All 5 Heats have taken place, and the 10 finalists are confirmed. All that’s left for me to do before the final, is attempt to predict who will win this year! I’ve been wrong for… uhhh… the last 4 years? Which might not sound too bad, but this is only the 5th year I’ve been doing this! Perhaps this year I can get it right! But before we get into all of that, lets remind ourselves of the 10 athletes who will be competing for the title of WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN!
What an incredible lineup! However, for the first time since 2005, there are NO British competitors! Eddie Hall, the reigning World’s Strongest Man from England, officially retired from international competition when he won last year, so he too isn’t here this year. Despite no British competitors, the field this year is filled to the brim with excellent athletes, from 4 time winners Brian Shaw and Zydrunas Savickas, to multiple podium finisher THOR, and Johan Els, a surprising finalist who could go far!
For my predictions this year, I’m going to try and guess the ENTIRE 10 places, and then focus on the top 3 podium finishers who could all potentially win (and likely screw up my predictions as usual). So, here are my official WSM 2018 predictions!
- 10th – Johan Els
- 9th – Matjaz Belsak
- 8th – JF Caron
- 7th – Robert Oberst
- 6th – Zydrunas Savickas
- 5th – Konstantine Janashia
- 4th – Martins Licis
3rd Place – Mateusz Kieliszkowski
Kieliszkowski has been absolutely killing it in 2018. 3rd place at Europe’s Strongest Man, 1st at the WSM Tour Final, and 1st in his Heat to grant him a place in the finals. Strong, fit, great technique, and he’ll no doubt have a ton of confidence going into the final this year after his incredible year so far. Was a toss up between him and Licis for this podium finish, but I believe that Kieliszkowski has had the better year overall and will continue to do so later tonight in the finals!
2nd Place – Brian Shaw
The 4 time winner has been looking to match Mariusz Pudzianowski’s record 5 wins, but it just doesn’t look to be happening imo. Over the last couple of years he hasn’t quite been the force he was when he originally burst onto the scene and battled against Big Z for the title year after year. With a couple of injuries too, I think he’ll just miss out once again on 1st place, but still be good enough to take another 2nd place which could very well fuel him on to that 5th title in 2019.
1st Place – Hafthor Julius Bjornsson
I think this might be the 4th year in a row I’ve predicted the mighty THOR to win. He has come so damn close over the last 6 or so years, sometimes losing out on the title by just half a point. With Eddie Hall retired from international competition, and Big Z sadly no longer being the force he once was, I fully believe that Hafthor’s year is FINALLY here. He has placed above Shaw on the podium a number of times now when Shaw hasn’t won, and I fully believe he will do it again. As hungry as Shaw is to win a 5th title, I think Thor is MORE hungry to simply win his FIRST title.
Well there you have it! Once again I predict THOR will win, and hopefully I’ll finally get it right this year! Shaw could still pull it out and gain that record equalling 5th title, but honestly I just don’t think its going to happen for him this year. Will my predictions come true in any way? We’ll have to find out later tonight when the 2018 World Strongest Man Finals air on TV!!!
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