On Aug. 11, 2022, two-time World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman posted a video to his YouTube channel announcing that he is officially out of the 2022 Shaw Classic, taking place on the weekend of Aug. 13-14 in Loveland, CO.
Stoltman reported the cause of his absence is due to travel arrangements. Both Stoltman brothers (Tom and Luke) were to be accompanied by their wives to the contest. However, the information for Tom Stoltman’s wife, Sinead, was incorrect on the flight reservations, preventing them from flying to the United States. While Luke Stoltman and his wife flew on to Colorado on their own, Tom Stoltman opted to stay behind to be with his wife until a possible resolution could be reached.
The video can be seen in its entirety below:
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“I didn’t want to fly over without Sinead. I couldn’t just leave Sinead at the airport,” the two-time World’s Strongest Man said. “My first instinct was to make sure Sinead was alright and get her sorted. I would then think of myself second.”
After repeated attempts to make different arrangements and speaking with four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw, Stoltman eventually conceded that he simply couldn’t travel and compete without his wife by his side.
“The situation by that point was just too much for me,” Stoltman confessed to the camera. “I think the best interest for me now is to just pass this competition.” The Shaw Classic posted the announcement on their Instagram page, noting that Tom Stoltman will not be replaced.
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“We are very sad to share that Tom Stoltman has decided to withdraw from the 2022 Shaw Classic. We have no additional details at this time. Due to Tom’s last-minute decision, we are unfortunately unable to safely fill the 16th athlete spot due to the demanding nature of this event. Hopefully, Tom will be able to join us in the future.”
2022 Shaw Classic Roster
- Brian Shaw — 2020 Champion
- Trey Mitchell — Reigning Champion
- Kevin Faires
- Aivars Šmaukstelis
- Bobby Thompson
- Jerry Pritchett
- Gabriel Peña
- Žydrūnas Savickas
- Oleksii Novikov
- Luke Stoltman
- Evan Singleton
- Maxime Boudreault
- Konstantine Janashia
- Mitchell Hooper
- Gabriel Rheaume
With the younger Stoltman brother out of the contest, that leaves 15 strongmen left in the field to compete for the third Shaw Classic title.
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The 2022 Shaw Classic will be live streamed by ADL Production. It will be recorded for later viewing in case streaming issues occur during the broadcast. You can join the Shaw Strength Club to watch the stream or purchase the event through the ADL website: http://adlpro.live
Featured Image: @theshawclassic on Instagram
