Arnold Strongman Classic: An Unpredictable Battle Is Coming
2022-03-02 by Éloi Fournier
Entering this week, the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) was set to be one of the best ones yet. With no former champions in the lineup, strongman fans were guaranteed to see a new athlete on top of the podium. 2020 runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski was the odds-on favourite… but yesterday, Strongman Polska announced that Kieliszkowski would be forced to pull out of the Arnold Strongman Classic due to a hip injury.
2019 runner-up Martins Licis, who won the Rogue Invitational last year, is now the man with a target on his back. Still, with some entirely new events such as the Max Squat, can we really know what’s going to happen?
Day 1 Events
Max Squat: The Arnold Strongman Classic kicks off with this rarely seen event in strongman, which used to be contested in the 1980s World’s Strongest Man competitions before falling out of favour. We have seen most of the ASC athletes take part in squat events for repetitions before, but never for max weight.
Martins Licis, who won the Squat Lift at the 2019 World’s Strongest Man Final, should do well here, but Rob Kearney, Jean-François Caron and Bobby Thompson have all looked very impressive in training. However, with this being a new event, expect to be surprised!
The event will be contested on the brand new Double T Barbell, a curved implement which looks similar to a Duffalo bar. Designed by former powerlifter Louie Simmons and made by Rogue Fitness, the bar is named after Dr. Terry Todd, founder of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The athletes will have 3 attempts and will choose their own weights.
Dumbbell Press: With a 125 kg / 275 lb implement, this is the second heaviest Dumbbell Press for reps event recorded on Strongman Archives. There have been heavier dumbbells lifted as part of medleys, but only once has a heavier weight been done for reps. That was at the 2016 Arnold Strongman Classic, when Brian Shaw won the event by pressing 136 kg / 300 lb for 3 reps.
Oleksii Novikov is always the man to watch in dumbbell-related events… Novikov has not lost such an event since the 2020 ASC, where he was beaten by Kieliszkowski. The Ukrainian managed 136 kg as part of a medley at the 2021 Rogue Invitational to win the event easily. Newcomer Evgeny Markov is another dumbbell specialist - he has done 130 kg for 5 reps in training - and Trey Mitchell will also be expecting big points in this discipline.
Day 2 Events
Max Log Lift: With 5 men who have pressed more than 200 kg / 441 lb in competition before, we could see some massive weights being lifted here.
Luke Stoltman, who managed 215 kg at last year’s World’s Strongest Man Final, will be one to watch, but Bobby Thompson, Trey Mitchell and Maxime Boudreault were all hot on his heels in that contest… These four could all be above the 450-pound threshold on Saturday afternoon.
Timber Carry: An ASC staple, this event features a 400 kg / 882 lb frame to be carried up a 35-foot ramp. Completing the Timber Carry is a notoriously difficult feat: in 2020, only 3 athletes managed it.
With Mateusz Kieliszkowski’s absence, this event could go either way. Martins Licis finished the Timber Carry in 17.37 seconds in 2020, but Maxime Boudreault is known for his speed in such events. Two years ago, in Santa Monica, Boudreault edged out Licis by just under a second in a very heavy Farmer’s Walk. The Timber Carry could be a make or break event for Tom Stoltman. The Scot is known for having issues with his grip, but he annihilated the frame at World’s Strongest Man last year, showing a tremendous improvement.
Stone to Shoulder: Just like the Timber Carry, the Stone to Shoulder is normally a banker event for Mateusz Kieliszkowski… and just like the Timber Carry, Martins Licis stands to benefit from Kieliszkowski’s withdrawal.
Licis is the only man besides Kieliszkowski to have done multiple reps with the massive 186 kg / 410 lb natural stone in the past. Tom Stoltman, Trey Mitchell and Maxime Boudreault are all tremendous stone lifters, but they have never touched this particular boulder before.
With so many unknown quantities, no former champions and 5 newcomers, this year’s Arnold Strongman Classic could be unforgettable. Tune in to the Rogue Fitness YouTube channel on Friday and Saturday, and make sure to follow along on Strongman Archives!