Squaring off in opposition to a stacked lineup of strongman rivals that included Mitchell Hooper, present World’s Strongest man and winner of the 2022 Giants Stay World Tour, Tom “The Albatross” Stoltman cemented his case as the very best of the bunch by profitable the 2023 Giants Stay World Tour Finals.
Showcasing his vary of expertise throughout 5 grueling occasions, the two-time World’s Strongest Man captured the coveted title on Oct. 21, 2023, in entrance of a gregarious Glasgow crowd that proudly cheered on each Tom and his older brother, Luke Stoltman, who have been born and raised roughly 200 miles north in Invergordon, Scotland. Though New Zealand’s Mathew Ragg got here agonizingly near besting the youthful Stoltman brother, Ragg finally completed three factors behind the champion for a hard-fought second-place end.
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Tom Stoltman undoubtedly stole the present with a dominant all-around outing that noticed him safe victories in three of the 5 occasions. Nonetheless, he definitely wasn’t the one strongman who shined.
Right here’s an in depth event-by-event breakdown of the 2023 Giants Stay World Tour Finals.
The competitors kicked off with a traditional strongman occasion that examined the athletes’ upper-body energy and energy. To little shock, Tom Stoltman took dwelling high honors within the Max Log Elevate, changing into the one man to efficiently overhead press a 463-pound (210-kilogram) log. In the meantime, Mitchell Hooper, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Luke Stoltman, and Tyler Cotton every earned 9.5 factors by locking out 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms).
Though he didn’t take part within the total competitors, Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou delivered essentially the most spectacular rep of all of them by urgent 507.1 kilos (230 kilograms) to set the Log Elevate World Document. Sanou additionally held the earlier file, 504.8 kilos (229 kilograms), which he set on the 2021 version of the competition.
- Tom Stoltman — 463 kilos (210 kilograms)
- Mitchell Hooper — 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms)
- Luke Stoltman — 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms)
- Tyler Cotton — 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms)
- Mathew Ragg — 410.1 kilos (186 kilograms)
- Ondřej Fojtů — 410.1 kilos (186 kilograms)
- Gavin Bilton — 374.8 kilos (170 kilograms)
- Eddie Williams — 374.8 kilos (170 kilograms)
- Evans Aryee — 374.8 kilos (170 kilograms)
- Pa O’Dwyer — No Elevate
- Conor Curran — No Elevate
A staple in Giants Stay competitions, the second occasion required the athletes to select up, carry, and throw two 330.7-pound (150-kilogram) sandbags over a waist-high pole. As if that wasn’t difficult sufficient, they then needed to go round to the opposite aspect of the pole, raise the sandbags once more, and cargo them onto a platform.
Proving he had the proper mixture of brute energy and fleet toes, Tom Stoltman took dwelling his second straight victory by finishing the course in just below 30 seconds. He narrowly edged out 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man Pavlo Kordiyaka, who completed in second place by simply over half a second.
- Tom Stoltman — 29.92 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 30.48 seconds
- Mathew Ragg — 31.41 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 33.62 seconds
- Ondřej Fojtů — 34.44 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 34.63 seconds
- Conor Curran — 35.30 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 36.81 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 36.84 seconds
- Tyler Cotton — 37.76 seconds
- Evans Aryee — 38.22 seconds
- Eddie Williams — 42.16 seconds
The third occasion revolved across the good ol’ deadlift. Solely on this case, the load was loaded onto an axle — a thicker, stiffer, and harder implement to make the most of in comparison with an ordinary barbell. Opponents needed to carry out as many repetitions as doable with 771.6 kilos (350 kilograms), and for the primary time on the day, Tom Stoltman didn’t end forward of the pack.
Six-time New Zealand’s Strongest Man Mathew Ragg starred on this deadlift problem, pulling off eight reps and securing the utmost quantity of factors. Total, solely 4 of the 12 rivals accomplished not less than 5 reps.
- Mathew Ragg — Eight reps
- Tom Stoltman — Seven reps
- Mitchell Hooper — Seven reps
- Gavin Bilton — 5 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 4 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 4 reps
- Ondřej Fojtů — 4 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 4 reps
- Eddie Williams — 4 reps
- Tyler Cotton — Three reps
- Conor Curran — Three reps
- Evans Aryee — Withdrew
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The penultimate occasion proved to be essentially the most difficult for the eventual champion. Conan’s Wheel required the strongmen to select up a metallic beam fastened to a middle level and spin it round so far as doable with out letting it hit the ground. After ending in first in two of the primary three occasions, Tom Stoltman slipped to fifth.
However, Mathew Ragg continued to construct momentum from the Axle Deadlift, finishing nearly two and a half revolutions (845 levels) earlier than bowing out. The New Zealand native wanted each step to safe a slender victory, as Mitchell Hooper got here inside 4 levels of a first-place tie, settling for second with 841 levels. Pavlo Kordiyaka (820 levels) and Eire’s Pa O’Dwyer (756 levels) have been the one different rivals who surpassed two full revolutions.
- Mathew Ragg — 845 levels
- Mitchell Hooper — 841 levels
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 820 levels
- Pa O’Dwyer — 756 levels
- Tom Stoltman — 618 levels
- Gavin Bilton — 608 levels
- Luke Stoltman — 562 levels
- Ondřej Fojtů — 553 levels
- Conor Curran — 506 levels
- Eddie Williams — 471 levels
- Tyler Cotton — 425 levels
The ultimate occasion featured 5 gargantuan stones starting from 264.6 kilos (120 kilograms) to 440.9 kilos (200 kilograms). In a take a look at of each energy and coordination, the athletes needed to decide every one up and cargo it onto a platform within the quickest time doable. 4 of the 5 strongmen accomplished the circuit, however Tom Stoltman shockingly wanted lower than 20 seconds to safe his spot atop the rostrum.
Whereas Mathew Ragg did properly to load all 5 Atlas stones in 28.81 seconds, he completed almost 10 seconds behind. Luke Stoltman and Gavin Bilton additionally succeeded in getting that 440.9-pound stone onto the platform. Nonetheless, the previous took almost double the time as his brother to perform that feat.
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 19.23 seconds
- Mathew Ragg — 5 in 28.81 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 5 in 37.56 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 5 in 41.64 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 4 in 19.32 seconds
- Eddie Williams — 4 in 23.71 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 4 in 25.94 seconds
- Tyler Cotton — 4 in 29.13 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 4 in 50.11 seconds
- Ondřej Fojtů — Three in 42.16 seconds
By profitable three of the 5 occasions — together with one in exceedingly dominant trend — Tom Stoltman left little doubt about who deserved to face atop the rostrum on the 2023 Giants Stay World Tour Finals. Nonetheless, it’s protected to say that Mathew Ragg raised some eyebrows by pushing the champion to the brink in what basically amounted to a two-man race for the title. With the 2023 Rogue Strongman Invitational proper across the nook on Oct. 27-28, let’s see if Stoltman retains the practice rolling.
Featured Picture: @giantslivestrongman / Instagram