World’s Strongest Man 2015 – Heat 1


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Heat 1 of the 2015 World’s Strongest Man competition!!! Kicking us off in the first heat is former 2 time champion from the USA, Brian Shaw! And joining him is JF Caron, Canada’s Strongest Man, Mateusz Baron from Poland, Martin Forsmark of Sweden, Adam Bishop from England, and Robert Oberst from the USA! Brian is certainly the man to beat here, and is likely guaranteed one of the top 2 finishes here to go into the final, so the second spot really could go to anyone. Caron in the past has looked fantastic, Baron could be a force to be reckoned with based on previous performances, Oberst has a good chance and Bishop has looked good at Giants Live. Forsmark is the only one I’m unsure of.

Event 1 – Loading Race

1 Sack and 2 Barrels must be lifted and carried down a 20m course and loaded onto a platform! Easy, right? Baron, Oberst and Bishop are the first 3 to go, and only Baron manages to finish the course. Gripping those barrels seems to be a problem. Brian being so tall should be the favourite to win the loading race, but it’s Caron who not only beats out Brian but also gets the win overall for the first heat, having no problems! Shaw still gets all 3 loaded and finishes in second place, but he definitely didn’t look as good as perhaps he should have!

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Event 2 – Deadlift

60 seconds. 370kg car. They must deadlift that weight as many times as possible within 60 seconds. Pfft, only 370kg? Weaklings… Anyway, Bishop and Forsmark go first, and while Bishop starts off well, grinding out 3 reps, he stops dead and allows Forsmark to go in front with 4. While it does seem like Bishop didn’t do well, for himself he did incredible. 370kg is his personal best for a deadlift, so being able to lift it 3 times in a row is definitely a success! Next up is Oberst and Caron! Oberst is built like a brick shit house, but it’s Caron who is the better deadlifter, and we see this immediately when Oberst struggles to get 1 lift and gives up after that. Caron lands himself 7, putting him in the lead with just Shaw and Baron to go. Shaw definitely has a chance of beating that, no idea what Baron will do. Either way it will still be good points for Caron! Shaw used to have the deadlift world record a couple of years ago so we know for sure he’s a good deadlifter, and yup, he gets 8 for the win and stops. Baron struggles but does get 4 to give him good points.

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Event 3 – Circus Barbell

161kg barbell must be pressed overhead as many times in 60 seconds! While the weight might not be that much of a problem for these guys, the size of the barbells really make it difficult to gain balance for the lift. Poor Bishop falls during his first lift attempt and it lands on his knee, but he keeps on going and does manage to get 1 lift while Forsmark gets 2 in total. Shaw and Caron go head to head next! In somthing of a surprise, Caron only manages 2 as well, but Shaw cruises through 4 reps, not putting too much effort here, just doing enough to get good points to take him into the final. Baron looks powerful but like most of the others, is really struggling here and also only manages 2. Oberst, while looking very comfortable with the lifts, only gets 4 to tie with Shaw due to being much slower with his lifts. Poor Baron injures his leg during his attempt and has to withdraw from the competition.

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After 3 events, this is how the leaderboard is looking:

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While we still have 3 more events to go, I would bet money on Shaw and Caron being the two going through still at the end.

Event 4 – Kettlebell Throw

Instead of the keg toss, we know how the kettlebell throw. Same event, except the kettlebells are a different shape to the kegs. 7 of them in total ranging from 23kg to 30kg, and the athletes need to launch them over a 4.7 metre bar!!! Wonder how this change in equipment will effect our strongmen! Poor Forsmark only manages 1 bell. Bishop is up next and does much better with 4, but this certainly looks more difficult than the regular old keg toss! Can’t wait to see Shaw’s attempt at this as he is one of the best ever at the keg toss. Oberst is our next athlete to give it a go, and it built perfectly for this event, but his technique seems a little off as he misses the first bell on his first attempt, which will prevent him from getting a spectacular time. Luckily for him he manages 5, beating out Bishop who was faster than Oberst at 4. Will Caron manage more than 5? He certainly looks good for it, but as you will know if you have seen this type of event before, they can lose all of their energy in a split second. Caron only gets 4, and in the slowest time. Shaw is the final man out, and holy shit he could throw this over a 5.7 metre bar if he wanted to! He blasts 5 out in a faster time than the others got 4, already winning the event, but he wants to show everyone how good he is by getting all 7! Another win for the former 2 time champion! Hope we see this event later when THOR joins the competition!

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Event 5 – Vehicle Pull

A 17.5 tonne double decker bus is the vehicle that must be pulled down a 25 metre course! Shaw is the favourite here due to his power, body weight and height, as well as his experience. Bishop doesn’t finish the course, while Oberst also doesn’t manage it but does get a little further down the course. Forsmark is out next and he could get some big points here with a good performance. While he doesn’t finish the course, he does go much further than anyone else so far, putting him in current first place. So he is guaranteed 3rd place at the very least. Caron looks good here but really begins to slow down towards the end and only makes it into second place so far. Last but certainly not least is Brian Shaw, and I would be surprised if he didn’t finish. Doesn’t matter what time, as long as he crosses the line he will once again get a first place victory. The former 2 time champion easily finishes the course in just over 45 seconds, and as expected, he picks up another win!

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5 events down, 1 to go, let’s take a look at the current scores going into the final event!

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Shaw is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the final, and while Forsmark and Oberst COULD make it, I don’t see anyone else but Caron joining Brian Shaw in the final, even with double points up for grabs!

Event 6 – Atlas Stones

The most classic of Strongman events! 5 stones, all different weights, that must be lifted in order onto platforms in the fasted time possible! Bishop goes first on his own, and really it’s just a test for him to see how well he can do, as he stands no chance of making the final. Shaw also sees this as a test, getting 3 stones on in a fast time as he doesn’t need to do much with his spot in the final guaranteed now. Forsmark gets 4 in a good time, so now it’s up to Caron and Oberst as to who will go through to the final with Brian! Caron gets off to a good start, while Oberst struggles and unless Caron makes a big mistake, his chances of going to the final are over. Caron gets 4 up in a good time, while Oberst cannot get that 3rd one up. Caron gets the win and along with Shaw, books his place in the final!!!

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Well, this heat is over with, and here are the final scores to confirm the 2 men going through to the final!

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No surprise with who made it through to the final! Not much else to say, really!

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