The T-Rex Roars to Victory at the Strongman Classic

World Records tumbled at the Royal Albert Hall as Evan Singleton came from behind to clinch a thrilling win in London. A stunning line-up that featured six of this year’s World’s Strongest Man finalists treated the sell-out crowd to a truly exhilarating contest that went right to the wire!

2023 World’s Strongest Man, Mitchell Hooper, looked as though he would run away with contest after taking event wins in the Super Yoke and Axle Deadlift. But Singleton, who was never out of the top three in any event, held his nerve as the Canadian faltered in the final two disciplines.

Having watched Tom Stoltman post an unbelievable 20.29 second stone run, just a single point separated the pair as they faced-off in the Castle Stones. But as Hooper failed to gain any purchase on his 4^th stone, the T-Rex loaded all five, roaring in triumph as his second-place result took him ahead of Hooper and kept him a half point clear of The Albatross. In taking the title at his third attempt, Singleton completed his full set of Strongman Classic trophies, having placed second in 2021 and third last year.

Singleton’s intensity and determination was as fierce as ever, but the confidence gained from his recent 5^th place at World’s enabled him to stay totally focused. Having been under-par last year, the 3-time Giants winner looked stronger than ever. Speaking of how hard he had worked for this victory in his post-win interview, his exuberant celebration seemed to show a release of the frustration he must have endured.

Two-time World’s Strongest Man winner, Tom Stoltman, produced one of his best-ever Giants Live performances, winning the evening’s final event – the Atlas Stones – to overtake Hooper and claim second place. He appears unbeatable in his favourite event and underlined his dominance as he one-motioned the final 200kg (441lb) stone.

The man they call Big Thickett, Trey Mitchell, recovered from a terrible start in the Nicol Stones, where he placed last, to take 4^th overall, after winning the Viking Press in a new world record of 18 reps. A video review allowed referee Magnús Ver Magnússon to overturn his decision to disallow a rep for “double dipping,” giving Trey the record and the win.

Australia’s singing strongman, Eddie Williams, entertained the crowds with more than just his superb 5^th place overall finish. The 2-time Australia’s Strongest Man shattered the Nicol Stone world record, adding 7 metres to Kevin Faires mark, and then sang to the entire auditorium, accompanied by the hall’s Grand Organ – one of the largest in the world.

Luke Stoltman rounded out the top 6 with a solid performance that kept him well-ahead of Europe’s Strongest Man, Pavlo Kordiayaka, who along with Iron Biby, had a somewhat disappointing evening. Biby was forced to withdraw after injuring his hamstring in the Axle Deadlift, whilst New Zealand’s Rongo Keene also called it a night after event 3. The Warrior, who had been battling a virus, did not go quietly, as he captivated the crowd with a traditional Mãori haka.

Event 1: ClearScore Nicol Stones Carry

No less than four men exceeded Kevin Faires’ world record from last season’s World Tour Finals, including Faires himself, who added 21 cm to the 24.61m he achieved in Glasgow. But his effort, along with Singleton’s 25.25m and Hooper’s 26.66m, paled into insignificance after Eddie Williams’ truly unbelievable 31.66m world record.

The Nicol Stones are renowned for being incredibly awkward to walk with, but the Australian appeared untroubled by them as he moved down the 20m course noticeably quicker than his competitors. In a discipline that has seen only small increments to its record in recent years, Williams’ 7m improvement has turned the event on its head.

Tom Stoltman was the only other man to make the turn and exceed 20m, whilst Europe’s Strongest Man, Pavlo Kordiyaka, could only muster 8^th – a bad start to his evening.

Event 2: Boohoo Super Yoke

The names Bryce and Sadler had been carved in gothic type into the solid oak cross pieces of these brand-new pair of 450kg super yokes. Trey Mitchell was first to go and recorded a benchmark time of 17.47 seconds. No one moved quicker with the implements than Iron Biby, but he couldn’t control his pace and dropped his yoke more than once. Spenser Remick was relieved to post an excellent 14.45 after his disappointing showing in event 1, but Tom Stoltman took the lead, beating his brother in the 4^th pairing with 12.21 seconds which would eventually leave him third.

Singleton went just 0.02 of a second faster to take second, but Mitchell Hooper was a class apart, proving, once again, his amazing ability in this event as he posted a sub-10 second clocking of 9.84 seconds. His win took him into a 2-point lead over Evan with Tom a further 3 points adrift in third.

Event 3: Mirafit Axle Deadlift

The Moose secured back-to-back wins with 7 repetitions in the Axle Deadlift to open up a 4.5 point lead over Singleton. Conditions were hot and humid in the auditorium and the athletes were by this time beginning to feel the strain and the pace of the contest. Hooper though, looked supremely confident as he cruised to victory, and few would have betted against him seeing out the overall win as he had done in his last Giants Live outing in Glasgow when he had taken the World Tour Finals title.

Trey Mitchell produced his best result thus far, taking a tie for 3^rd with the T-Rex on 5 reps, whilst Stoltman’s 6 reps earned him second but put him 6 points back from the man who had beaten him to the 2023 World’s Strongest Man title. Kordiyaka’s single rep in an event that represents his Achilles heel ended any serious threat he would pose.

Event 4: SBD Viking Press

Event four proved to be a pivotal moment in the contest with all the competitors gunning for Paul Smith’s 13-rep world record from the 2022 Britain’s Strongest Man contest. Iron Biby limped to the apparatus and recorded 15 reps – the highlight of his evening – and a new record. He downplayed his celebrations however and might have rightly suspected that others would do more. Spenser Remick equalled his tally, but the penultimate pairing set the crowd cheering to deafening levels as Singleton’s fast 17 was equalled and then finally overhauled by Trey Mitchell who squeezed out an incredible 18-reps to set a new world record.

In the final pairing, Tom Stoltman’s 17-reps gave him a share of second, but Hooper’s 14 was only good enough for 6^th, and his lead, going into the final event, was cut to just a single point over Singleton and 2.5 points from The Albatross.

Event 5: Castle Water Stones

How often the stones dictate who holds aloft the trophy in a strongman competition, and with Tom Stoltman in the field most competitors realise they will be fighting for second place at best. On this occasion, the heavier Giants Live set of stones were set below their plinths, and after a hard evening’s contest in warm and humid conditions it was clear that many athletes would struggle to lift all five, especially the 200kg final stone.

And so it proved, with Tom being the first to complete the run, which he did in a blistering 20.29 seconds – one of the fastest this set has ever seen. To hold onto his lead, Hooper just needed to stay ahead of Singleton in the final pairing, but the American edged fractionally ahead over the first three implements and as Hooper wrestled for traction with stone 4, Evan wasted no time on his and with a final, mighty effort placed the last stone atop its plinth to take second and complete a stunning victory over the World’s Strongest Man.

As Singleton curtailed his celebration to offer encouragement to Hooper, who was still wrestling with the 4^th stone, the Canadian simply held his opponent’s hand aloft to concede. With just three stones loaded Hooper lost not just first place, but also second, as Stoltman moved past him in the overall standings.

Final Standings