The qualifying shows have taken place, and now its time for the HEATS, where 10 strongmen across 5 Heats will make it to the Finals! Competing in the first Heat are:
- Kevin Faires – USA – 7th at World’s Strongest Man 2020
- Tristian Hoath – Canada
- Trey Mitchell – USA – 4th at World’s Strongest Man 2023
- Luke Stoltman – Scotland – 8th at World’s Strongest Man 2023 & 2x Europe’s Strongest Man
- Eddie Williams – Australia
- Oskar Ziolkowski – Poland
3 former finalists in one group, but Trey and Luke have to be the favourites to make it to the final once more.
Event 1 – Webster Stones
There are a couple of events similar to this now, such as the Nicol Stones, where the athletes need to carry 2 massive stones as far as possible. However, 1 stone is 136kg, and the other is 113kg. The uneven weights will screw up balance and tire out one arm before the other! Trey usually has a terrible grip, but he did incredibly well during a Hercules Hold in a Giants Live event, so maybe he’s turned that weakness into a strength? Hoath is first to try this challenge, along with Faires who I believe had a world record on the Nicol Stones at some point? Hoath gets off to a quicker start, but is the first to drop them (they can have 1 drop and a 10 second rest). He doesn’t last much longer, and neither does Faires who only beats him by a small margin. 32.59m is the distance to beat. The next pair are Oskar and Eddie, and Eddie is the current Nicol Stones record holder so he should be good! Oskar really struggles with this event, while Eddie takes first place with ease, getting over 40m before he drops them the first time! His total distance is 46.45m. Lastly then, we have Mitchell and Stoltman, who have a big distance to cover if they want to win. Trey’s grip is just as bad as expected here, making that Hercules Hold perhaps a fluke. Stoltman doesn’t get the win, but is able to get enough distance to finish 2nd.
Event 2 – Deadlift Ladder
5 bars ranging from 300kg to 380kg must be lifted in the quickest time. Luke and Trey should be the favourites here. Oskar and Trey went up first, with Oskar getting 3, and Trey surprisingly only getting 4. Next we see Hoath against Faires, and Hoath is able to get all 5 for current first place. Faires is unable to get the final lift, settling for 4, but in a faster time than Trey for current 2nd. Now for Luke against Eddie, and I think it might come down to times on 4 as to where everyone places behind Hoath. Luke is pretty fast for 4, with Eddie not too far behind, then Eddie is able to get that 5th rep while Luke doesn’t!
Event 3 – Sandbag Steeplechase
3 120kg sandbags of different shapes must be loaded onto a platform at the end of a 20m course. However, at the 10m mark, they have to throw the bags over a bar as well! This will be an exhausting event! First up was Oskar, who managed 4 bags in 54.85s. Trey on the other hand finished all 6 in just under the 1m 15s time limit. Faires against Stoltman time, and Stoltman has been very good in these types of events in the past, so I expect big things from him. Luke does indeed finish ahead of Trey, while Faires is only able to get 5. Hoath Vs Williams, and I think Hoath might be able to beat out Eddie here. They are neck and neck after 4, but Williams really slows down on the final bag. Hoath is able to finish just ahead of Luke, while Williams runs out of time.
Time to check on the points as we head into the final 2 events:
Tristain Hoath’s 2 back to back wins keeps him in pole position, while Luke’s constancy places him second with Eddie. Trey is not looking as dominant as he has in the past, perhaps not fully recovered from his injury last year.
Event 4 – Viking Press
150kg to be pressed overhead as many times in 1 minute! Luke is known for his pressing power, as is Trey, so this event could see them both getting good points. Hoath is pretty unknown for me in this type of event so we’ll see if he can do enough to maintain top place. Oskar was first out with Faires, with them getting 10 and 11 reps respectively. Very good results from both of them, but in this heat, it won’t be enough. Now for Mitchell and Williams, and this might not be the best event for Eddie. He still does well, matching 10 reps with Oskar, but again, in this heat, that number won’t be good enough. Trey keeps on going, getting 16 reps and almost a 17th but the time ran out. Even Luke is going to have trouble matching that! We’ll see though, as Luke and Tristain are the final pair to take this on! Stoltman does not look comfortable here, and really struggles to match the 11 reps of Faires. Surprising result there. Hoath on the other hand gets 15 reps for a well deserved second place!
Event 5 – Car Walk
A 454kg car needs to be lifted and walked down the 20m course in the quickest time! Oskar had a terrible time, only making it half a metre down the course. Faires did better, but was unable to finish the course. Now we get to see Eddie taking on Trey, and I expect these two men to finish. Eddie is off to a quick start, while Trey really struggles on the pickup. Eddie finishes in a super quick time of 14.06s, while Trey cannot finish the course. That likely means it will be Eddie in the stone off with either Like or Tristain, depending on who does what next. A bad start from Luke, but he quickly recovers and is only just behind Hoath despite dropping it twice!
Lets see the points to check who is into the final, and who will be in the stone off:
Tristain Hoath makes it through to his first WSM Final on his first try! Meanwhile Eddie and Luke will now go into the stone off to determine which of them joins Hoath. Poor Trey doesn’t seem to be quite back to his old self, hopefully in time he’ll be back on form!
Event 6 – Stone Off
Luke and Eddie will have to pass stones back and forth to each other, as they get heavier and heavier, until they reach the final one and continue to pass that between them until one of them is unable to return it. Luke has been here numerous times, including last year when he won and made it into the final. Despite him having to lift first, he’s still the favourite, being a great stone lifter in general. They both lift all stones over to each other, so its all about how many times they can pass the final stone between them. 4 passes from Luke, and he’s starting to look tired, but Eddie is unable to pass it back a 4th time, which means Stoltman is going to another final!
So there we have it, the first 2 WSM 2024 Finalists!
Follow