The Shaw Classic will return for its third consecutive year to host elite strongmen battling it out for prize money and the coveted title. Four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Brian Shaw took to his YouTube page on Nov. 27, 2021, to announce the 2022 Shaw Classic will take place Aug. 13-14, 2022, in a location yet to be announced. Shaw has the venue locked in for those dates but has chosen to leave some mystery as to where it will be held until a future time, though it is confirmed to be in Colorado.
The [new] venue will be easier to get to…the venue is incredible…it’s a much larger facility.
After receiving feedback from the athletes in 2021, the 2022 Shaw Classic will occur on a Saturday and Sunday rather than a Friday and Saturday. Check out the full video of Shaw’s announcement below:
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Throughout his announcement, Shaw hinted at some notable aspects of the contest without giving away any specifics, including who will compete.
We’re going to have a crazy stacked lineup this year.
Shaw won the inaugural Shaw Classic in 2020 and followed it up in 2021 with a runner-up finish. JF Caron notably smashed the Hummer Tire deadlift world record of 1,202 pounds at the 2020 contest. Trey Mitchell scored the victory over Shaw in 2021.
The prize payout for the 2022 Shaw Classic will mimic that of the 2021 contest. In 2021, the prize purse was $100,000, with any prize money won by Shaw kicked back to the other athletes — Shaw’s $15,000 winnings for finishing second in 2021 was evenly distributed among the other 15 athletes. The events for the 2022 Shaw Classic have not yet been finalized.
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Shaw is currently in his off-season recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during the deadlift event at the 2021 Rogue Invitational. He expects the next contest he competes in to be the 2022 WSM contest — he will not compete at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic.
Shaw disclosed that tickets for the Shaw Classic would likely be available for purchase in early December 2021. There will be multiple levels of tickets, including VIP tickets — what’s included in each ticket level is not yet clear. In 2021, tickets were available via Shaw’s website.
Featured image: @shawstrength on Instagram
