“Rhino” Nel Heads Stellar Line-up at Strongman Classic
Newly crowned World’s Strongest Man, Rayno Nel, will make his Giants Live debut on Saturday in a much-anticipated Strongman Classic showdown. A sold-out London’s Albert Hall will host a phenomenal line-up of strength talent featuring four of the top five finishers from this season’s WSM contest.
Defending Classic champion, Mitchell Hooper, will be looking to re-assert his dominance after his surprise World’s defeat at the hands of Nel. Becoming the first ever African WSM winner, the former rugby player shocked the strength world with his debut victory in Sacramento. And having since claimed victory twice at Strongman Champions League events, extending his winning run to seven contests, he’ll be coming into London ready to prove his big win was no one-off!
Hooper will likely lead the pack in attempting to topple Rayno; the Moose was utterly dominant here last season and took a sweep of Giants Live victories, winning in London, Birmingham, Las Vegas and Glasgow! The 2023 WSM winner won the first four events last year, including an incredible 218kg world record in the Axle Press.
The only other former Strongman Classic winner in the line-up is T-Rex, Evan Singleton. The former WWE Superstar has captured six Giants titles in all and having ruptured a biceps tendon at World’s last month, has defied the odds in staying on the athlete roster. Evan is a WSM podium finisher and has some strong events in this contest. A brilliant exponent of the Frame Carry, he’ll also score well in the Hercules Hold with his tremendous grip strength.
Eight athletes in all will be making their debut performances at the Strongman Classic, including England’s Paddy Haynes who is having the kind of season dreams are made of. Disappointed not to have made the podium at Britain’s Strongest Man after leading for much of the show, The Dark Horse, as he is known, finished runner-up at Europe’s Strongest Man and finished 5th in the WSM final. The opening event, Log Medley, could prove his Achilles heel, but with some great events following on, don’t be surprised to see him quickly ascend the leaderboard.
The United States have five athletes in the line-up, including Big Tex, Trey Mitchell, who was 4th in Sacramento – a position he has placed at WSM on three occasions! The Texan has four events in which he could score very highly, not least the Deadlift for Reps – a discipline he won at World’s. Trey is a static monster with huge grip power and has been one of the top few stone lifters on the planet for many years now. After suffering an Achilles rupture two seasons ago, he’s not quite as quick on his feet as he once was and might give up some points in the Frame Carry.
Also competing from the States will be Lucas Hatton, the two-time and current America’s Strongest Man. With massive overhead strength he will take some stopping in the Log Medley and will doubtless place highly in the Deadlift. Joining him will be 2024 Official Strongman Games winner, Nick Guardione and 2022 champion, Spenser Remick – a regular competitor at Giants events.
The European contingent features twice WSM runner-up, Mateusz Kieliszkowski. A three-time Giants Live winner, The Terminator had a rough time at World’s but placed 3rd at Europe’s Strongest Man and seems to be slowly returning to something like his best form. Ukraine’s Pavlo Kordiyaka was 3rd here last year and recently qualified for his third consecutive WSM final. “The Adonis” was the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man winner and should start strongly, as an accomplished log lifter. Like Kieliszkowski, Pavlo tends to leak points in the Deadlift and there is a question mark over them both in the Hercules Hold.
World’s strongest farmer, Jaco Schoonwinkel, will be the second South African in the line-up and is a former WSM finalist. He has competed only sparingly over the last few seasons after requiring knee surgery and last appeared at a Giants event at the World Tour Finals in 2024. On that occasion illness spoiled his performance, so he’ll be itching to show the London crowd what he’s capable of!
Completing the stacked field of thirteen will be Ben Glasscock and the Miracle Man, Mark Felix. Ben was 5th at Britain’s Strongest Man earlier this year and is a former U105kg competitor. He was 3rd at last season’s Official Strongman European Championships, and along with Paddy Haynes, is one of the country’s fastest improving talents.
Mark Felix is a Strongman national treasure who will be guesting in the Hercules Hold in an attempt to better the world record he set at Europe’s Strongest Man in 2020. His time of 92.37 seconds will take some beating, but with a field stacked with grip power, he’ll certainly be pushed to the limits of his ability.
Events
Event 1: Mirafit Log Medley
Lukas Hatton could well be the favourite to take the opening event, though he will face stiff competition from the likes of Hooper, Singleton, Kordiyaka, Mitchell and Kieliszkowski. Damage limitation may well be the order of the day for Paddy Haynes, and it will be fascinating to see how Nel performs after his only slip-up from World’s came in the overhead lift. Five logs from 120kg – 180kg await the athletes who will race in pairs.
Event 2: Vitakick Hercules Hold
About
At 59 years of age, it would be truly unbelievable if Mark Felix could beat his own world record. He’ll receive no shortage of encouragement from the sell-out Albert Hall crowd who will be set to the raise the roof. Mitchell Hooper last won this at Giants Live with a 72.48sec clocking. It’s worth mentioning that Rayno Nel bested him at World’s Strongest Man by over 35-seconds, indicating the South African could well score highly. Trey Mitchell, Haynes and Singleton should all be in the mix and this should be a very closely fought event. The Giants Live pillars weigh 200kg each.
Event 3: BadRhino Frame Carry
Blink and you might miss this one! These 360kg frames will be moved at seriously high speed by some of these athletes, not least Mitchell Hooper, who is near-on unbeatable at this type of event. This field, however, includes a few men who could well challenge the Canadian. Mateusz Kieliszkowski, before his injury problems was electrifying in this event, and Evan Singleton, if his biceps holds out, will also put up a serious challenge. Paddy Haynes is no slouch and will be looking to score highly. Finding the balance point with their grips will be crucial or the implements may tip forward or backwards, effectively destroying any chance of a fast time.
Event 4: SBD Axle Deadlift for Reps
Winning any strongman title is pretty much impossible without some considerable pulling power, and this line-up is loaded with some unbelievable Deadlift talent. Martins Licis’ 8-rep world record with these 360kg axles could well be under threat from the likes of Trey Mitchell and Mitchell Hooper. The athletes will be lifting from slightly lower than a conventional 9-inch bar height, due to the thickness of circumference of these axles which are twice as thick as a conventional bar, have no rotation and no flex. It doesn’t get any tougher!
Event 5: Castle Water Stones
Five stones of ascending weight will need to be loaded onto the platforms in what is the traditional Strongman final event. The last implement weighs a colossal 200kg – that’s nearly 32-stone, and with four gruelling events already under their belts, lifting all five of these spheres will require every last ounce of the competitor’s strength. With no Tom Stoltman in the line-up, this event is wide open. Trey Mitchell is arguably the best stone lifter in the field, but Hooper, Haynes and Rayno Nel could easily pull off an upset, and if the points are tight there will be a great deal riding on this final event!
The Strongman Classic will be available to watch on live stream at www.officialstrongman.com
