The 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) UK is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2022, in Marston Green, England, as part of the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival.
14 of the world’s top strongmen will battle it out in the UK for the title across six events: Super Yoke, Deadlift, Bag Over Bar, Dumbbell Press, Arnold Stone Carry, Atlas Stones.
The full 2022 ASC UK roster is below:
2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK Roster
- Kim Ujarak Lorentzen (Greenland)
- Ben Williams (UK)
- Ervin Toots (Estonia)
- Rauno Heinla (Estonia)
- Paul Smith (UK)
- Konstantine Janashia (Georgia)
- Pa O’Dwyer (Ireland)
- Louis Jack (UK)
- Gavin Bilton (UK)
- Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
- Ryan Bennett (UK)
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine)
- Žydrūnas Savickas
- Zake Muluzi (UK)
Check out result predictions by 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Laurence Shahlaei in the video below, published on his YouTube channel on Sept. 21, 2022:
[Related: 2022 Strongman Champions League Romania Results — Kelvin de Ruiter Victorious]
Super Yoke
The Super Yoke event will be heavy. Each athlete will attempt to move the 500-kilogram (1,102.3-pound) yoke down the course in the fastest time possible.
Assuming the entire roster will be able to move the yoke, the likely favorites for this event are Hooper and Novikov for the speed of their footwork. In previous elite events in 2022, like the World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest, agility was the deciding factor for those able to move the yoke relatively comfortably.
Deadlift
The Deadlift event is for reps with 370 kilograms (815.7 pounds). While there are some incredible deadlifters on the roster who can pull immense weight, an event for reps will reward the athletes who have the cardio to pump out reps until the time cap is reached.
Novikov pulled 15 reps in the Car Deadlift event at the 2022 WSM and took the event win, and he could replicate that here, granted a car deadlift is different than using a barbell.
This will be a spot for athletes to jockey for position, whether by exerting themselves in their forte or conserving their energy to let others duke it out.
Bag Over Bar
Hip extension will be the limiting factor after maxing out deadlifts for reps in the previous event. Planning ahead for this event will likely pay off as a sound strategy.
Bag Over Bar is another event that rewards speed. If all the athletes can convert all the implements, whoever moves faster will garner more points.
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[Related: Watch Mitchell Hooper Single-Arm Shoulder Press a Person]
Dumbbell Press
Unless some of the other athletes on the roster have significantly improved their ability to dumbbell press a 100-kilogram (220.5-pound) implement, Novikov is in a league of his own.
The other strongmen should assume that Novikov will rack up 12 points here if their training hasn’t been programmed to try and match him.
Arnold Stone Carry
As is the case with physics, weight moves weight, so this is one of the few events that should favor heavier athletes in the field. This event is towards the end of the contest, so it will drain much of what the strongmen have left in their tanks.
If the bigger guys are planning to concede points in the earlier events where speed is at a premium, they will likely be able to make it up here, despite how risky of a strategy that might be.
Atlas Stones
By the time the competition reaches the Atlas Stones, who is in contention for the podium will be more cut and dry. Each athlete’s Atlas Stone run will be informed by their rank entering the event.
Predicting who is favored going into this event is a bit of a loose play, given how much influence the scores leading into it will have. Given the structure of the events, Novikov and Hooper seem like the favorites, but anything can happen under the lights of competition.
Featured image: @gavin_the_bull_bilton on Instagram
