The second event of Day Three of competition at the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) in Myrtle Beach, SC, was the KNAACK Deadlift. The last time this event was featured on the WSM stage was in 2021’s contest in Sacramento, CA.
The 10 finalists were challenged to deadlift 355 kilograms (782.6 pounds) for as many reps as possible in a time limit of 75 seconds. The athlete(s) with the highest rep total was awarded first-place points. The athletes lifted in two-man heats. The results are below:
2023 World’s Strongest Man KNAACK Deadlift Results
- Mitchell Hooper — eight reps
- Oleksii Novikov — seven reps (T-second)
- Brian Shaw — seven reps (T-second)
- Trey Mitchell — seven reps (T-second)
- Mathew Ragg — seven reps (T-second)
- Tom Stoltman — six reps
- Evan Singleton — five reps (T-seventh)
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — five reps (T-seventh)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — four reps
- Luke Stoltman — three reps
[Related: 2023 World’s Strongest Man Results and Leaderboard]
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Heat One — Jaco Schoonwinkel vs. Mathew Ragg
Two WSM Final debutants entered the rainy arena first to deadlift. Five reps went up in synchronicity before the South African dropped the bar, letting Ragg take the lead. The New Zealander ground out a seventh rep, but a sixth never came for Schoonwinkel.
Heat Two — Luke Stoltman vs. Brian Shaw
Lifting out of synch, each lift looked difficult for both athletes. Stoltman tapped out early in the heat. Shaw rested after a grindy seventh rep and was about to give an eighth a go as the whistle blew. Right as the heat concluded, the rain subsided.
Heat Three — Pavlo Kordiyaka vs. Evan Singleton
Singleton’s coach slapped his back, sending the “T-Rex” raging to the barbell. After three reps, Kordiyaka fell off the platform in a daze and had to gather himself before stepping back up.
Singleton knew when he was capped at five and waved off to head judge Magnus ver Magnusson. Kordiyaka completed an additional rep after fading through his lightheadedness to sneak ahead of Luke Stoltman.
Heat Four — Trey Mitchell vs. Oleksii Novikov
The Texan and the Ukrainian entered the arena to a brooding sky that had finally withdrawn its tears. Mitchell locked out two reps before Novikov even made his first attempt.
Novikov flashed seven fingers to the sideline to confirm his count and waved off, knowing he tied for first-place points with one heat to go. Mitchell slowed toward the end of his time but locked out a seventh rep before the whistle.
When asked on the sidelines if the rain significantly affects the athletes’ ability to move the bar, four-time WSM champion Žydrūnas Savickas suggested that inclement weather doesn’t have much of an impact on the pull. If the floor is slippery, it could offset the lifters’ balance, but with regard to weight through humidity, rain is a non-factor in the deadlift.
Heat Five — Mitchell Hooper vs. Tom Stoltman
Hooper and Stoltman both had the leader’s advantage in the last heat, knowing that seven reps was the mark to beat. Both men sped through their reps — Hooper racking an event-winning eighth before fist-pumping to the crowd. Stoltman held his seventh rep right under lockout for an epic poem’s journey but couldn’t achieve the down signal.
Fingers in the Final
The final event of Day Three of competition is the Fingal’s Fingers, which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EST. After stressing their nervous systems through two wet and heavy events in the Reign Shield Carry and the KNAACK Deadlift, the strongmen will have their work capacity pushed to their limits.
Featured image courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
