The last event of Day Two of the 2022 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest was the Log Lift — the forte of many strongmen still in contention for the Final, including Rob Kearney, Bobby Thompson, and Luke Stoltman. Athletes had to clean and overhead press the massive logs under the unrelenting heat that crept towards triple digits.
Tom Stoltman, Bobby Thompson, Maxime Boudreault, and Luke Stoltman emerged victorious for their respective groups. Trey Mitchell and Oleksii Novikov tied for first in Group 3. Check out the full results below:
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[Related: 2022 World’s Strongest Man Results and Leaderboard]
Log Lift Results
Each athlete attempted to lift 145 kilograms (320 pounds) for as many reps as possible in 75 seconds.
Group 1
- Tom Stoltman — Eight reps
- Kevin Faires — Seven reps
- Gabriel Rhéaume — Six reps
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — Four reps
- Andy Black — Zero reps
- Manuel Angulo — Zero reps
Angulo and Black took the stage first yet again in heat one with the temperature at 97 degrees. Angulo entered the event with three points, meaning there was no longer a path for him to the Final. Black was on seven points — not mathematically out, but would need to rank very high in the Log Lift and Wrecking Ball Hold.
Black and Angulo both missed their first attempts. Black missed his second and third attempts before Angulo missed his second. Ultimately, neither man scored a rep.
Heat two featured Faires and Šmaukstelis squaring up again — a rematch from the Car Walk. The duo cleaned the logs in a synchronized fashion, but Faires locked out the first rep.
Both strongmen stayed consistent through four reps. Faires continued as Šmaukstelis missed his fifth rep. Faires listened to the crowd’s chants of “one more, one more” and secured seven reps. Faires locked out an eighth right at the whistle, but head judge Magnus ver Magnusson did not count it.
Rhéaume and Stoltman entered the final heat with 12 and 18 points, respectively. Stoltman knew he was locked for a spot in the Stone-Off at the very least.
Stoltman shot his first rep into the sky. Rhéaume followed suit. They traded reps, all with smooth mechanics. At the 10-second call, Rhéaume locked out one final rep while Stoltman called it a day. Final count was six reps for Rhéaume and an event-winning eight reps for Stoltman.
Stoltman mathematically locked first place in Group 1 and will advance to the Final.
Group 2
- Bobby Thompson — Eight reps
- Mitchell Hooper — Seven reps
- Brian Shaw — Seven reps (T-second)
- Konstantine Janashia — Five reps
- Gabriel Peña — One rep
- Mark Felix — Zero reps
Peña, Shaw, and Felix came into the event on nine points each — a three-way tie for third. Janashia was two points behind them. Peña and Shaw took the stage first in heat one.
A long rep by Peña went up first as Shaw struggled with his footing. Shaw found his groove and locked the log out seven times.
Peña seemed to feel the literal heat after his first rep and decided not to continue the event.
Janashia and Thompson walked onto the field of play in heat two. Thompson held a two-point lead in second place overall in the group and sought to maintain that in his best event.
At the 2021 WSM, Thompson passed out exerting himself in the Log Lift event. Fortunately, history did not repeat itself, and he paced the event with eight reps for the win.
Janashia posted steady reps from the opening whistle to score reps five reps.
Hooper entered the event with a massive seven-point lead and knew he could lock his spot in the Final with a good performance in the Log Lift. He went against Felix in heat three.
Felix failed his first rep as Hooper tossed his first four reps in the air. Felix’s second and third miss caused him to bow out of the event. Hooper tied Shaw with seven reps.
Hooper is mathematically locked to win Group 2 and will advance to the Final.
Group 3
- Oleksii Novikov — Nine reps
- Trey Mitchell — Nine reps (T-first)
- Adam Bishop — Seven reps
- Rob Kearney — Six reps
- Grzegorz Szymanski — Three reps
- Mika Törrö — Two reps
Törrö and Bishop were first to the floor for Group 3. Bishop entered in second place overall and needed to stay the course to reach the Stone-Off. Törrö was tied for last with Szymanski and needed to work a miracle to get back in the running.
Bishop got the faster start, but the weight of the lift showed during his second lockout. Törrö put in the work to match Bishop’s two reps, but Bishop found a rhythm and sped through five additional reps.
Heat two saw Novikov clash with Mitchell. Novikov had a four-point overall lead coming into the event, and Mitchell was one point out of Stone-Off contention.
While Novikov released the log between reps, Mitchell never let go of the handles. Both strategies proved effective as their paces were fast, and they never showed signs of fatigue. They both clocked nine reps to share first-place points.
Kearney’s win in the Car Walk was precisely the start he needed on Day Two, and he needed to continue that winning streak in the Log Lift to remain in Stone-Off contention.
Szymanski opened with a pair of power cleans that caught up to him on his third rep. He remained strong until his fourth attempt, when he failed to lockout his elbows.
Kearney struggled on his final rep to get the down signal from Magnusson. Szymanski left with three reps, and Kearney logged six reps.
Novikov is mathematically locked to win Group 3 and advance to the Final.
Group 4
- Maxime Boudreault — 10 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Nine reps
- Martins Licis — Nine reps (T-second)
- Gavin Bilton — Seven reps
- Nedžmin Ambešković — Two reps
- Shane Flowers — withdrew
Ambeškovič ran the first heat alone for the second time on Day Two. It was more of an exhibition heat as he was out of contention for the Stone-Off with only four points to his name. He posted two reps for a cheering crowd.
Heat two saw Bilton against Boudreault. They were separated by a single point for second place in the group.
Boudreault made his first pair of reps look easy. His second pair looked just as smooth. His third pair was identical to his first two. His seventh rep was a power clean. His eighth, ninth, and 10th reps were power cleans—a monstrous showing of 10 reps for the Canadian to win the event.
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Bilton kept to the game plan he’s executed all competition — slow and steady. It paid off with seven reps.
Kordiyaka’s win in the Car Walk shot him into a tie for second place overall. He and Licis would have to chase Boudreault’s double-digit performance in heat three.
Licis held a five-point lead coming into the event and needed to play defense for the final two events of the qualifying stage to secure the group win. Defense isn’t in Licis’ wheelhouse and he came out aggressively, as has been his style all competition. He locked out nine reps.
Kordiyaka showed his technique by implementing a split-jerk to get his final reps overhead. He tallied nine total.
Due to Licis guaranteed at least two points in the Wrecking Ball Hold because of Flowers’ withdrawal, Licis is mathematically locked to win Group 4.
Group 5
- Luke Stoltman — 10 reps
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Eight reps
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf — Seven reps
- Kim Ujarak — Six reps
- Kelvin De Ruiter — One rep
- Evan Singleton — One rep (T-fifth)
De Ruiter and Ujarak entered heat one for Group 5. Ujarak made quick work of his early reps while De Ruiter had to really work for his first lockout. He ultimately recognized it wasn’t his event and bowed out after that rep.
Ujarak had his best performance thus far in the competition, locking out six reps.
Heat two featured Melsted versus Coraboeuf. Both men displayed their overhead strength by plowing through their first six reps each. Solid showings from both men resulted in seven reps for Coraboeuf and eight reps for Melsted.
Singleton showed up big with the fastest time in the Car Walk. He would need to match that performance in the Log Lift as he failed to secure any points in the Deadlift Ladder as he was technically withdrawn from the event (he re-entered after being cleared by medical at the start of Day Two).
Luke Stoltman was Singleton’s dance partner in the final heat. Singleton’s first rep tumbled back to his chest before eventually securing the lockout. A failed second rep was the precursor to medical rushing to the stage to ensure he did not repeat his incident from Day One. Head Judge Magnus ver Magnusson hopped onto the platform to wave Singleton off from doing another rep as it seemed clear Singleton could harm himself.
Stoltman made routine work of the event and posted 10 reps for the win. He is mathematically locked to win Group 5 and advance to the Final.
Gonna Wreck It!
Day three features the Wrecking Ball Hold at 8:00 a.m. PST. It is the last event to determine which athletes will compete in the Stone-Off at 1:30 p.m. PST. Each group’s second and third-ranked strongmen will battle head-to-head for a spot in the 2022 WSM Final. The 2022 WSM Final is scheduled for May 28-29, 2022.
Featured image via @max.boudreault23 on Instagram
