This past Saturday, the fourth episode of the World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series took place . It saw 4-time Ukraine’s Strongest Man Oleksii Novikov set the new world record standard for the 100kg/220lb giant dumbbell. His goal was, for each rep, to lift the giant dumbbell to his shoulder and push press it — locking out the elbow — for as many reps as possible in 75 seconds.
It was streamed live on CoreSports.world with 4-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Zydrunas Savickas judging via webcam.
Novikov, who performed every lift with his right arm, raced out the gates quickly. He ultimately set the world record at 11 successful reps within the 75 second time limit — he actually completed it in 65 seconds and took the last 10 seconds off. Check out the entire world record set below courtesy of WUS’ Instagram page:
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[Related: Mateusz Kieliszkowski breaking the Cyr dumbbell world record is worth watching again]
According to a response to a comment by WUS on their Instagram page, Novikov was setting a new world record, not attempting to break a previous one. So any number he hit would have been considered the new world record. However, Novikov stopping at 11 reps was likely informed by his belief that the previous record was 10 reps held by 4-time WSM Brian Shaw. Here is what Novikov said on his Instagram page:
“At the moment, the record is held by [Brian Shaw], 10 repetitions it is a high result of the strongest man on the planet. For me, this is a huge responsibility and I will do my best not to let my big team and all the strongman fans down!”
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At the end of the day, Novikov’s name now sits next to the giant dumbbell world record. It can always be challenged, of course, and if anyone will, it might be the man who currently holds the Cyr dumbbell world record (149.7kg/330lb): Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
Back in 2019, Kieliszkowski successfully hit 11 reps with a 100kg/220lb dumbbell in one minute in his backyard. Check out it out below from World’s Strongest Fan’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0-FiDvSqw
Novikov made history in the sport of strongman but don’t take your eyes off this space.
Feature image from Oleksii Novikov’s Instagram page: @novikov_strong
