Giants Live 5 – Manchester
The final Giant’s Live qualifier! Some of the biggest names are gathering together for one last “warm up” before the main WSM competition!
Nick Best – USA
Mikhail Shivlyakov – Russia
Iron Biby – BUR
J.F. Caron – Canada
Robert Oberst – USA
Konstantine Janashia – Georgia
Benedikt Magnusson – Iceland
Terry Hollands – England
Laurence Shahlaei – England
Eddie Hall – England
Zydrunas Savickas – Lithuania
A hugely strong lineup! Just missing Brian Shaw and Thor and this could be mistaken for the WSM Finals!
Event 1 – Log Lift
How many reps can they do in 1 minute with 150kg?
Nick Best only managed 1, Janashia reached 6 and was matched by Biby, but Caron is currently in the lead with 7 reps! Now for our first pairing, its Terry Hollands against Shivlyakov! Hollands might be able to get 4, while Shivlyakov could match the 7 reps of Caron based on what I remember him being like in the past. Shivlyakov gets to 4 and holds his arm, hopefully not an injury, but just a little bit of pain from lifting such a heavy weight so many time. Hollands does indeed reach 4, but Shivlyakov only managed 5. Still a good number. Now we have Robert Oberst against Laurence Shahlaei. Oberst is hugely powerful overhead, so he should do well. Shahlaei has held British records for max weight in the past, but reps are a different thing altogether. Oberst made a claim that he will win this event, and currently he is in first place WITH Caron on 7! Shahlaei does well with 6 reps for second with Janashia. Main event time! Big Z and Eddie Hall! Two of the best pressers ever! Hall makes a mistake on the first rep, then after 2 is perhaps injured and cannot continue. Meanwhile, Big Z is showing his impressive power and gets an 8th rep for the win! Hope Eddie isn’t too injured and will be able to continue! Nope, he unfortunately has to drop out.
Event 2 – Deadlift
A regular 400kg bar, and they need to get the most reps in 1 minute. The world record for this weight on this type of bar is held by Magnusson at 5! Will anyone beat it?
Nick Best will not, as he doesn’t get a single rep. Neither does Oberst or Hollands or Biby. Magnusson on the other hand gets 3. Now for Shahlaei, and ouch, he looks like he might have injured himself attempting his first rep. Hopefully he doesn’t have to bow out like Hall. Now for Shivlyakov, and 1 rep looks good, but I don’t think he can get that second rep. Nope. Good effort though! Now for the GEORGIAN BULL Janashia! Very impressive last year in the WSM final, finishing 4th overall. And he’s looking impressive here, getting 3 to match Magnusson, but can he go one further? Yes! One more and he has matched the world record! Incredible lifting from Janashia! And he’s only going to get better over the next few years too! Speaking of someone who keeps getting better, its JF Caron of Canada! He’s very good at deadlift, so he could do well here too. 4 up in a fast time, so with some rest he should be able to match that world record. And he does! Another great example of lifting! But now we have arguably the greatest strongman of all time, and a man who has held so many deadlift records in his time. Can HE get 5 or more? He’s a slow lifter, so he will need to just keep going and not take a rest if he has any chance of getting 5. Well, just 2 for Big Z! Not what people might have expected, but for a man in his 40’s, who has been lifting like this for over 20 years and is just back from a very serious shoulder injury, I’d say that’s still excellent!
Event 3 – Frame Carry
A massive wooden box complete with heavy weights! Pick up, run down the 20m course and be the fastest. Easy! Oh yeah, it weighs a total of 1000lbs+! Maybe not so easy…
Oberst went first and did it in just over 11 seconds. A good time, but might not hold up given the speed of some guys. Best and Hollands are next, with Best going just under 11 seconds for the current 1st place, with Hollands over 11 seconds too but behind Oberst. Big Z against Shivlyakov time! Shivlyakov is someone who should be pretty fast. Wow. He does UNDER 10 SECONDS! Big Z gets around 10 seconds, which I think is enough for second atm, but Shivlyakov was very impressive! Now for Caron and Janashia! Both are over 10 seconds, with Janashia just edging out Caron. And now, its Shahlaei, the world record holder, against Iron Biby. BOTH are very fast, and I think Biby just edges out Laurence! Sub-10 seconds for both! 2 years ago, the time from Oberst would have been plenty good for 1st. Now he’s second from last!
Event 4 – Super Yoke
Another 1000lb+ implement to be run down the 20m course!
Hollands goes first alone, and gets 11.59 seconds, a little faster than his frame carry result. Big Z against Robert Oberst now. Oberst has a huge burst of speed and does it in under 10 seconds, making up for his poor frame carry. Big Z in over 11 seconds, I think. Nick Best and Caron now, with Best utterly demolishing this course! Another sub-10 second result! Shivlyakov and Janashia up next, and while both look fast I don’t think they can beat Best, and they don’t. Good times from both though! And finally, Shahlaei Vs Biby! Can Biby beat Shahlaei again? Or will the world record holder show why he has that record? Just like the frame carry, they are almost neck and neck but Biby just edges out Shahlaei! Both with sub-10 times as well!
Well, noby beat that time of Nick Best! Very impressive for one of the oldest men competing in strongman! This competition only has 5 events instead of 6, so lets have a look at the scores overall before we move into the final event!
Well, I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the scores looking like this! Janashia 1.5 points ahead of his nearest rival right now, but Caron could still make that up on the stones. Big Z is only 1 point behind Caron and he too could make up enough points on the stones to still win. Biby, Shivlyakov and Shahlaei are also still in the mix and just need a good result on the stones too. This will be a very close final event!
Event 5- Atlas Stones
We know the deal. 5 stones. Different weights. Heaviest is 200kg. Place them on platforms in the fastest time. Its THE strongman event!
Hollands went alone, and only managed 1 stone. He looked to be cramping up in his back, a regular occurrence this last few years sadly. Oberst and Best got all 5 up, but they cannot win. Shahlaei only managed 4, which will keep him off the podium most likely. Shivlyakov got all 5 up but in a slow time. Now its Biby Vs Big Z. Big Z has won and lost titles on the stones, but he’s always been very good at them. Biby is doing the stones for only the SECOND TIME EVER! Z is making this event look simple, with 5 stones in 20.16 seconds! His podium place is set in stone, but WHICH place? And great to see Biby get all 5 up too, as he only managed 3 the first time. He’ll be one to watch in a few years for sure! Now it all comes down to this; Caron Vs Janashia. With Big Z getting that great time, they will need to ensure all 5 stones get up and in a good time too. Caron is off to a fantastic start, with Janashia just behind him. Big Z’s time won’t be beat, but 22.52 for Caron looks to potentially give him the overall win! 32.22 for Janashia might not be good enough for first, but I THINK he will beat out Big Z for second place!
Ok, lets check on the final overall scores and see who places where!!! Wow, things are so close, not even the competitors themselves know who won, and they don’t even show us the final scores at first, instead having all 3 men standing at the podium and announcing them from 3rd to 1st. Caron ends up down in 3rd (I honestly thought he was the winner!), Janashia in second and BIG Z takes the win!!! Wow!!!
Just 1 point separates all 3 men, but Big Z, perhaps the greatest of all time, is BACK with a first place finish! What a great competition overall, and this makes me even more excited for the real WSM competition to begin!!!
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