The 2024 Giants Live World Tour Open contest is set for Sept. 7, 2024, in Birmingham, England. Twelve athletes representing five countries will compete in five events. The first is the World Log Lift Challenge (WLLC) — a max overhead press event — featuring the current world record holder, Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou, who is expected to attempt a new world record. The other events are the Sandbag Toss, Deadlift, Arm-Over-Arm Pull, and Power Stairs.
The contest’s promoter, Colin Bryce, shared with BarBend a video of Iron Biby performing 210 kilograms (463 pounds) for four reps during his prep for the 2024 WLLC.
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2024 World Tour Open Roster
- Mitchell Hooper (CAN)
- Evan Singleton (USA)
- Oleksii Novikov (UKR)
- Paddy Haynes (UK)
- Aivars Šmaukstelis (LAT)
- Kevin Faires (USA)
- Ondřej Fojtů (CZE)
- Maxime Boudreault (CAN)
- Nathan Goltry (USA)
- Thomas Evans (USA)
- Luke Richardson (UK)
- Gavin Bilton (UK)
- Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou — World Log Lift Challenge Special Guest
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The front-runner heading into the competition is undoubtedly the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Mitchell Hooper, who has the momentum of a recent win at the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth contest in Loveland, CO. If Maxime Boudreault feels in peak form, he could likewise have a strong outing, given his recent win at the 2024 North America’s Strongest Man contest and the events in Birmingham being well-suited to his strengths.
Wildcards to watch out for are Luke Richardson, who is getting back into the swing of elite competition after recovering from a long-term biceps injury that sidelined him, and Oleksii Novikov, who has had a string of lackluster outings due to not fully recovering from recent nagging injuries.
Evan Singleton performs well in single-day competitions on the Giants Live circuit and can certainly pull out another strong performance here if he can get atop the leaderboard early.
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Featured image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram