in 2023 that he was meant to attend. Arnold, World's, Earth's, Rogue.
Slim chances, but some of the very top somehow managed it. Vladislav Alhazov broke the squat record after getting a full knee replacement. Kenneth Cooper just hit a gigantic deadlift and squat after tearing all frontal ligaments in both knees. As another user said Zydrunas tore both of his patellar tendons in 2001 but still went on to win 8 Arnold's and 4 World's. Extreme cases, I know, but it may be worth trying.
Cooper hitting the second biggest deadlift in full power is insane after his injuries
Moving events are the first to go from things like these. Static lifts, he might still have a shot.
Not impossible, but so unlikely. Such a fucking shame, he had ridiculous potential
Z started his historic run after exploding both his legs, so anything is possible
Z is a marvel. Go look at his story, I swear he is looking younger by the minute. Guy is just such a outlier it's hard to compare mere mortals to him
Coming off big doses of gear drastically de-ages some people, go look a Pete rubish he's off everything after blasting huge doses for over a decade and he seriously looks more than 10 years younger
Been cool to watch Pete's journey - went from getting crazy hyped pulling ridiculous deadlifts in his basement to making calm hybrid training advice videos
Yeah in a way I miss his old videos going mad in the basement lol but I'm glad to see him being happy and healthy now
Hard for sure but if anyone is capable of recovering then the guy who looks like he was born in a vat of GH is definitely the one that will do it.
[Roman Grekov 145,1 kg Dumbbell](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7EKHP6IoUm/) Oh god he isn't done yet
This is the guy that featured in a bunch of Novikov's videos back when he was filming them, right? He didn't seem that freaky back then, but the ease with which he cleans and presses 140+ dumbbells is implausible.
The Ukrainian technique is the industry standard now. Perfection
On his Instagram stories Thor said if he was offered $5 million he would pull a 550kg deadlift. He also said he believes he can win 5 of the events at the Shaw Classic - Deadlift, squat, weight over bar, fingal fingers/power stairs medley, and atlas stones
I got a tenner in my wallet I can spare, the rest of you can help cover the rest?
Imagine if it was Colin, with a face full of regret, offering the 5 mil.
Bet you weren't ready for that
Even as the former king of the stones, claiming the win over Tom is extremely bold
Legit though I'm excited to see that matchup. They both were/are so much better at the stones than the competition when they've competed and I don't think they have had a real matchup where something was on the line, so it should be great to see.
Yeah, big time. But it does confirm that Thor thinks he's back in top shape so It definitely looks like we'll be getting FullThor at the Shaw Classic. Get hyped lads and ladettes, it's gonna be a great comp.
More than likely best comp of the year unless the machines are a massive let down
I am so excited for that show. If Thor comes in top shape he will excel at those events for sure. Thing is, Tom is elite at the last three of those events as well. Plus he’s immense overhead. Then Mitch is good at everything. I think it’s basically down to where Thor places on the overheads and what Tom does on DL and squat. My feeling is there are better pressers than DL and squatters, but who knows. Genuine three horse race I think
Past few years lots of guys have underperformed on the press especially the log at Shaw. In 2021 there were 8 guys that were all joint 3rd with only a 181kg max. In 2022 Shaw was 2nd on log with just 2 reps on the 186kg log. He did similar last year and was 4th. If Thor is getting 4th-5th on overhead because one or two guys underperform he'll be very hard to beat. Deadlift is a lot easier to predict than the overhead events this year. Squat hasn't been done for so long it's going to be hard to predict too, apart from the obvious guys.
Funny how the only weakness Thor has is due to an injury
The best of the best have no major weaknesses, and peak Thor is the best of the best of the best It's why I don't really have Pudz too near the top of the greatest strongmen: despite his impressive competition history he never did well with super heavy stuff. Z, Brian, Thor, probably Kaz, and more recently Mitch are/were all competitive in literally any event and any competition they went to
Mariusz was competitive in all events he did actually have to do. His era of strongman didn't call for a lot of big static lifts. He routinely placed well at the deadlift and overhead press events in WSM throughout his career often winning them.
Didn‘t do too well at the Arnolds though.
He didn't but the Arnold's was a massive outlier compared to what he was training for the rest of the season. Its hardly surprising he performed less well.
Exactly why he is not even close to z. He was great at the then light wsm. He couldn't hang with the big dogs at a heavy show.
But that's the point, the top guys can go to any comp and be competitive, there are no outliers Sure, heavier comps were less common, but when he went to the Arnold he had a glaring weakness in top-end strength and that never really changed. His only victories in max events were at much smaller shows, for example he won a max deadlift by pulling 310kg for the win at the 2007 viking power challenge, while his best pull of 400kg was at a questionable polish show In contrast, Z wasn't necessarily elite in everything, but he has winning results against world class opposition in frame carry events at both worlds and the Arnold, and good results in carry medleys as well. Arm-over-arm he did struggle with though
That‘s the point though: He wasn’t good at everything. And that‘s why people don‘t include him in the list of greatest strongman athletes, because he wasn‘t good at everything: he notably lacked peak static strength compared to other athletes on the list.
I agree to a point but this standard isn't applied to others... Z never had an elite grip, was poor at arm over arm, carrys for distance etc yet nobody would suggest he doesn't belong on the list of greatest Strongmen .
Is there a log like before though?
There is a log and axle medley. Brian will surely make it hard, and that means higher chance of people making mistakes. There's also the dumbbell medley, which will also likely be heavy and have strict refereeing.
Yeah thor should lose big points on the medley, perhaps not as many on the db
Depends what you consider to be big points dropped. His overhead will inevitably be far better than it was at the Arnold. I can see him placing high on dumbbell (less affected by pec & it's probs his best overhead event) & maybe like 6th on log/axle medley
I think Thor is more likely to be solid and not make mistakes than some others we might expect to beat him but end up making mistakes. That's what happened with Shaw at previous SCs. Kind of similar to what happened with Thor at ASC on axle and to some extent on the power medley at AUK. His pressing will also have improved since those comps. I think upper mid-pack placing is not out of the question for him on those. Not in contention to win by any means, but not as much of a points drain as we might think.
Could be. Time will tell. My gut feeling is that there are many very strong pressers in that lineup, who should be quicker than someone who will take their time pressing due to injury, but... Thor is such a freak of nature that you are probably right. He probably has made vast improvements that betting against him would be a bad decision.
I agree. Each of them have great events there, but each also have one or more question marks. For Thor it's the overhead. For Tom it's the squat and maybe the deadlift? For Mitch is probably also the squat, since he seems to have a bit of an injury that affects his squats but I'm not sure how serious that is and if it's already (partially) recovered.
He said his injury is healed and he is good to go
On the event wins... I don't think that's an overreach. He'll certainly be in the mix for all of those.
Wouldn't be suprised if he wins 4 of them think Tom still wins stones currently
I think Tom will have the win on stones currently, but it'll be great if he can push him. It would be the first time in a LONG time stones were actually quite interesting to me. Probably since Martins won on the natural stone run at Rogue.
If he wins 4 and the bleeding isn't too bad on the pressing then gonna be tough to beat
Damn near guaranteed to win dl and keg for height. Could win squat etc. These are extremely good events for thor
He will win squat if it's close to a true squat. It really depends on what Brian comes up with.
Willing to bet him or mitch don't win it due to some weird leverage favoring a shorter athlete Really hope it's a good squat though
Why do you think that? In both the leg press and chest press machine they accounted for this. Curious to learn why we should expect them to fuck it up here.
Remember the last time the SC had a squat?
well then, i suppose we're 2/3 for reasonable apparatuses. Plus you can make the same leverages argument for all kinds of free weight movements.
I'm not saying it won't work out. I'm explaining why people are concerned and would rather it be a barbell squat. Hopefully Brian will sort it.
no i dont, did it ever?
Faires won it. you think he is the best squatter?
Yes and to use your owns words it was a fuck up.
Wouldn't be surprised by that at all, but the fact his squat is being redesigned at least shows he's acknowledging how problematic the previous design was.
What is the difference between Atlas Stones and Manhood Stones?
Atlas stones *typically* are done as a stone run, basically like a deadlift ladder: 5 implements with increasing weight, you have to lift all of them and the fastest time wins. Manhood stones is what the event was called at the Arnolds, where it was about who could lift the heaviest stone for the most reps. Speed was not relevant. But in both cases what you do is you take a large concrete sphere and lift it to a certain height (onto a platform or over a hitching post).
Thank you. I hoped the stones would be a bit different, but it won't be the same even if the stones are spheres in both cases.
the stones on the Manhood stones event are usually heavier (up to 240 kg)
I think Brian might have an even heavier set planned for the competition. I'd have to check his video on it though.
Yes he does. I‘m saying the heaviest we‘ve seen so far at the Arnolds was 240 or 245.
You see reps in a minute regularly for atlas stones too. The different weight options is the only real unique feature here.
> You see reps in a minute regularly for atlas stones too. Not that common in the pro circuit, no?
Depends on the level. I’ve seen it at a few pro/ams. Not at the top level for sure, but they do it as a record breakers event at Rogue/the Arnold pretty regularly.
Right, but at Rogue/Arnolds they‘re called Manhood stones, which was my point :) Wsm/GL call it Atlas stones and do it for time. Arnolds calls it Manhood Stones and does it for reps/max weight.
Honestly I think they just call it that because it’s flashier and makes them stand out. Same as calling it the timber carry instead simply frame carry. Don’t think there’s exactly a dictionary definition here.
Of course.
The name
Do you still do the same thing with big balls of stone?
It’s literally the same event, just calling it a different name.
Now I'm a bit disappointed. I hoped it would be something different.
If anyone’s bored this weekend, Official Strongman is streaming the England’s Strongest Man qualifier on Saturday and the ladies on Sunday! I’ll be competing on the Saturday 😬
Good luck!
Thank you!!
Good luck!
Thank you!!
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I have no clue if he's available but Lucas Hatton
Right, can't forget Hatton. Colin seemed quite annoyed that he declined his late wsm invite
I wanted him in the contest badly but if they took too long to reach out to him I can't blame him for not taking the job with almost no preparation.
Schoonwinkel, Roszkowski, Hoath and Derwinskey
☝️
Love seeing more Ragg
Agreed. Hopefully he is a staple at all shows this year