Day One of the 2022 Rogue Invitational strongman competition featured impressive feats of strength in the Tower of Power, which Ukraine’s Pavlo Nakonechnyy won. Trey Mitchell and Martins Licis came second and third, respectively.
Next up was Event Two, the Cyr Dumbbell Ladder. The contestants had to lift four dumbbells from shoulder-to-overhead, then hold that position until the judge gave the down command.
Oleksii Novikov, considered the favorite for any dumbbell pressing event, came through by taking the win. Shaw Classic winner Trey Mitchell took second place, and third-place points went to Martins Licis.
Cyr Dumbbell Ladder Results
- Oleksii Novikov — 5 reps in 1 minute, 56.86 seconds
- Trey Mitchell — 4 reps in 49.39 seconds
- Martins Licis — 3 reps in 32.52 seconds
- Rob Kearney — 3 reps in 49.81 seconds
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 2 reps in 20.93 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 1 rep in 6.18 seconds
- Bobby Thompson — 1 rep in 6.89 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 1 rep in 7.31 seconds
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 1 rep in 13.19 seconds
- Kevin Faires — 1 rep in 17.91 seconds
Check In: [2022 Rogue Invitational Live Strongman Leaderboard and Results]
2022 Rogue Invitational | Cyr Dumbbell Ladder Highlights
The dumbbells weighed in at 114.7, 124.2, 126.9, and 129.2 kilograms (253, 274, 280, and 285 pounds) each, and athletes had to lift all four weights in two minutes. Athletes who made it to the final dumbbell had to rep it out as many times as possible. The lifters went two at a time for this event.
Kevin Faires and Maxime Boudreault went first, but neither man made it past the first dumbbell. Rob Kearney and Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted were next; both men made it past the 274-pound dumbbell, and the 280-pounder was next. Kearney would be the first to pass the 280-pound weight, but he couldn’t complete the final dumbbell. Melsted only finished the first two weights.
The next pairing was American Bobby Thompson and Canadian Mitchell Hooper. Both men struggled with the 274-pound weight, the same as the original Cyr dumbbell. Unfortunately, neither man was able to lock out the weight despite multiple tries, but they were credited with pressing the 253-pounder.
[Related: Brian Shaw Decides Not to Compete at 2022 Rogue Invitational]
The fourth matchup of the event featured two past World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champions. Defending Rogue Invitational winner and 2019 WSM Martins Licis faced 2020 WSM winner Oleksii Novikov. This was one of Novikov’s strongest events, and he didn’t disappoint. He was the first to lock out the 285-pound weight, bagging two reps before the buzzer. Licis made it to the final weight, but he failed to complete a rep.
Trey Mitchell and Pavlo Nakonechnyy were the final athletes for the event. Mitchell made it to the 285-pound weight, which he pressed for a single rep to clinch second place. Nakonechnyy didn’t get past the opening weight. Novikov took the event win, Mitchell took the silver spot, and Licis grabbed third.
Up Next
The final event of Day One is the Husafell Sandbag Carry. It will be interesting to see how the athletes perform after two taxing events have already taken place.
Stay tuned to BarBend for the latest updates and happenings as the 2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman contest continues.
Featured Image: Patrick Clark / Athlete’s Eye Photography
