Yearly, the world’s elite strongmen collect in a single place with a singular mission — to be topped the World’s Strongest Man (WSM). This 12 months the WSM will probably be held from Could 24-29, 2022, in Sacramento, CA. As all the time, the competitors ought to showcase among the world’s present stellar strongmen whereas they vie for the game’s high title.
On March 4, 2022, among the preliminary athletes competing within the 2022 WSM had been introduced. On March 27, 2022, with the occasion a bit of below two months away, your entire 30-person lineup was confirmed. Right here it’s:
2022 World’s Strongest Man Lineup
Right here’s who will probably be making their technique to Sacramento in a matter of weeks:
- Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom) — Reigning WSM Champion
- Brian Shaw (United States) — 2021 WSM 2nd place
- Maxime Boudreault (Canada) — 2021 WSM third place
- Rauno Heinla (Estonia)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine)
- Rob Kearney (United States)
- Gabriel Peña (Mexico)
- Kelvin de Ruiter (Netherlands)
- Kim Ujarak (Greenland)
- Mark Felix (United Kingdom)
- Pa O’Dwyer (Eire)
- Shane Flowers (United Kingdom)
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf (Australia)
- Bobby Thompson (United States)
- Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia)
- Adam Bishop (United Kingdom)
- Evan Singleton (United States)
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland)
- Konstantine Janashia (Georgia)
- Charles “Trey” Mitchell (United States)
- Mika Törrö (Finland)
- Peiman Maheripourehir (Iran)
- Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom)
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski (Poland)
- Kevin Faires (United States)
- Nedžmin Ambešković (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Gabriel Rheaume (Canada)
- Martins Licis (United States)
- Gavin Bilton (United Kingdom)
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine)
Usually, the WSM will pit the athletes towards one another in six teams of 5 folks whereas they sort out completely different heats consisting of particular occasions. Seeing as how that group format has not but been introduced, this 12 months might as a substitute be 5 teams of six folks. The one fixed is that there are 30 complete rivals. Examples of occasions embrace the Farmer’s Stroll and Stone Carry, amongst many others.
Solely the top-performing strongmen from these respective heats will advance to the 10-person Finals group. Through the 2021 WSM, the winner of every preliminary group superior to the Finals. In keeping with the occasion’s historical past, this setup normally tends to be the case. In typical WSM trend, every 2021 group’s second and third-place finishers battled in a Stone-Off — the place the 2 rivals lifted the identical more and more bigger stones in a sequence till both of them failed the rep.
2021 WSM reigning champion, Tom Stoltman, needed to win a Stone-Off towards Mark Felix to advance to final 12 months’s Finals. Suffice to say, Stoltman’s effort greater than earned him the title of World’s Strongest Man and the well-known Barry Frank Trophy.
[Related: Strongman Nick Best Pulls A 755-Pound Deadlift At Age 53, Continues Comeback From Lat Injury]
Potential Contenders
Earlier than every WSM, a couple of athletes would possibly enter with larger expectations. Listed below are among the doable 2022 contenders to bear in mind:
Tom Stoltman
Greatest Profession WSM End — 2021, 1st place
Any 2022 WSM preview ought to begin with the British strongman and reigning WSM Champion. Stoltman enters this 12 months’s competitors having lately captured the 2022 British Strongest Man title in late February. It’s the second of back-to-back championships. The 27-year-old will assuredly be on the hunt for one more prestigious strongman title repeat in Could.
Martins Licis
Greatest Profession WSM End — 2019, 1st place
One of many favorites for this 12 months’s title, Licis has been on a tear of late. The 31-year-old former WSM Champion is coming off wins within the 2022 Arnold Basic and 2021 Rogue Invitational. If he stays true to his latest type, it will not be a shock to see Licis stand atop the rostrum when all is alleged and carried out.
Charles “Trey” Mitchell
Greatest Profession WSM End — 2021, 4th place
A former America’s Strongest Man Champion (2018), Mitchell is not any stranger to the higher echelons of strongman competitors. Final 12 months was the second time the 29-year-old competitor grabbed a spot within the WSM Finals. Whereas he ended up simply lacking the rostrum (fourth total), he might be wager to eclipse that efficiency and shock some folks this Could.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski
Greatest Profession WSM End — 2nd place (2018, 2019)
This 12 months’s WSM marks the return of one of many sport’s brighter stars in Kieliszkowski. After ending second in two consecutive WSMs, the 28-year-old Polish athlete missed the 2020 occasion because of a triceps harm and the 2021 competitors for undisclosed causes. One other undisclosed harm additionally stored him out of the 2022 Arnold Strongman Basic in early March 2022.
Notably, in every of Kieliszkowski’s 4 profession WSMs, he certified for the Finals each time. If he’s nearer to full power, he would possibly, at minimal, obtain the identical this spring.
Featured picture: @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram
