Mateusz Kieliszkowski’s Lightning Fast 825lbs (360kg) Frame Carry
Mateusz Kieliszkowski was the youngest competitor at the 2016 World’s Strongest Man. At 23-years-old, the Polish newcomer astounds in his first Grand Final. He travels the circuit in a showing that appears effortless, finishing his run in a mystifying 17.69 seconds.
Kieliszkowski practicing with an even more massive 430kg:
Kieliszkowski absolutely smashes the event, which four strongmen (including Eddie Hall and Laurence Shahlaei) are unable to complete. He leaves Georgia’s Konstantine Janashia behind at a distant, but otherwise impressive second place (22.82s) and dooms champion Brian Shaw to his third place time of 28.25s. It’s clear that Kieliszkowski, like Polish legend Mariusz Pudzianowski, is the fastest man of his company, having also defeated Brian Shaw in the load carry before entering the Grand Final. The podium is in this young man’s future.
Eddie Hall and Hafthor Bjornsson Toy with the 350lbs (163kg) Circus Barbell
Eddie Hall and Hafthor Bjornsson go head-to-head in the Circus Barbell challenge, and it is not to be missed. For his first several reps, Eddie Hall is bouncing the weight off his stomach with no pause. He is modifying a tried and true technique that big-bellied strongmen always use on the Circus Barbell press event, which requires setting the weight back on the ground and reloading from scratch before pressing. But Eddie Hall is lifting the 350lbs barbell, bouncing it off his stomach, switching his grip and pressing it up with great ease. It is smooth and fluid.
As Eddie Hall’s start impresses, Thor’s finish does equally so. As they race the clock to beat seven presses for first place, Hall looks spent. He is literally crying as he forces his eighth press up on wobbling legs. Thor, however, has already locked out his eighth, and is resetting at speed to throw up a ninth! Without doubt, even one more second would have granted Thor the win. He comfortably locks out a ninth press just moments too slow for it to count for the judges.
Brian Shaw and Eddie Hall tie for World Record in WSM Deadlift
The WSM Deadlift is not identical to the deadlift that Eddie Hall owns the world record in at 500kg. Here, at the Commerce World’s Strongest Man, the strongman must stand on a platform, increasing the distance of the lift. Also noteworthy is the thicker barbell, which doesn’t bend quite as much, forcing the lifter to bear the stress of the full load earlier in the lift.
Heading into WSM 2016, Brian Shaw held the world record at 959lbs (435kg) in this format. It’s a record that’s held for three years. Nevertheless, it is Eddie Hall whose 2016 was defined by his deadlift for the ages, and he takes on ~981lbs (445kg) first. With a few dislocated fingers, Eddie rushes the weight into position, setting a world record just like that. Shaw, determined not to lose his hold on the world record, and more importantly not to lose the event, fires back with a slow, grueling lift of the same weight. The strongmen agree to a draw, but a ten-fingered Hall may live to break the record at WSM 2017.
Honorable Mention: No One Finishes the Plane Pull.
The producers of The World’s Strongest Man must have had menacing looks on their faces when they chose the C-130 Hercules airship for the pulling event. They announce its weight at 40-tons, or more than 88,000lbs! Not a single man cracks 25 meters, with Hafthor Bjornsson narrowly missing the mark at 24.90m.
Featured image: @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram
