Here’s a complete breakdown of the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic.
Mitchell Hooper wins the Arnold Strongman Classic 2023 after a fierce battle for first place. Mateusz Kieliszkowski followed with silver and Bobby Thompson ultimately landed at third place. Here’s a full breakdown of the results and standings from the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic.
One of the biggest strongman competitions of the year has embarked — 2023 Arnold Strongman. Like last year, 10 standout strongmen clashed heads to test their limits and determine who the strongest man in the world of 2023 is thus far. It’s held in Columbus, Ohio Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, during the Arnold Sports Festival — all events were be held in the Strongman Arena in Hall D inside the Arnold Expo at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
As the name implies, strongman competitions are a test of pure will and strength to decipher who the strongest man is. However, the World Strongest Man is the Super Bowl of Strong Man competitions — which will be held later this year in April — the Arnold Classic is akin to a big playoff game.
This competition will feature the reigning World’s Strongest man, Tom Stoltman, and his brother Luke Stoltman. They recently shared their insane 10,000-calorie diet while preparing for the Arnold Strongman Classic.
It was any man’s trophy this year, with the reigning 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic champ absent, Martins Licis. The 2022 runner-up Oleksii Novikov, the 2020 World’s Strongest Man, didn’t attend this titan battle either.
A total of $182,000 was given away — with the champ taking home a whopping $80,000 payout.
This article will be a complete coverage of the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic. Tune in for a full breakdown of the competitors, events, winners, and payouts.
Arnold Classic Strongman Roster
This competition had 10 of the strongest men worldwide attend the event
- Tom Evans (USA)
- Kevin Faires (USA)
- Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
- Rob Kearney (USA)
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski (Poland)
- Trey Mitchell (USA)
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy (Ukraine)
- Luke Stoltman (Scotland)
- Tom Stoltman (Scotland)
- Bobby Thompson (USA)
*Note: Max Boudreault (Canada) is injured and will not compete. The first alternate, Kevin Faires, will replace Boudreault.
Arnold Classic Strongman Standings
Below is the final standing for how each competitor placed and their total points earned.
- Mitchell Hooper — 41.5 points
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 37.5 points
- Bobby Thompson — 29.5 points
- Trey Mitchell — 29 points
- Tom Evans — 25.5 point
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 24.5 points
- Tom Stoltman — 24.5 points
- Rob Kearney — 21 points
- Kevin Faires — 20 points
- Luke Stoltman — 20 points
Top Competitors Coming In
Of course, you can never count the Stoltman brothers out of any strongman competition, especially the back-to-back 2x WSM Tom Stoltman. But another competitor to watch for would be the 2022 bronze place medalist winner (who tied with Luke Stoltman) for third, Bobby Thompson — finishing the next in line for the title behind a Stoltman brother with Martins Licis and Oleksii Novikok not returning.
Watch The Finals Arnold Strongman Classic Coverage
Event Breakdown
There are 5 events at the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic — many different from last year. The events will be split up between Friday and Saturday.
The first two events on Friday, March 3, 2023, are the Wheel of Pain and The Austrian Oak Log Press.
Event 1: Wheel of Pain
The athletes have 60 seconds to push a wheel handle around a circle as far as they can without resting. The farther distance a competitor can push the wheel, the more points they’ll earn.
- Mitchell Hooper — 41.5 points
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 37.5 points
- Bobby Thompson — 29.5 points
- Trey Mitchell — 29 points
- Tom Evans — 25.5 points
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 24.5 points
- Tom Stoltman — 24.5 points
- Rob Kearney — 21 points
- Luke Stoltman — 20 points
- Kevin Faires — 20 points
View this post on Instagram
Event 2: The Austrian Oak Log Press
This event resembles the log press — competitors pressed the oak for max weight. It’s still unclear how the judges will be scoring this contest. But if it were similar to 2022, competitors would be scored on the max weight they can press overhead.
The subsequent three events will occur on Saturday, March 4, 2023: Elephant Bar Deadlift, Unspunnen Stone Throw, and Timber Frame Carry.
- Trey Mitchell — 400 points
- Mitchell Hooper — 300 points
- Bobby Thompson — 300 points
- Rob Kearney — 200 points
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 100 points
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 100 points
- Tom Evans — 100 points
- Tom Stoltman — 100 points
- Luke Stoltman — 60 points
- Kevin Faires — 10 points
Event 3: Elephant Bar Deadlift
The Elephant Bar Deadlift kickstarts the second day of the big strongman competition. The fans love this event! The “elephant bar” is longer than a conventional deadlift bar, allowing the 10 strongmen to pile on more weight. Hafthor Bjornsson holds the record in this event, pulling a whopping 474 kilograms (1,046 pounds) in 2019.
- Bobby Thompson — 447 kilograms
- Mitchell Hooper — 445 kilograms
- Rob Kearney — 436 kilograms
- Trey Mitchell — 427 kilograms
- Kevin Faires — 409 kilograms
- Tom Evans — 388 kilograms
- Luke Stoltman — 386 kilograms
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 368 kilograms
- Tom Stoltman — 363 kilograms
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — No lift
Event 4: Unspunnen Stone Throw
This is the first time this event will be held at the Arnold Classic Strongman. Athletes lifted a stone overhead and threw it as far as possible, with the winner throwing it the farthest away.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 3.47 meters
- Tom Evans — 3.23 meters
- Mitchell Hooper — 3.19 meters
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 3.15 meters
- Bobby Thompson — 3.04 meters
- Tom Stoltman — 2.96 meters
- Luke Stoltman — 2.81 meters
- Trey Mitchell — 2.71 meters
- Rob Kearney — 2.46 meters
- Kevin Faires — 2.07 meters
Event 5: Timber Frame Carry
To wrap up this competition, the contenders carried a wooden frame (in the past, it weighed 400 kilograms/881 pounds) up a ramp without straps. The placement of this event was based on who got to the top of the ramp first — or the max distance for competitors who didn’t reach the top.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 8:35 seconds
- Kevin Faires — 13.31 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 14:61 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 5.97 meters
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 5.33 meters
- Luke Stoltman — 4.98 meters
- Bobby Thompson — 4.55 meters
- Tom Evans — 4.14 meters
- Rob Kearney — 1.56 meters
- Trey Mitchell — 0 meters
Prize Money Payout for the 2023 Arnold Classic
The total prize is $182,000 — with the top-place finisher earning substantially more than the rest of the herd. Here’s how much the competitors received:
- 1st Place: $80,000
- 2nd Place: $25,000
- 3rd Place: $20,000
- 4th Place: $15,000
- 5th Place: $13,000
- 6th Place: $8,000
- 7th Place: $7,000
- 8th Place: $6,000
- 9th Place: $5,000
- 10th Place: $3,000
- Total: $182,000
Wrap Up
The 2023 Arnold Classic is one of the biggest strongman competitions of the year. 10 of the strongest men in the world battled it out for a chance to break records and earn large sums of money. It’s been exhilarating to watch and had spectators sitting on the edge of their seats. Generation Iron congratulates all the spectacular athletes who competed. And we and fans alike can’t wait to see the 2023 World’s Strongest Man showdown!
Share this article on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to spread the news of these outstanding athletes’ events, placements, and prizes!
