# 2022 World's Strongest Man

The 2022 World's Strongest Man was the 45th edition of the World's Strongest Man competition, an event that took place in Sacramento, California from May 24 to May 29, 2022. The contest was won by Tom Stoltman with this being his second consecutive title. Joining him on the podium were the 2019 and 2020 World's Strongest Man winners, Martins Licis and Oleksii Novikov respectively, who tied on points. In the event of a draw, the higher placing athlete in the last event, in this case Licis in the Atlas Stones, wins the tie-breaker.

## Participants

* Tom Stoltman
* Kevin Faires
* Gabriel Rhéaume
* Aivars Šmaukstelis
* Andy Black
* Manuel Angulo
* Mitchell Hooper
* Brian Shaw
* Gabriel Peña
* Konstantine Janashia
* Bobby Thompson
* Mark Felix
* Oleksii Novikov
* Adam Bishop
* Mika Törrö
* Trey Mitchell
* Rob Kearney
* Grzegorz Szymanski
* Martins Licis
* Maxime Boudreault
* Pavlo Kordiyaka
* Gavin Bilton
* Shane Flowers
* Nedžmin Ambešković
* Luke Stoltman
* Kelvin De Ruiter
* Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð
* Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf
* Evan Singleton
* Kim Ujarak
Manuel Angulo, Nedžmin Ambešković and Kim Ujarak are the first representatives of Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greenland in WSM history, respectively. Angulo is also the first South American athlete to compete at WSM.
Before the contest began, two time runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Peiman Maheripourehir, Rauno Heinla and Pa O’Dwyer were initially contestants before withdrawing.
Graham Hicks, Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou, four time champion Žydrūnas Savickas, and regular finalist J.F. Caron declined to compete. Hicks declined his invitation as he was not permitted to travel to the United States from the United Kingdom as he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Caron was unable to compete as he recovered from injuries he sustained at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic.

## Heat results
### Format

The 30 athletes were divided into 5 groups of 6 athletes, with 2 athletes from each group progressing to the final of 10. The winner of each group progressed to the final, and 2nd and 3rd in each group would then advance to a 'Stone Off', from which the winner would also progress.

### Events

* Loading Race: 5 implements. 1 Minute 15 second time limit.
* Deadlift Ladder: 5 lifts weighing between 300–380 kilograms (660–840 lb). 1 Minute 15 second time limit.
* Car Walk: 430 kilograms (950 lb) down a 20 metres (66 ft) course. 60 second time limit
* Log Lift: 145 kilograms (320 lb). 1 Minute 15 second time limit.
* Wrecking Ball Hold: 228 kilograms (503 lb)

### Heat 1

| # | Name | Event 1 Loading Race | Event 2 Deadlift Ladder | Event 3 Car Walk | Event 4 Log Lift | Event 5 Wrecking Ball Hold | Pts |
| 1 | Tom Stoltman | 1st - 5 in 38.39s | 1st - 5 in 51.46s | 1st - 14.65s | 1st - 8 reps | 6th - 4.63s | 25 |
| 2 | Kevin Faires | 2nd - 5 in 43.36s | 3rd - 4 in 45.89s | 3rd - 19.32s | 2nd - 7 reps | 1st - 1m 35.18s | 24 |
| 3 | Gabriel Rhéaume | 5th - 5 in 53.39s | 2nd - 4 in 39.40s | 2nd - 16.44s | 3rd - 6 reps | 3rd - 1m 24.10s | 20 |
| 4 | Aivars Šmaukstelis | 3rd - 5 in 44.37s | 4th - 4 in 55.91s | 4th - 19.91s | 4th - 4 reps | 5th - 57.44s | 15 |
| 5 | Andy Black | 4th - 5 in 50.81s | 5th - 4 in 1m 2.30s | 5th - 32.71s | 5th - 0 reps | 2nd - 1m 26.92s | 12 |
| 6 | Manuel Angulo | 6th - 4 in 1m 10.64s | 6th - 3 in 38.62s | 6th - 60.00s | 5th - 0 reps | 4th - 1m 11.66s | 6 |
Stone Off
| Name | Nationality | Stones |
| Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 7 |
| Kevin Faires | United States | 6 |
Originally, Ireland's Pa O'Dwyer was supposed to be in this group, but was forced to withdraw due to injury, and was replaced by Scotland's Andy Black. Defending World's Strongest Man Tom Stoltman would dominate this group, winning each of the first 4 events, before simply picking up the wrecking ball to get 1 point, and secure the group win. Canada's Strongest Man and WSM Rookie Gabriel Rhéaume would cause an upset, knocking out former finalist Faires in the stone off, despite Faires being four points clear.

### Heat 2

| # | Name | Event 1 Loading Race | Event 2 Deadlift Ladder | Event 3 Car Walk | Event 4 Log Lift | Event 5 Wrecking Ball Hold | Pts |
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper | 1st - 5 in 38.31s | 1st - 5 in 31.21s | 1st - 11.64s | 2nd - 7 reps | 6th - 6.40s | 23.5 |
| 2 | Bobby Thompson | 5th - 5 in 49.70s | 2nd - 5 in 42.56s | 3rd - 16.05s | 1st - 8 reps | 2nd - 1m 21.33s | 22 |
| 3 | Brian Shaw | 2nd - 5 in 45.00s | 5th - 4 in 32.20s | 5th - 19.97s | 2nd - 7 reps | 3rd - 1m 6.13s | 17.5 |
| 4 | Mark Felix | 6th - 5 in 54.96s | 4th - 4 in 28.64s | 2nd - 13.96s | 6th - 0 reps | 1st - 2m 20.49s | 15 |
| 5 | Konstantine Janashia | 4th - 5 in 49.47s | 6th - 3 in 19.05s | 4th - 18.16s | 4th - 5 reps | 4th - 1m 1.38s | 13 |
| 6 | Gabriel Peña | 3rd - 5 in 45.88s | 3rd - 5 in 52.53s | 6th - 18.9 metres (62 ft) | 5th - 1 rep | 5th - 48.27s | 13 |
Stone Off
| Name | Nationality | Stones |
| Brian Shaw | United States | 1 |
| Bobby Thompson | United States | 0 |
Considered the group of death when announced, this group featured 4-time World's Strongest Man and 2021 runner up Brian Shaw, 2 more finalists from 2021, Bobby Thompson and Konstantine Janashia, Mark Felix in his record 17th WSM contest, Gabriel Pena, and rookie Mitchell Hooper. Hooper stunned everyone, winning the first 3 events, before placing joint second on the log lift, meaning he needed just 1 point from the wrecking ball hold to secure the group win. In the stone off, Bobby Thompson had some problems with his tacky, and failed to lift the stone once, handing the win, and second qualifying spot to Shaw. It was the first time since 2009 that Shaw failed to win his group at WSM.

### Heat 3

| # | Name | Event 1 Loading Race | Event 2 Deadlift Ladder | Event 3 Car Walk | Event 4 Log Lift | Event 5 Wrecking Ball Hold | Pts |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov | 1st - 5 in 37.25s | 1st - 5 in 35.64s | 3rd - 15.23s | 1st - 9 reps | 4th - 1m 38.63s | 24.5 |
| 2 | Trey Mitchell | 4th - 5 in 48.78s | 3rd - 5 in 59.00s | 4th - 19.24s | 1st - 9 reps | 1st - 2m 6.46s | 21.5 |
| 3 | Adam Bishop | 2nd - 5 in 45.85s | 2nd - 5 in 37.44s | 5th - 23.38s | 3rd - 7 reps | 5th - 1m 31.35s | 18 |
| 4 | Rob Kearney | 5th - 5 in 54.62s | 4th - 4 in 41.28s | 1st - 11.63s | 4th - 6 reps | 6th - 1m 1.95s | 15 |
| 5 | Mika Törrö | 3rd - 5 in 47.84s | 5th - 2 in 26.65s | 6th - 9.5 metres (31 ft) | 6th - 2 reps | 2nd - 1m 53.17s | 13 |
| 6 | Grzegorz Szymanski | 6th - 4 in 29.85s | 6th - 2 in 26.91s | 2nd - 14.26s | 5th - 3 reps | 3rd - 1m 46.49s | 13 |
Stone Off
| Name | Nationality | Stones |
| Trey Mitchell | United States | 10 |
| Adam Bishop | United Kingdom | 10 |
This group featured 2020 Champion Oleksii Novikov, 2021 4th place finisher Trey Mitchell, 3-time finalist Adam Bishop, Rob Kearney, rookie Mika Törrö, and Poland's Grzegorz Szymanski, returning to the competition for the first time since 2016, where he made the final. In what was the best performing group across all events, Novikov came out on top, returning to the final after missing the 2021 final. Trey Mitchell won the stone off against Adam Bishop.

### Heat 4

| # | Name | Event 1 Loading Race | Event 2 Deadlift Ladder | Event 3 Car Walk | Event 4 Log Lift | Event 5 Wrecking Ball Hold | Pts |
| 1 | Martins Licis | 1st - 5 in 37.73s | 1st - 5 in 43.59s | 2nd - 18.93s | 2nd - 9 reps | 3rd - 1m 25.63s | 25.5 |
| 2 | Maxime Boudreault | 2nd - 5 in 40.68s | 4th - 3 in 21.12s | 4th - 49.28s | 1st - 10 reps | 1st - 1m 33.93s | 23 |
| 3 | Pavlo Kordiyaka | 3rd - 5 in 43.70s | 5th - 3 in 38.50s | 1st - 12.92s | 2nd - 9 reps | 2nd - 1m 31.33s | 21.5 |
| 4 | Gavin Bilton | 4th - 5 in 45.76s | 2nd - 5 in 52.28s | 3rd - 23.67s | 4th - 7 reps | 5th - 1m 7.15s | 17 |
| 5 | Nedžmin Ambešković | 6th - 1 in 10.20s | 6th - 3 in 45.45s | 5th - 13.6 metres (45 ft) | 5th - 2 reps | 4th - 1m 12.47s | 9 |
| 6 | Shane Flowers | 5th - 5 in 48.70s | 3rd - 4 in 36.69s | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | 6 |
Stone Off
| Name | Nationality | Stones |
| Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 10 |
| Pavlo Kordiyaka | Ukraine | 10 |
This group featured 2019 champion Martins Licis, 2021 podium finisher Maxime Boudreault, 2 time UK's Strongest Man Gavin Bilton, and 3 rookies. Unfortunately, Shane Flowers was forced to withdraw after 2 events due to injury. Licis would come out on top, with Boudreault coming through on the stones for the second year running.

### Heat 5

| # | Name | Event 1 Loading Race | Event 2 Deadlift Ladder | Event 3 Car Walk | Event 4 Log Lift | Event 5 Wrecking Ball Hold | Pts |
| 1 | Luke Stoltman | 1st - 5 in 37.95s | 1st - 4 in 42.87s | 2nd - 16.65s | 1st - 10 reps | 6th - Did not attempt | 23 |
| 2 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | 3rd - 5 in 49.69s | 4th - 3 in 40.88s | 3rd - 29.07s | 2nd - 8 reps | 3rd - 1m 3.42s | 20 |
| 3 | Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf | 4th - 5 in 52.70s | 2nd - 4 in 53.87s | 4th - 41.34s | 3rd - 7 reps | 4th - 1m 0.70s | 18 |
| 4 | Kelvin De Ruiter | 2nd - 5 in 39.18s | 5th - 3 in 56.44s | 5th - 60.00s | 5th - 1 rep | 1st - 1m 45.65s | 16.5 |
| 5 | Evan Singleton | 5th - 5 in 1m 8.38s | 6th - Did not attempt | 1st - 9.86s | 5th - 1 rep | 2nd - 1m 40.34s | 14.5 |
| 6 | Kim Ujarak Lorentzen | 6th - 4 in 34.79s | 3rd - 4 in 56.48s | 6th - 11.4 metres (37 ft) | 4th - 6 reps | 5th - 36.24s | 11 |
Stone Off
| Name | Nationality | Stones |
| Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 5 |
| Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf | France | 5 |
The only group without a former champion, it featured Evan Singleton and Luke Stoltman, both of whom had won 2 Giants Live events in 2021, as well as 2021 finalist Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð, and 3 rookies. Unfortunately for Singleton, he went into anaphylactic shock during the loading race, and was forced to miss the deadlift. This put him in an almost irrecoverable position going into day 2 of the heats, and despite winning the car walk, was unable to make the stone off. Stoltman would win the group with an event to spare, and Melsteð would get through on the stones to make a second straight final.

## Finals events results
### Event 1: KNAACK Giant's Medley

* Weight: 2 x 125 kilograms (276 lb) boxes, 455 kilograms (1,003 lb) yoke carry
* Course Length: 10 metres (33 ft) each
| # | Name | Nationality | Time (sec) | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 21.96 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 24.75 | 9 | 9 |
| 3 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 24.84 | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 28.72 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | Martins Licis | United States | 30.60 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Brian Shaw | United States | 30.78 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 32.54 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 33.87 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 34.11 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 37.61 | 1 | 1 |

### Event 2: Car Deadlift

* Weight: 360 kilograms (790 lb) for repetitions
* Time Limit: 60 seconds
| # | Name | Nationality | Repetitions | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 15 | 10 | 18 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 13 | 8.5 | 17.5 |
| 2 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 13 | 8.5 | 12.5 |
| 4 | Martins Licis | United States | 12 | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 12 | 6 | 11 |
| 4 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 12 | 6 | 16 |
| 7 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 9 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 8 | 1.5 | 4.5 |
| 9 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 8 | 1.5 | 2.5 |

### Event 3: Max Flintstone Lift

* Opening Weight: 175 kilograms (386 lb)
| # | Name | Nationality | Weight Lifted | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 246 kilograms (542 lb) | 10 | 28 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 240 kilograms (530 lb) | 9 | 26.5 |
| 3 | Martins Licis | United States | 235 kilograms (518 lb) | 8 | 20 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 212 kilograms (467 lb) | 5.5 | 16.5 |
| 4 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 212 kilograms (467 lb) | 5.5 | 18 |
| 4 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 212 kilograms (467 lb) | 5.5 | 11.5 |
| 4 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 212 kilograms (467 lb) | 5.5 | 15.5 |
| 8 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 200 kilograms (440 lb) | 3 | 19 |
| 9 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 190 kilograms (420 lb) | 1.5 | 4 |
| 9 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 190 kilograms (420 lb) | 1.5 | 6 |
* ↑ With a lift of 246 kilograms (542 lb) Oleksii Novikov set a new world record in the flinstone lift.

### Event 4: Bus Pull

* Weight: 18,500 kilograms (40,800 lb)
* Course Length: 30 metres (98 ft)
* Time Limit: 1 Minute 15 seconds
| # | Name | Nationality | Time | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 0m 41.51 | 10 | 38 |
| 2 | Martins Licis | United States | 0m 42.18 | 9 | 29 |
| 3 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 0m 44.50 | 8 | 34.5 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 0m 44.69 | 7 | 23.5 |
| 5 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 0m 45.72 | 6 | 24 |
| 6 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 0m 47.00 | 5 | 20.5 |
| 7 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 0m 47.20 | 4 | 15.5 |
| 8 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 0m 49.24 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 0m 51.32 | 2 | 6 |
| 10 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 0m 53.22 | 1 | 7 |

### Event 5: REIGN Power Stairs

* Weight: 3 x 226 kilograms (498 lb)
* Course Length: 3 steps each
* Time Limit: 1 Minute 15 seconds
| # | Name | Nationality | Time | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 9 in 0m 39.07 | 10 | 25.5 |
| 2 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 9 in 0m 41.04 | 9 | 43.5 |
| 3 | Martins Licis | United States | 9 in 0m 44.56 | 8 | 37 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 8 in 1m 09.03 | 7 | 30.5 |
| 5 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 7 in 0m 32.36 | 6 | 28 |
| 6 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 7 in 0m 59.47 | 5 | 25.5 |
| 7 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 6 in 0m 34.20 | 4 | 42 |
| 8 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 6 in 0m 35.78 | 3 | 9 |
| 9 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 6 in 1m 10.22 | 2 | 26 |
| 10 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 5 in 0m 35.78 | 1 | 8 |

### Event 6: Atlas Stones

* Weight: 5 stones ranging from 140–200 kilograms (310–440 lb)
* Time Limit: 60 seconds
| # | Name | Nationality | Time | Event Pts | Overall Pts |
| 1 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 5 in 0m 25.76 | 10 | 53.5 |
| 2 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 5 in 0m 28.04 | 9 | 34.5 |
| 3 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 5 in 0m 33.06 | 8 | 34 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 5 in 0m 39.29 | 7 | 37.5 |
| 5 | Martins Licis | United States | 5 in 0m 45.74 | 6 | 43 |
| 6 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 4 in 0m 25.78 | 5 | 30.5 |
| 7 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 4 in 0m 28.87 | 4 | 13 |
| 8 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 4 in 0m 33.55 | 3 | 11 |
| 9 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 4 in 0m 33.78 | 2 | 30 |
| 10 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 4 in 0m 36.70 | 1 | 43 |

## Final standings

| # | Name | Nationality | Pts |
| 1 | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 53.5 |
| 2 | Martins Licis | United States | 43 |
| 3 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 43 |
| 4 | Brian Shaw | United States | 37.5 |
| 5 | Maxime Boudreault | Canada | 34.5 |
| 6 | Trey Mitchell | United States | 34 |
| 7 | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 30.5 |
| 8 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 30 |
| 9 | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 13 |
| 10 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Canada | 11 |

## Controversy

A day prior to the competition, former director for World's Ultimate Strongman, Mark Boyd, leaked a secretly recorded portion of a conversation with Luke Stoltman, brother of the eventual champion of the competition Tom Stoltman, in which he stated "... and here's the sneaky bit, so Colin's (Colin Bryce, director of Giants Live who assists in the running of the World's Strongest Man) gonna, not promised, but he says we will get more favorable groups, events, etc. in Worlds if we kinda play ball and then he can help push the Stoltman brand; if that makes sense in the Giant's Live, so basically what he did for Eddie (Eddie Hall)..." The audio was released shortly after the groups for the competition were announced, with some fans speculating on the level of difficulty of the Stoltmans' groups compared to others. Boyd has since deleted this video from his Instagram account. Prior to deletion however, he claims to have given several months for athletes to expose the corruption on their own, indicating that he also had contacted IGM directors to no avail.
Stoltman released his own response video on YouTube later that day, in which he states that the clip was taken out of context, with the conversation being 90 minutes long, and explains that he simply told Boyd what he wanted to hear because he did not want to take part in Boyd's upcoming competition. Many took issue with Boyd's leaking of the conversation so closely to the World's Strongest Man competition date, leading to Boyd and Core Sports parting ways a few days later, with the company releasing a message stating they were not in support of Boyd's actions.
IGM, the World's Strongest Man, and Colin Bryce have yet to respond to the controversy.