On Feb 22, 2021, World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) announced that the 2021 contest “Strength Island” set to take place in Bahrain has been rescheduled to March 13. The decision was made in tandem with GCC Strongest Man and KHK Sports in response to the ongoing conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Strength Island was originally scheduled to take place on Feb. 27, 2021.
Per WUS’ post on their Instagram relaying the news, “Taking public safety, case numbers and current restrictions into account, we…rescheduled World’s Ultimate Strongman Bahrain 2021 to March 13th.” Despite the change in schedule, all other details surrounding the event, including the roster and event list remain unchanged.
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Strength Island Roster
Currently, there are 24 qualified athletes that have been announced for the 2021 WUS Strength Island contest. In no particular order, the roster is listed below alongside which country they represent and how they qualified:
- Jerry Pritchett (USA) —WUS 2019 and Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) 2020
- Terry Hollands (Great Britain) — WUS 2019
- Konstantine Janashia (Georgia) — WUS Incubator UAE
- Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou (Burkina Faso) — WUS 2019
- Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia) — WUS 2019 and ASC 2020
- Robert Kearney (USA) — ASC 2020 (note: it is unclear if Kearney has been medically cleared to compete following his ruptured triceps tendon injury.)
- Martins Licis (USA) — ASC 2020
- Krzysztof Radzikowski (Poland) — WUS 2019
- Ramin Farajnejad (Iran) — WUS 2019
- Ervin Toots (Estonia) — Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) 2020
- Luke Richardson (Great Britain) — ESM 2020
- Adam Bishop (Great Britain) — ESM 2020
- Bobby Thompson (USA) — ASC 2020
- Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia) — Strongman Champions League (SCL) 2019
- Eythor Ingolfsson (Iceland) — Iceland Strongest Man (ISM)
- Mohammed Ezzatpour (Iran) — MESM 2019
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski (Poland) — WUS 2019 and ASC 2020
- Luke Stoltman (Great Britain) — WUS 2019
- Tom Stoltman (Great Britain) — WUS 2019
- Brian Shaw (USA) — WUS 2019
- JF Caron (Canada) — WUS 2019 and ASC 2020
- Rauno Heinla (Estonia) — WUS 2019
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine) — WUS 2019 and ASC 2020
- Mikhail Shivlyakov (Russia) — WUS 2019 and ASC 2020
If the roster remains unchanged, 13 different countries will be represented.
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Strength Island Events
Currently, the contest has five events scheduled.
- Axle Deadlift — head-to-head competition, athletes will have to load the weights themselves. Weights will range from 320 kilograms to 440 kilograms (705 pounds to 970 pounds) in six increments, the athlete with the fastest loading and lifting time wins.
- Mystery Event — there will not be any details released about this event prior to the contest. It is intended to be an event that competitors will not be able to train for ahead of time.
- Giant Dumbbell for Reps — competitors will have 75 seconds to lift the 100-kilogram (220-pound) dumbbell overhead for as many reps as possible (Novikov currently holds the world record in this event with 11 reps).
- Carry & Load — Medley consisting of a 100-kilogram (220-pound) tire, a 120-kilogram (264-pound) WUS shield, and a 14-kilogram (308-pound) Atlas stone. The objects will be lifted and carried for 20, 15, and 10 meters, respectively, before being loaded onto a platform.
- WUS 10 Atlas Stone Run — Stones will range from 100 kilograms (220 pounds) to 225 kilograms (496 pounds).
The contest will be viewable for spectators via CoreSports.world.
Feature image via World’s Ultimate Strongman’s Instagram page: @worldsultimatestrongman