The qualifying tour for the 2022 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) is well underway. Having successfully opened the season on July 24 with the Strongman Classic won by 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov, the second installment of Giants Live’s circuit series — Giants Live: 2021 World Open — will take place in the Manchester Arena on Aug. 14, 2021.
The World Deadlift Championships (WDC) will also be featured as the opening event of the World Open. Earlier this year, Giants Live out an all-points bulletin (APB) calling on the strongest deadlifters to break the current all-time heaviest deadlift of 501 kilograms (1,104 pounds) scored by 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Björnsson in May 2020. A reward of $50,000 has been offered to whoever successfully tacks four kilograms onto that existing record.
View this post on Instagram
Fans can pay for the Giants Live Facebook Livestream at noon EST on Aug. 14, 2021. Tickets to watch the show in person are also available on Ticketmaster.
2021 World Deadlift Championships Special Guest
- Nedzmin Ambeskovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
According to an update on Aug. 12, 2021, Asko Karu of Estonia and Peiman Maheripourehir of Iran will no longer compete at the 2021 WDC. Karu suffered a back injury in training and Maheripourehir will be unable to attend the WDC due to travel complications.
Note: Giants Live’s website still has Ivan Makarov of Russia and Pavlo Nakonechnyy of Ukraine listed as special guests for the WDC, but according to Laurence Shahlaei, they will now compete in the 2021 World Open.
2021 Giants Live World Open Roster
- Oleksii Novikov, Ukraine
- Gabriel Peña, Mexico
- Adam Bishop, England
- Ivan Makarov, Russia
- Evan Singleton, USA
- Mikhail Shivlyakov, Russia
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy, Ukraine
- Gavin Bilton, Wales
- Rauno Heinla, Estonia
The Stoltman Brothers (Tom and Luke) were originally set to compete, but will no longer compete. Luke is tending to a biceps injury and Tom is nursing a “hamstring niggle.” They are still scheduled to be in attendance at the event for the VIP meet and greet.
2021 Giants Live World Open
- Max Deadlift*
- Front Hold
- Load and Drag
- Viking Press
- Atlas Stones
*According to Giants Live, all of the World Open participants may attempt a record, but the special guest was invited specifically to attempt a world record deadlift.
The Road to 500 Kilograms and Beyond
The history of the WDC dates back to 2014 when then-rising prospects Eddie Hall and Benedikt Magnusson battled for the deadlift world record. Hall and Magnusson continued to extend the world record back and forth by one-kilogram increments until Hall tacked on 46 kilograms at the 2016 WDC to become the first human ever to deadlift 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds). In May of 2020, Björnsson pulled 501 kilograms (1,104 pounds) as a part of the World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of the Strength” series.
According to Open Powerlifting, Magnusson still holds the raw deadlift record of 460.4 kilograms (1,015 pounds) scored at the 2011 Hardcore Powerlifting Clash of the Titans IV. The difference between a deadlift in powerlifting and a deadlift in strongman is that strongmen are allowed to wear deadlift suits and lifting straps, and are allowed hitch to help complete the lift. In powerlifting, no additional support gear or techniques are allowed (though a suit is allowed in equipped divisions). Furthermore, sumo deadlifting is allowed in sanctioned powerlifting competition, but not in strongman.
Björnsson’s world record lift endured much criticism. Before the lift took place, many prominent strongmen such as four-time WSM Brian Shaw, Hall, Robert Oberst, and Žydrūnas Savickas voiced that they do not believe it should be considered the world record because it was performed outside of competition. However, other world records, such as Novikov’s giant dumbbell for reps record and Tom Stoltman’s Atlas Stone record, have been widely considered the world records despite being performed on the WUS “Feats of Strength” series.
Athletes competing in Manchester who can push the record past 501 kilograms (1,104 pounds) will do so in a competition sanctioned by the same governing body that sanctioned deadlift world records previously. That additional $50,000 prize for anyone who can deadlift 505 kilograms (1,113.3 pounds) will still be in effect at the 2021 WDC.
The Max Deadlift Event
In training, Karu has pulled 30 kilograms (66.1 pounds) more than Ambeskovic, but Ambeskovic have legitimate shots at the 505-kilogram (1,113-pound) mark. All the athletes competing in the World Open have successfully deadlifted 408.2 kilograms (900 pounds) before, although it is unclear how many of them will attempt to join Hall and Björnsson in the 500-kilogram club.
View this post on Instagram
The top three podium finishers of the World Open are guaranteed a spot at the 2022 WSM contest. As is often the case in strongman competitions, scoring will likely favor well-rounded competitors more than specialists in a single event. First place, in any event, earns 10 points, second earns nine, and so on.
The special guests will not be considered when for the scoring purposes of the World Open in the max deadlift event. For example, if Karu wins the deadlift event by setting a new world record and Heinla comes in second place, Heinla would still be awarded first place points as Karu is not competing in the World Open.
Watch the Show
Giants Live’s Facebook Livestream is scheduled for 5 p.m. BST (noon EST) on Aug. 14, 2021. It costs £4.99 ($6.90). Anyone interested in seeing all the action in person can purchase tickets on Ticketmaster.
We’ll see who, if anyone, is capable of setting a new deadlift world record and claim the $50,000 prize that comes with it. Additionally, the top three finishers in the World Open will punch their tickets to the 2022 WSM competition.
Featured image: @giantslivewsm on Instagram/Photo by Zoie Carter-Ingham
