We’re currently less than three days out from the 2018 Europe’s Strongest Man, which is taking place on April 7th in Leeds, England.
Handfuls of strongman’s best athletes will go head-to-head for Europe’s title, along with having the chance to take a swing at the current World Record Log Lift. Last year, Eddie Hall took the Axle Press World Record with his monstrous 216kg lift at Europe’s Strongest Man, but can he take the log lift as well?
The current World Record Log Lift is held by legendary strongman Zydrunas Savickas, which he set with 228kg at the 2015 Arnold Classic held in Rio, Brazil.
Log Lift Predections
Professional strongman Laurence Shahlaei had to withdraw from this year’s competition due to nagging injuries, but made some predictions about the world record log lift. In Shahlaei’s video below, he covers which athletes he believes will make it to certain weights, and who will come out on top.
If you asked us, he seems pretty on point with his picks and gave solid rationale into all of his predictions. Check out Shahlaei’s video below.
Shahlaei’s 200kg Predictions
To kick off his predictions, Shahlaei states he has four athletes making it to the 200kg (440 lb) log lift feat. These four athletes include,
- Vytautas Lalas
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski
- Konstantine Janashia
- Matjaž Belšak
Shahlaei’s 213kg Predictions
Shahlaei points out that with each step up it’s really a big jump when performing maximal weights on the log. His next predictions are athletes that can make it to the 213kg weight, and these athletes include,
- Rob Kearney
- Robert Obserst
- Hafthor Bjornsson
Shahlaei’s 220kg Predictions
Time for the huge pressers. Shahlaei doesn’t think many of the athletes will make it to 220kg, but for the few that do, here are his best picks,
- Krzysztof Radzikowski
- Graham Hicks
Shahlaei’s 230kg Predictions
Now, the moment everyone’s been waiting for, who’s good for the new world record? There are two athletes Shahlaei thinks will put on an amazing show and take a stab at the record, and you can probably guess who these two are,
- Eddie Hall
- Zydrunas Savickas
Zydrunas Savickas
In recent training videos and in conversations with Shahlaei, Savickas has stated he’s hit recent personal bests in his log training. Although, Savickas won’t say how much he’s performed, but Shahlaei states he’s very focused on keeping his current world record, so he’s speculating 230kg is within his reach.
Eddie Hall
Currently, Hall has an injured ankle, so he had to withdraw from the full Europe’s Strongest Man competition and is completely focusing on log training. Shahlaei points out Hall has insane pressing strength and thinks he can get to the 230kg landmark, but is unsure if his ankle will impact his attempts.
Shahlaei’s Top Pick: Zydrunas Savickas
Shahlaei points out that he thinks both Hall and Savickas can hit 230kg, and possibly take it even further, but Savickas has proven over the test of time that he’s capable of performing huge feats on the log and he’s sitting at his normal heavier competition bodyweight.
Shahlaei’s Wildcard Pick
But wait, isn’t Cheick Ahmed al-Hassan Sanou (Iron Biby) competing this year in just the log lift? Why, yes he is. Although, Shahlaei left him out of his predictions because he hasn’t competed with him yet, and is unsure of his capabilities. Although, he points out that he has the capability of performing with the best and upsetting a lot of athletes. Shahlaei puts Iron Biby between 213kg – 230kg.
All of these predictions aside, who do you think has the best chance to take the world record?
Feature image from @savickas_bigz Instagram page.
