Ukrainian strongman Pavlo Nakonechnyy is the 2022 Giants Live World Open champion. He pulled off the upset by defeating nine other contenders, including his fellow countryman, 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Oleksii Novikov. to win the contest. Mitchell Hooper of Canada came in second — another stellar finish in his rookie year — and Novikov rounded out the top three. The contest was streamed via pay-per-view from the Giants Live Facebook page.
The final standings for the overall competition are below:
2022 Giants Live World Open Results
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 49 points
- Mitchell Hooper — 47.5 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 39.5 points
- Graham Hicks — 37.5 points
- Gavin Bilton — 34 points
- Rauno Heinla — 33 points
- Andy Black — 20 points
- Shane Flowers — 18 points
- Evan Singleton — 14 points
- Ivan Makarov — Eight points
- Pa O’Dwyer — Six points
The single-day contest consisted of five events. Check out the recap of each below.
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[Related: Strongwoman Lucy Underdown Deadlifts 667 Pounds During Training, More Than Her Own World Record]
Max Deadlift
The competition kicked off with the 2022 World Deadlift Championship — a max deadlift event. The task was simple: pick up the heaviest weight possible and hold it until the judge gave the down signal. The event started with 400 kilograms (881.9 pounds). It was bumped up to 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds), then 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds). Only five athletes stepped to the lifting platform for a 1,000-pound pull attempt.
- Rauno Heinla — 476 kilograms (1,049.4 pounds)
- Graham Hicks — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Mitchell Hooper — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Ivan Makarov — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Gavin Bilton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Oleksii Novikov — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Evan Singleton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Shane Flowers — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
- Andy Black — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
- Pa O’Dwyer — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
The final weight was 476 kilograms (1,049.4 pounds). Rauno Heinla was the lone athlete to successfully pull that weight, setting a new Masters world record as a result. Ivan Makarov attempted a world record of 505 kilograms (1,113.3 pounds), but he couldn’t to lift the massive weight past his knees. Four men tied for second, splitting second points evenly, as did the three men who tied for sixth (Bilton, Novikov, and Singleton) and those who tied for ninth (Flowers, Black, and O’Dwyer).
Medley
Makarov was only in the competition for the deadlift event. He withdrew afterward, leaving ten men in the field. The next event was the Medley, which called for each strongman to perform a farmer’s walk with 150-kilogram implements for 10 meters, load a 120-kilogram barrel onto a podium 12 meters away, a 120-kilogram sandbag onto a podium 15 meters out, and carry a 135-kilogram tire 20 meters.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 37.11 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 38.23 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 38.85 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 41.75 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 49.56 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 49.9 seconds
- Andy Black — 51.37 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 52.39 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 56.3 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — two meters
Nakonechnyy won his first event of the competition with a time of 37.11 seconds — one second ahead of Hooper. Defending champion Evan Singleton was the lone American in the field and managed to finish with the third fastest time. Heinla was the only man not to finish. He carried the first implement two meters before stopping.
Log Lift for Reps
The contestants had 75 seconds to lift the 150-kilogram (330.7-pound) log overhead for as many reps as possible. Hooper was the only man to perform eight reps, and claimed his first event win of the competition. Both Ukrainian competitors got seven reps each, and they split second and third place points evenly.
- Mitchell Hooper — 8 reps
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 7 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 7 reps
- Rauno Heinla — 5 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
- Graham Hicks — 3 reps
- Andy Black — 1 rep
- Shane Flowers — did not attempt
Singleton and O’Dwyer both withdrew from the contest, leaving eight athletes to compete in the remaining two events.
Front Hold
The fourth event challenged each remaining strongman to hold up a 30-kilogram implement at shoulder height for the longest time possible. All athletes lasted at least 30 seconds, but Hooper won this event by sustaining the hold for just over 54 seconds. Hicks and Nakonechnyy came in second and third, respectively.
- Mitchell Hooper — 54.45 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 50.82 seconds
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 47.38 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 45.66 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 42.62 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 38.78 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 36.17 seconds
- Andy Black — 35.83 seconds
Atlas Stones
The five Atlas Stones weighed 100 to 180 kilograms. Strongmen had 60 seconds to place all five onto their respective pedestals. Every athlete successfully placed all five stones, and no one needed more than 28 seconds to complete the task. Nakonechnyy blitzed right through the stones and finished in just over 17 seconds to win the event and the title. Bilton came in second with a very impressive time of 18.54 seconds. Novikov’s third-place time of 19.57 seconds secured the bottom spot on the podium.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 17.65 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 18.54 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 19.57 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 20.46 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 21.32 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 21.92 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 24.42 seconds
- Andy Black — 27.63 seconds
Qualified for Worlds
The top three finishers of the contest earned invitations to the 2023 WSM contest in Myrtle Beach, SC. It will be Nakonechnyy’s WSM debut if he decides to compete. The next Giants Live event is the 2022 World Tour Finals, scheduled for Oct. 8, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Featured Image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram