The largest prize purse in the sport of strongman — well over one million dollars — is up for grabs at the 2023 Rogue Strongman Invitational at the Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, TX, on Oct. 27-28, 2023.
Six events comprise the strongman contest, and the opener was a 900-pound deadlift for reps in a 60-second window. Athletes were allowed to use lifting straps but could not wear a lifting suit. Below are the results:
2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman Event One Results — “Tower of Power”
- 900-pound deadlift for reps
60-second time cap.
- Trey Mitchell — Eight reps
- Bobby Thompson — Eight reps
- Mitchell Hooper — Seven reps
- Oleksii Novikov — Six reps
- Tom Stoltman — Four reps
- Thomas Evans — Three reps
- Evan Singleton — Two reps
- Luke Stoltman — One rep
- Maxime Boudreault — no lift
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — no lift
[Related: 2023 Rogue Invitational Live Results and Leaderboard]
[Related: 2023 Rogue Invitational CrossFit Event 1 “Texas Heavy” Results]
2023 Rogue Invitational Strongman Event One Recap — “Tower of Power”
Mateusz Kieliszkowski drew the worst straw and had to open the deadlift event. Going later in the turn order is a monumental advantage in strongman, as knowing the rep count to beat is event-altering information. The deadlift is notoriously Kieliszkowski’s worst event, and that was apparent when he failed three attempts to pull the weight. He did not secure a single rep.
Defending champion Oleksii Novikov was second to the stage and knew he would set the mark to beat. Without a target, he had to lift to failure. The first rep was slow to move, but once a rhythm was established, he was clean with every rep. Shaking by his fifth rep, Novikov locked out a sixth before failing his seventh.
Hooper is a dominant deadlifter and knew six reps was the mark to beat, but surely considered that that mark wouldn’t hold with seven athletes lifting after him. Those who lift later each event tend to remain toward the top of the leaderboard.
An explosive opening two reps and Hooper did not slow down. He blazed past the six-rep mark and ground out a seventh. He hyped up the crowd before an eighth rep attempt but couldn’t lock it out.
Tom Stoltman was fourth to the tower. His deadlift has improved vastly in recent events, but as the tallest athlete in the field, Stoltman has to pull the barbell through more distance than anyone else. Wobbling was a feature of Stoltman’s pulls through four reps. He failed his fifth rep and could not get the barbell to move again.
Luke Stoltman was the halfway lifter for the opening event. A huge grind through the first rep was all that was in the tank as Stoltman recognized that it would be unsafe to attempt another rep.
Trey Mitchell was sixth in the lineup and carried expectations of a high rep count as he entered the contest at over 400 pounds bodyweight. The opening four reps were no problem. He matched Novikov’s six reps with plenty of time on the clock. Reps seven and eight were locked in, though on the latter, he made eye contact with the judge as though to say, “Are you going to give me the down signal, or what?”
Singleton is currently experiencing the best season of his career and knew he needed eight reps to tie for the lead. A wild first rep where he swayed back and forth caused some unbalance after the fact. He only scored a second rep before calling off the event.
Thomas Evans paced the floor before his turn atop the tower. The first three reps appeared smooth and controlled. He failed his fourth rep and fell forward over the barbell. Fortunately, it was only a slip and not an injury. Evans strapped back in, but a fourth rep was not there.
Boudreault was the penultimate athlete to deadlift, and he knew after two attempts that the weight was just too much. Bobby Thompson was the final athlete to the tower. He moved a buttery first two reps with consistent form. Five reps cleanly scored with good time left on the clock. He tied Novikov and then matched Hooper. He locked out an eighth rep with less than five seconds left on the clock and topped the leaderboard.
Featured Image: @berserkerlifter on Instagram
