Novikov and Chapman Triumphant in Dubai
2021-09-17 by Éloi Fournier
Two major contests organized by the World's Ultimate Strongman (WUS) organization took place today in Dubai, and both came down to the wire.
WUS was staging their second international men's contest of the year, Friday evening, and they also held their first ever World's Ultimate Strongwoman competition.
Annabelle Chapman Surprises Many
Most observers predicted a battle between three-time World's Strongest Woman Donna Moore and 2018 champion Andrea Thompson. That is not what materialized in Dubai. Instead, Annabelle Chapman, who had been comfortably beaten by Moore a few weeks ago at the UK's Strongest Woman contest, stepped up to the occasion.
Chapman was consistent throughout the events, finishing in the top 4 in each discipline. This was enough for the athlete from Yorkshire as her main rivals all had one major stumble: Donna Moore only got 4 reps in the Log Lift, Melissa Peacock was unable to complete the Farmer's Walk, and Andrea Thompson finished last in the Atlas Stones. Thompson had been struggling with a calf injury throughout the show and missed out on the podium.
Donna Moore finished 2nd today, only two points behind Annabelle Chapman. Moore dug herself an early hole in the Log Lift, coming in sixth place, and although she won the Super Yoke and the Atlas Stones, it was not quite enough for the winner of UK's Strongest Woman.
Canada's Melissa Peacock finished a single point behind Moore to seal the biggest international podium in her career. The lightest woman in the field, Peacock showed her speed and agility in the Chain Railway Carriage and did very well on every event except the Farmer's Walk, where her grip unfortunately let her down. Peacock's performance was extremely impressive nonetheless.
Novikov Edges Out Kieliszkowski
It felt just like 2019 again as Oleksii Novikov and Mateusz Kieliszkowski battled in Dubai. Kieliszkowski, who had not competed in 18 months due to multiple tricep tears, truly showed that he was back.
The Polish athlete's attempt at redemption fell just short, in the end, as he failed the final stone in the series of 10. The stone, weighing 200 kg, was conquered by Novikov and this was what the Ukrainian needed. In the overall standings, Novikov won by a single point!
Although Kieliszkowski was understandably disappointed after coming so close to a win, everyone watching was impressed by how strong he was. Kieliszkowski won three individual events - the Super Yoke, the Farmer's Walk and the Chain Railway Carriage - and finished 10 points ahead of the third place finisher. Kieliszkowski's last international win came in October 2019 at the WUS Dubai contest.
The battle for 3rd place was also a thrilling one, and Aivars Šmaukstelis ended up taking it. The Latvian beat Jean-François Caron by nearly 20 seconds in the Atlas Stones, delivering a great performance to win the event. This is a second WUS podium this year for Šmaukstelis, who had also finished third at WUS Strength Island in March.