For the second year running, I’ve been covering the WSM competition, and once again it’s time to make some predictions!!! All 5 heats have taken place, 10 of the strongest men on the planet have qualified, and later tonight we will crown the World’s Strongest Man 2015!!! Here is a quick reminder of all the athletes that qualified:
Brian Shaw – USA
JF Caron – Canada
Hafthor J Bjornsson – Iceland
Dimitar Savatinov – Bulgaria
Zydrunas Savickas – Lithuania (Reigning World’s Strongest Man)
Mikhail Shivlyakov – Russia
Mark Felix – England
Jerry Pritchett – USA
Mike Burke – USA
Eddie Hall – England
Even with Terry Hollands now retired, and Laurence Shahlaei getting injured during his heat and contemplating retirement, it’s good to see that England is still represented well with 2 of the qualifying spots going to Felix and Hall! Both have had great years so far, with Hall holding on to his UK and Britain’s Strongest Man titles and breaking the Deadlift world record TWICE! Meanwhile the 49 year old Mark Felix has been holding his own against the best of the best and looking in the best shape of his career. Like last year, the USA have the most places in the final, with 3. Brian Shaw is the 2x former champion and no doubt looking to match fellow American and 3x winner Bill Kazmaier (who, btw, was inducted into the Strongman HOF this year!). Mike Burke placed 4th last year and will be desperate to get onto the podium this year. Jerry Pritchett didn’t look as good as he would have wanted to in the heats, but a bit of luck and a great performance in the Atlas Stones brought him to the final where he’ll be hoping to show the world that he belongs in the top 10. Bulgaria has it’s first ever finalist for WSM in Dimitar Savatinov who looked good in his heat. Don’t expect a high place for him overall just because the rest of the field is so strong, but again, he’s made it into the top 10 IN THE WORLD, and that in itself is very, very impressive! Mikhail Shivlyakov joins one of the very few Russians to get into the final, with the last one being Mikhail Koklyaev who finished 3rd in his first final, so Shivlyakov will be looking to match his fellow countryman for sure. JF Caron of Canada once again makes the final looking good along the way. Big THOR of Iceland, twice Europe’s Strongest Man and a podium finisher for the last few years, just looks to be getting better with every passing year, and this could very well be HIS year to take first place. But standing in his way, and the way of everyone else, is the current reigning, defending 4x World’s Strongest Man; Zydrunas Savickas! Last year during my predictions, I made mention that he looked to be slowing down due to age and wasn’t as impressive as usual. Aaaand then he went on to win for a 4th time. This year during the heats he was the most dominant of any competitor so far. He is chasing down a 5th title win to match Mariusz Pudzianowski, and he may very well do it.
Well, time to really get down to business. Who WILL win? In my opinion, of course. Despite wanting to root for the likes of Eddie Hall and Mark Felix, and despite some new young guys showing up and doing well… I just can’t go against the big 3 again. They’ve been the big 3 for the last few years and for a damn good reason. Big Z, Thor and Brian Shaw. For 6 years, only Big Z and Shaw have held the title. Thor has been a multiple podium finisher, going from 3rd a couple of times, then 2nd last year just HALF A POINT behind Big Z. Barring any injuries, I see no reason to doubt that these 3 men will once again place on the podium. The only question is which position they’ll land. Ok, here it is. My official predictions. I firmly believe that the podium places will be… EXACTLY the same as last year! Yup! I am predicting that Big Z will once again hold the title of World’s Strongest Man! And just behind him, Thor will have to settle for second place, with Brian Shaw again staying in 3rd. Reason for this is that Big Z looked more dominant in his heat than I think I’ve ever seen him. While Thor might be considered “more hungry” for the win because he’s never done it, I believe that Big Z is even more hungry to tie Mariusz for 5 wins and cement his place in Strongman history as THE greatest of all time. Meanwhile, as good as Brian Shaw is, he seems to be just a step behind Thor these days, and for whatever reason he doesn’t appear to be quite the force he was when he won the title both times. And there you have it! Big Z becoming a 5 time champion, Thor taking second place again, and Shaw settling for third. Just gotta wait and see if my predictions come true later tonight!!!
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