# World's Ultimate Strongman

World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brute-strength-centricity and expanded the sport to a wider audience outside of Europe and USA. It also introduced the 'feats of strength' series in 2020, ensuring the continuous expansion of the sport during the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition has a number of rival and parallel competitions, including the World's Strongest Man, the Arnold Strongman Classic and the Giants Live Tour.

## History

The inaugural edition of the competition was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and out of a very stacked field of 12 athletes, the Icelandic Giant Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson emerged victorious and was crowned the inaugural champion. The 2019 edition was also held in Dubai and was won by Poland's Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
On February 22, 2020, World's Ultimate Strongman announced the competition would be expanding and would hold the championship in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit with a purse of $350,000 which was the largest for any strongman competition. However, on March 13, 2020, they released a statement entailing that it had to be postponed due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, until a new date would be announced when it's logistically feasible. The 2020 competition was finally held in March 2021 in Muharraq under the name '2021 WUS Strength Island' and in September they hosted the 2021 competition back in Dubai. Both competitions were won by Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov.
The first three competitions out of the four are widely regarded as International strongman majors.

## Championships
### 2018 World's Ultimate Strongman

Events: Truck pull, Arm over arm pull, Silver Dollar Deadlift, Overhead Medley, Super Yoke, Atlas stones
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1. | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | Iceland | 60.5 |
| 2. | Brian Shaw | United States | 57 |
| 3. | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Poland | 52.5 |
| 4. | JF Caron | Canada | 48 |
| 5. | Laurence Shahlaei | United Kingdom | 42.5 |
| 6. | Konstantine Janashia | Georgia | 38 |
| 7. | Martins Licis | United States | 34.5 |
| 8. | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 31.5 |
| 9. | Terry Hollands | United Kingdom | 31 |
| 10. | Žydrūnas Savickas | Lithuania | 27.5 |
| 11. | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 25 |
| 12. | Cheick Sanou | Burkina Faso | 18 |

### 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman

Events: Deadlift, Truck pull, Log lift, Medley, Atlas stones
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1. | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Poland | 55.5 |
| 2. | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 50.5 |
| 3. | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 47.5 |
| 4. | Brian Shaw | United States | 44.5 |
| Co 5. | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 42.5 |
| Co 5. | Rauno Heinla | Estonia | 42.5 |
| 7. | JF Caron | Canada | 39 |
| 8. | Mikhail Shivlyakov | Russia | 36 |
| 9. | Matjaz Belsak | Slovenia | 31.5 |
| 10. | Ramin Farajnejad | Iran | 30 |
| 11. | Cheick Sanou | Burkina Faso | 28 |
| 12. | Krzysztof Radzikowski | Poland | 24 |
| 13. | Jerry Pritchett | United States | 21.5 |
| 14. | Terry Hollands | United Kingdom | 15 |

### 2020 World's Ultimate Strongman (a.k.a. 2021 WUS Strength Island)

Events: Axel Deadlift, Flag Hoist, Circus Dumbbell press, Loading race, Atlas stones
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1. | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 70 |
| 2. | JF Caron | Canada | 58 |
| 3. | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia | 55 |
| 4. | Luke Stoltman | United Kingdom | 47 |
| Co 5. | Tom Stoltman | United Kingdom | 43 |
| Co 5. | Ramin Farajnejad | Iran | 43 |
| Co 5. | Mohammed Ezatpour | Iran | 43 |
| 8. | Bobby Thompson | United States | 41.5 |
| 9. | Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð | Iceland | 33.5 |
| 10. | Adam Bishop | United Kingdom | 33 |
| 11. | Rauno Heinla | Estonia | 32 |
| 12. | Ervin Toots | Estonia | 30.5 |
| 13. | Rob Kearney | United States | 26.5 |
| 14. | Konstantine Janashia | Georgia | 24 |
| 15. | Mikhail Shivlyakov | Russia | 17 |

### 2021 World's Ultimate Strongman

Events: Log lift, Super yoke, Farmer's walk, Chain Railway carriage, Atlas stones
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1. | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 45.5 |
| 2. | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Poland | 44.5 |
| 3. | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia | 34.5 |
| 4. | JF Caron | Canada | 32 |
| 5. | Konstantine Janashia | Georgia | 27 |
| 6. | Bobby Thompson | United States | 26.5 |
| 7. | Mohammed Ezatpour | Iran | 18 |
| 8. | Ervin Toots | Estonia | 17 |
| 9. | Rauno Heinla | Estonia | 15 |
| 10. | Ramin Farajnejad | Iran | 12 |

## Championship breakdown
### Podiums

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 2018 | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | Brian Shaw | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| 2019 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Luke Stoltman | Tom Stoltman | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| 2020 | Oleksii Novikov | JF Caron | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Muharraq, Bahrain |
| 2021 | Oleksii Novikov | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |

### Multiple time champions

| Name | Country | Times | Years |
| Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 2 | 2020, 2021 |

### Championships by country

| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Ukraine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Poland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Iceland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| United States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Latvia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |

## Feats of Strength series

Due to the postponement of worldwide sporting events and travel restrictions being in place for many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World's Ultimate Strongman announced an at home/private gym Feats of Strength series with differing strongman record attempts to be live streamed for free. Below are the record attempts (Men's World Record unless otherwise stated):

### Season 1

| Date | Attempt | Athlete | Record Broken? | Existing Record and Holder | New Record if Broken |
| May 2, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | Yes | 500 kg (1,102 lb) ( Eddie Hall) | 501 kg (1,105 lb) |
| May 16, 2020 | Maximum Log Lift | Luke Stoltman | No | 228 kg (503 lb) ( Žydrūnas Savickas) | – |
| May 23, 2020 | Maximum Atlas Stone Lift | Tom Stoltman | Yes | 273 kg (602 lb) ( Tom Stoltman) | 286 kg (631 lb) |
| May 30, 2020 | 100 kg (220 lb) Dumbbell Press for Repetitions | Oleksii Novikov | Yes | 10 repetitions ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) | 11 repetitions |
| June 6, 2020 | Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Under-64kg Record | Rhianon Lovelace | Yes | 139 kg (306 lb) ( Alana Curnow) | 141 kg (311 lb) |
| June 13, 2020 | Maximum Log Lift American Record | Rob Kearney | Yes | 214 kg (472 lb) ( Rob Kearney) | 216 kg (476 lb) |
| June 20, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Jerry Pritchett | No | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Konstantine Janashia) | – |
| June 20, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Rauno Heinla | Equalled | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Konstantine Janashia) | – |
| June 20, 2020 | Raw Bench Press (power bar) | Julius Maddox $^1$ | No | 349 kg (769 lb) ( Julius Maddox) | – |
| June 27, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record | Terry Hollands | No | 430 kg (948 lb) ( James Hickey) | – |
| June 27, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record | Mikhail Shivlyakov | No | 430 kg (948 lb) ( James Hickey) | – |
| July 4, 2020 | Maximum Log Lift Women's Record | Andrea Thompson | Yes | 129 kg (284 lb) ( Danielle Vaji) | 135 kg (298 lb) |
| July 11, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Adam Bishop $^2$ | No | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) | – |
| July 11, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Jean-François Caron | No | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) | – |
$^1$ It was found during the event that Maddox's bar had been misloaded with one side being 25 kg heavier than the other.
$^2$ It was found during the event that Bishop had 402.5 kg on the barbell, rather than 400 kg, causing an unofficial world record of 402.5 kg for 4 repetitions.

### Season 2

| Date | Attempt | Athlete | Record Broken? | Existing Record and Holder | New Record if Broken |
| September 13, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Rauno Heinla | Yes | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) | 6 repetitions |
| September 13, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Konstantine Janashia | No | 5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia) | – |
| September 20, 2020 | 400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions | Trey Mitchell | No | 6 repetitions ( Rauno Heinla) | – |
| September 27, 2020 | Maximum Atlas Stone Lift | Tom Stoltman | No | 286 kg (631 lb) ( Tom Stoltman) | – |
| September 27, 2020 | Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Record | Donna Moore | Yes | 162 kg (357 lb) ( Donna Moore) | 171 kg (377 lb) |
| October 4, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (strongwoman) - standard bar Women's Record | Andrea Thompson | Yes | 275 kg (606 lb) ( Melissa Edwards) | 290 kg (639 lb) |
| October 11, 2020 | Maximum Log Lift | Rob Kearney | No | 228 kg (503 lb) ( Žydrūnas Savickas) | – |
| October 11, 2020 | Maximum Log Lift | Luke Stoltman | No | 228 kg (503 lb) ( Žydrūnas Savickas) | – |
| October 18, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) | Rauno Heinla | No | 501 kg (1,105 lb) ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) | – |
| October 18, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) | Ivan Makarov | No | 501 kg (1,105 lb) ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) | – |
| October 18, 2020 | Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record | Mikhail Shivlyakov | Yes | 435 kg (959 lb) (James Hickey) | 436 kg (961 lb) |

## Commonly contested events

* Deadlift – Lifting weights or vehicles straight off the ground until knees lock in a standing position. The 2018 edition consisted of a max Silver Dollar Deadlift, a variation in which the weight is lifted from 18 inches (460 mm). Straps are allowed for this variation. The 2019 edition used the conventional strongman version of the deadlift, using a standard deadlift bar with straps and a deadlift suit.
* Super Yoke – Apparatus composed of a crossbar and two uprights. The uprights each have a heavy weight attached to them, such as a refrigerator or diesel engine, and the competitors must carry the yoke on their shoulders for a short distance.
* Shield Carry – Athletes compete in carrying a 'shield' usually weighing between 160–180 kilograms (350–400 lb) for distance or a set distance for the fastest time. The Shield Carry can be its own event or be used alongside the super yoke.
* Press Medley – Athletes must press various equipment overhead such as a log, axle, circus barbell, and giant dumbbell. The event is scored based on the number of implements completed, then the fastest time.
* Vehicle pull – Vehicles such as transport trucks, trams, boxcars, buses, or planes are pulled across a 100-foot (30 m) course as fast as possible. One variation sees the competitors pull the object with a rope toward them. Another has them attached to a rope which is attached to a vehicle, while they use another rope to pull themselves down the course.
* McGlashen Stones / Atlas Stones – Five heavy round stones increasing in weight from 170–225 kilograms (375–496 lb) are lifted and set on platforms. When the stones were first introduced to the competition, it was an individual event and the platforms were all of equal height. The modern Atlas Stones event takes place on a 16–33-foot (5–10 m) long course and the competitors participate two at a time. In the 2019 edition, a 10 stone event was introduced with stones ranging from 100–200 kilograms (220–440 lb), a first of its kind.