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  • 14 July, 2024
  • 5 minutes

World Records Tumble as Hooper Dominates at the Albert Hall!

Mitchell Hooper broke three world records as he produced one of the greatest performances in Giants Live history to completely dominate the Strongman Classic. The Moose was in imperious form as he swept aside the challenges of a stacked line-up to record his first victory at a packed Royal Albert Hall. World’s Strongest Man, Tom Stoltman, could find no way to keep pace with the Canadian as he recorded three wins and a second place in the first four events.

Defending champion, Evan Singleton, was one of only four men to successfully lift the 185kg Axle, but after coming close at 195kg, sustained an injury that at first seemed minor, but would force him to withdraw from the contest. It meant that a new winner would be crowned, and Hooper, who had previously placed 2nd and 3rd at the Strongman Classic, was leaving nothing to chance in his pursuit of victory.

Any chance Stoltman may have had of closing the ever-widening gap was put to rest as the three-time World’s Strongest Man winner placed just 8th in the Wrecking Ball hold. The shakes seemed to set in early for the Invergordon Goliath, who showed incredible grit to salvage a decent time. But with Hooper taking the win, the damage was done, and Stoltman’s challenge was over.

Pavlo Kordiyaka broke his own world record in Event 4: Conan’s Wheel, meaning four world records were broken in the first four events. With Hooper equalling Martins Licis’ 8-rep total in the Axle Deadlift, and surpassing Kevin Faires’ 113.00s Wrecking Ball Hold record, the sell-out crowd were treated to Strongman of the highest calibre. The top five from this year’s World’s Strongest Man were all in attendance and the atmosphere inside the hall was nothing short of electrifying as Hooper demonstrated that, for this evening at least, he was in a league of his own.

Kicking off the night’s action in the Max Axle Press, Mitchell failed his first attempt at 218kg, to exceed the record Iron Biby set at the same venue in 2021. Failing on his first attempt, he returned to the platform after a few minutes’ rest to confidently jerk and hold the huge weight overhead as the crowd erupted. It was a record Hooper had looked capable of challenging but seemed all the more impressive as each of his rivals seemed to struggle at lower weights.

Paired with his great rival, Stoltman, in the Axle Deadlift, he easily bested the giant Scot, looking capable of more reps as he stopped at 8, equalling the world’s best result with the 360kg axles. Stoltman, who was hoping to overturn his defeat in the Axle Press, managed 6-reps for third, and must have realised at this point that his task would be a tough one.

Kordiyaka proved once again that he is the king of Conan’s Wheel, but Hooper, coming out last, was able to beat all but the Ukrainian to tighten his stranglehold on the contest. As the events went by Hooper looked incapable of a bad performance, whilst his competitors looked fallible and inconsistent in comparison. Big things had been expected of New Zealand’s Mat Ragg, but he was unable to press out the 185kg Axle, and though he claimed second in the Deadlift, he would underperform in the Conan’s Wheel and Wrecking Ball hold and would have to settle for 4th overall.

The second Canadian in the field, Tristain Hoath, fresh from his 5th place finish at Worlds, performed similarly to Ragg, with strong performances in the Deadlift and Stones, but poorer showings in the Axle and Wrecking Ball Hold. He would place 5th overall, allowing Kordiyaka to claim third place, with Stoltman comfortably ahead, in second.

Former World’s Strongest Man and two-time winner of the Strongman Classic, Oleksii Novikov, looked to be approaching good form, once again. He sustained a biceps tear at his last outing at Europe’s Strongest Man and was forced to sit WSM out. Returning to the fray in London, he had his best result in the Wrecking Ball Hold. Managing an unbelievable 104.48s, he looked like he might take the world record but fell just short, eventually placing 2nd, behind Hooper.

Not content with two world records, The Moose climbed onto his Wrecking Ball platform with Pavlo Kordiyaka in the final pairing and kept the giant 267kg orb aloft for an astonishing 118.72s to set his third record of the night. It would give him an unassailable 12-point lead going into the Castle Stones, and not wanting to risk injury, he lifted just the 120kg implement as Stoltman gave yet another stone lifting masterclass. One-motioning even the 200kg final orb, The Albatross was nearly 5 seconds quicker than the next best. It was a high standard Stone contest, with Kane Francis, Andrew Flynn, Ragg, Novikov and Hoath all completing the set. But the night belonged to Hooper and both the crowd and competitors generously applauded what had been one of the best ever performances at a Giants Live event.

British athletes had mixed fortunes, with Welsh Bull, Gavin Bilton struggling to find his form and newly crowned England’s Strongest Man, Kane Francis placing 8th. He was beaten by debutant, Andrew Flynn, the man he had bested in York last month. The highlight of Flynn’s superbly consistent evening came in the Wrecking Ball Hold, where he placed 4th. His performance will serve as a huge confidence boost and will doubtless pave the way for future invitations.

Hooper was presented his winner’s trophy by 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man winner, Laurence Shahlaei – the man who has coached him to such great success. There was nothing but mutual respect between Hooper and his arch-rival, Stoltman, and both men acknowledged how they are motivated and pushed to ever higher levels by each other. Tom may have won back Hooper’s WSM crown, but the Canadian’s performance in London served as a stark warning to all of just what this incredible athlete is capable of!

For anyone who missed the show, the contest will still be available to stream through www.officialstrongman.com

Event 1: SBD Max Axle Press
Round 1: 170kg, Round 2: 185kg, Round 3: 195kg, Round 4: 205kg, Round 5: 218kg (WR)

Place Name Result Points
1 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 218kg (WR) 12
=2 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 195kg 10.5
=2 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 195kg 10.5
4 Evan Singleton (USA) 185kg 9
=5 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 170kg 5
=5 Kane Francis (ENG) 170kg 5
=5 Gavin Bilton (WAL) 170kg 5
=5 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 170kg 5
=5 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 170kg 5
=5 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 170kg 5
=5 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 170kg 5
12 Eddie Williams (AUS) 0 0

 

Event 2: Mirafit Axle Deadlift
Axle weight: 360kg, Time limit: 60 seconds

Place Name Result Points Overall Points
1 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 8 reps (=WR) 12 24
2 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 7 reps 11 16
3 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 6 reps 10 20.5
4 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 5 reps 9 14
=5 Eddie Williams (AUS) 4 reps 6 6
=5 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 4 reps 6 11
=5 Kane Francis (ENG) 4 reps 6 11
=5 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 4 reps 6 11
=5 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 4 reps 6 11
10 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 2 reps 3 13.5
11 Gavin Bilton (GBR) 1 rep 2 7
12 Evan Singleton (USA) Withdrew 0 9

 

Event 3: Iveco Conan’s Wheel
Load: 200kg in the hands.

Place Name Result Points Overall Points
1 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 1035° (WR) 12 25.5
2 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 836° 11 35
=3 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 826° 9.5 30
=3 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 826° 9.5 23.5
5 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 798° 8 24
6 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 783° 7 18
7 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 776° 6 17
8 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 641° 5 16
9 Kane Francis (ENG) 559° 4 15
10 Gavin Bilton (GBR) 374° 3 10
11 Eddie Williams (AUS) 373° 2 8
12 Evan Singleton (USA) Withdrew 0 9

 

Event 4: BoohooMAN Wrecking Ball Hold
Weight: 267kg

Place Name Result Points Overall Points
1 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 118.72s (WR) 12 47
2 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 104.48s 11 27
3 Eddie Williams (AUS) 101.48s 10 18
4 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 88.71s 9 27
5 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 85.77s 8 33.5
6 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 85.38s 7 24
7 Kane Francis (ENG) 74.66s 6 21
8 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 74.56s 5 35
9 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 66.72s 4 27.5
10 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 66.47s 3 27
11 Gavin Bilton (WAL) 35.35s 2 12
12 Evan Singleton (USA) Withdrew 0 9

 

Event 5: The Castle Water Stones
Stone 1: 120kg, Stone 2: 140kg, Stone 3: 160kg, Stone 4: 180kg, Stone 5: 200kg

Place Name Result Points Overall Points
1 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 5 in 20.81s 12 47
2 Kane Francis (ENG) 5 in 25.06s 11 32
3 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 5 in 27.72s 10 37
4 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 5 in 36.24s 9 36.5
5 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 5 in 36.56s 8 35
6 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 5 in 49.43s 7 34
7 Eddie Williams (AUS) 4 in 20.88s 6 24
8 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 4 in 29.43s 5 38.5
9 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 4 in 48.28s 4 28
10 Gavin Bilton (WAL) 3 in 19.84s 3 15
11 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 1 in 5.54s 2 49
12 Evan Singleton (USA) Withdrew 0 9

 

Overall Standings

Overall Standings
Place Name Overall Points
1 Mitchell Hooper (CAN) 49
2 Tom Stoltman (SCO) 47
3 Pavlo Kordiyaka (UKR) 38.5
4 Mathew Ragg (NZL) 37
5 Tristain Hoath (CAN) 36.5
6 Oleksii Novikov (UKR) 35
7 Andrew Flynn (ENG) 34
8 Kane Francis (ENG) 32
9 Pa O’Dwyer (IRE) 28
10 Eddie Williams (AUS) 24
11 Gavin Bilton (WAL) 15
12 Evan Singleton (USA) 9