The 2023 Strongman Classic scheduled for July 8, 2023, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, will feature five events to determine which of the 12 competing strongmen will hoist gold above the rest. On May 5, 2023, the five events were revealed on the Giants Live Instagram page as the following:
2023 Strongman Classic Events
- Event One — Nicol Stone Carry
- Event Two — Super Yoke
- Event Three — Axle Deadlift
- Event Four — Viking Press
- Event Five — Castle Stones
The above events include two returning events from the 2022 edition of the contest. The Axle Deadlift was featured as Event Four in 2022, and the Castle Stones were the closing event.
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[Related: 2023 Georgia’s Strongest Man Results — Konstantine Janashia Remains Unbeatable]
2023 Strongman Classic Roster
The 12-strongman roster competing in London includes the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Mitchell Hooper, the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Pavlo Kordiyaka, two-time WSM champion Tom Stoltman, and 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov, who won the 2022 Strongman Classic, among others:
- Kevin Faires
- Mitchell Hooper
- Rongo Keene
- Pavlo Kordiyaka
- Pavlo Nakonechnny
- Oleksii Novikov — Defending Champion
- Spenser Remick
- Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou
- Evan Singleton
- Luke Stoltman
- Tom Stoltman
- Eddie Williams
The Nicol Stone Carry event is a forte of Kevin Faires. While he has yet to post a pro strongman win in the Open category, he is notoriously strong in grip events for distance. Faires held the Nicol Stones world record of 22.2 meters entering the 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals on Oct. 8, 2022.
Paul Smith, Andy Black, and Mitchell Hooper each broke Faires’ record in succession at that event. However, Faires refused to be dethroned and extended his world record to 24.61 meters, where it currently stands at the time of this article’s publication.
This contest will also mark the return of Nakonechnny, who had to withdraw from the 2o23 ESM and 2023 WSM contests due to a knee injury sustained at the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic won by Hooper. He will have had approximately four months of recovery time when the 2023 Strongman Classic kicks off, so we’ll see if he is in good enough form to contend with the world’s best.
Featured image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram