While the Arnold Classic (bodybuilding) continues to be the main event at the Arnold Sports Festival, another sport has taken the second spot in terms of popularity. Like its bodybuilding counterpart, the Arnold Strongman Classic has become one of the most prestigious titles in professional Strongman. It’s second to only the World’s Strongest Man title. Hence, some of the best strongmen on the planet compete at the event, and this year will be no different.
11 of the strongest strength athletes in the world will compete at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic. While that might sound like a small pool of athletes, five of the 11 competitors are Wrold’s Strongest Man winners. While it’s difficult to pick three of the top contenders at this year’s competition, let’s take a look at the playing field and those most likely to conquer it.
An overview of the 2024 Arnold Classic Strongman
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Mitchell Hooper, Hafthor Björnsson, Martins Licis, Oleksii Novikov, Tom Stoltman, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Evan Singleton, Bobby Thompson, Maxime Boudreault, Tom Evans, and Oskar ZióÅ‚kowski will compete at this year’s contest. The event will be held on Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, 2024, at the arena inside the Arnold Expo at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Among the 11 competitors, the five WSM winners are Mitchell Hooper, Hafthor Bjornsson, Martins Licis, Tom Stoltman, and Oleksii Novikov. Among these five, Bjornsson, Licis, and Novikov have won the World’s Strongest Man contest in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. Meanwhile, Mitchell Hooper is the remaining WSM champion. Only Tom Stoltman has won the competition twice in 2021 and 2022.
The curious case of strongman Hafthor Bjornsson
However, before we proceed to the top three contenders, let’s take a look at Hafthor Bjornsson’s case. While the former WSM and Arnold Classic Strongman champion makes his anticipated return to competition at this event and would be an obvious top-three contender, the 35-year-old is not at 100%. In 2023, after announcing his return to strength sports, the Icelander set out to break some powerlifting world records.
Things were looking great until he suffered a devastating pec tear. The severe injury required surgery to fix, and it’s quite astonishing that The Mountain is even making his return so soon. The former World’s Strongest Man has already posted some impressive deadlift numbers while training. However, breaking his deadlift record seems to be Thor’s goal this year.
Although his recovery has been speedy, we haven’t seen the strongman train any heavy chest and upper body dominant movements. Don’t be surprised if Hafthor Bjornsson doesn’t decide to go all out on lifts like the log press, Atlas Stone, and others. With that out of the way, here is a look at the competitors who have the best shot.
Martins Licis
33-year-old Latvian-American strongman Martins Licis has constantly improved throughout his career so far. Especially throughout his competition history at the Arnold, the former WSm winner kept improving his placings until he won the contest. From starting with an 8th place finish in 2017 to winning the contest in 2022. The only reason Licis didn’t compete at the 2023 edition of the contest was because of a bicep injury he suffered during the 2022 Rouge Invitational.
This year, Licis is looking to make a triumphant return and hopes to reclaim his crown. The 33-year-old is also the fourth man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World’s Strongest Man title. Licis has also set a number of personal and world records over the years, some of which have come at the prestigious competition.
The 2020 WSM winner set the world record for the Steinborn Squat at 256.5 kg (565 lb) during the 2019 edition. He also excels at an Arnold Strongman Classic exclusive, Conan’s Wheel of Pain. Licis moved the 9,072 kg (20,000 lbs) wheel for 36.35 meters (119 3/4 ft) in 2019.
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Tom Stoltman
Known for excelling in Atlas Stone lifting, Tom Stoltman is also among the top contenders at the Arnold Strongman Classic. Although Stolman’s competition history at the Arnold Strongman Classic hasn’t been one to write home about, this year he’s planning to change that. If winning the World’s Strongest Man contest consecutively in 2021 and 2022 wasn’t impressive already, Stoltman also has age on his side.
At 29, the Scotland native has years of competition ahead of him. The Atlas Stone world record holder aimed to complete his hat trick by winning the 2023 WSM contest. However, Mitchell Hooper rained on his parade. Hence, the 29-year-old wants to start the year with a victory at the Arnold Strongman Classic. Stoltman continues to consistently post updates and seems more determined than ever to win the upcoming contest.
Mitchell Hooper
The final top contender on this list is none other than Canadian phenomenon Mitchell Hooper. To say that the strongman has steamrolled his way to winning the two most prestigious strongman titles in the world would be an understatement. That’s because Hooper became the fifth man to win the WSM and ASC within two years of making his debut in the sport.
After finishing in the eighth spot in 2022, Hooper made a massive leap and won the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2023. As a newcomer, Hooper doesn’t hold any world records yet. However, the 28-year-old has shown incredible consistency and seems to be at his peak. However, the defending champion has also been posting updates and training clips while preparing for the upcoming event.
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You can never count out athletes like Mateusz Kieliszkowski, who is last year’s runner-up and WSM winner Oleksii Novikov. However, at least on paper, Hooper, Stoltman, and Licis have a great shot at winning. Do you agree with this list? Tell us in the comments.
