The 2025 Giants Live Strongman Classic, held on July 5, 2025, in London, England, was a show with many highlights. Evan Singleton of the USA scored the overall gold, a significant rebound from his biceps injury sustained at the 2025 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest, which caused him to withdraw subsequently.
The other major story was 2023 WSM champion Mitchell Hooper‘s seventh-place finish. Typically, finishing seventh wouldn’t be newsworthy since many factors in strongman contests can alter results, including the leader’s advantage, potential injury scares, or having an off-day.
However, for Hooper, a seventh-place rank is an anomaly. The most recent time he missed a podium at an elite strongman show was at his WSM debut in 2022, where he ranked eighth despite never having tried a vehicle pull before.
Since then, Hooper achieved 24 consecutive podiums, including multiple wins in the sport’s biggest contests, including WSM in 2023, the Rogue Strongman Invitational in 2023 and 2024, and the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
On July 8, 2025, Hooper explained what went wrong in London:
Despite a bronze-medal finish at the 2025 WSM contest, Hooper considered it an underperformance. During an interview during that contest in Sacramento, Hooper said he “didn’t have much to be proud of” regarding his attempt at a second world title. He diagnosed his setbacks as a result of mental issues rather than strength issues.
A week before the 2025 Strongman Classic, Hooper partially tore his biceps during Atlas stone training and then pinched a nerve in his back during a trap bar deadlift one day later.
Hooper deemed his injuries insufficient to warrant withdrawing from the 2025 Strongman Classic. He thought he was still in good enough condition to win the contest.
Hooper felt confident in London until he stepped onto the contest floor, absent adrenaline, which “naturally hinders performance.” A lingering knee issue has made Hooper’s log pressing get “progressively worse.”
I’ve become a better strongman but a worse athlete.
—Mitchell Hooper
Despite sciatica in his hip, the pinched nerve in his back, and the persisting knee issue, Hooper pulled seven reps in the deadlift event, which tied him with Singleton for third-place points.
There are obvious mental blocks. Strongman inherently makes you less athletic.
—Mitchell Hooper
Hooper’s remedy for the setbacks he’s suffered is improving his athleticism via other sports and training differently than he would specifically for strongman competition.
“I’m going to nip this in the bud. This is not something I’m going to accept,” Hooper expressed. “When I turn up at a show, I’m going to turn up to win every single time.”
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Featured image: @mitchellhooper on Instagram
