Pavlo Nakonechnyy is the champion of the 2022 Giants Live World Open. On August 6, 2022, the Ukrainian athlete stood atop the rostrum in Cardiff, Wales, after winning a battle of elite strength in only his fourth profession strongman contest.
Joining Nakonechnyy on the rostrum were Canada’s Mitchell Hooper and one other Ukrainian competitor, Oleksii Novikov, in second and third place, respectively. This was Hooper’s second consecutive podium finish after a robust showing on the Giants Live Strongman Classic in early July. Novikov won that contest. Based on Strongman Archives, along with his third-place result on the World Open, Novikov has now stood on a podium in 11 straight competitions dating back to July 2021.
Listed below are the ultimate standings from the 2022 Giants Live World Open:
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 49 points | 2022 Giants Live World Open Champion
- Mitchell Hooper — 47 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 39.5 points
- Graham Hicks — 37.5 points
- Gavin Bilton — 34 points
- Rauno Heinla — 33 points |
- Andy Black — 20 points
- Shane Flowers — 18 points
- Evan Singleton — 14 points (Withdrew after Medley)
- Ivan Makarov — Eight points (Withdrew after Max Deadlift)
- Pa O’Dwyer — Six points (Withdrew after Medley)
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The competition consisted of 5 events in someday, including the Max Deadlift, Medley, Log Lift for Reps, Front Hold, and Atlas Stones. Here’s a brief rundown of how each competitor fared in the person events.
Max Deadlift
The Max Deadlift, which doubled because the 2022 World Deadlift Championships (WDC), began the competition. The set-up was straightforward — deadlift as much weight as possible. The athletes began with 400 kilograms (938.1 kilos) and slowly increased the load on their barbells.
While five athletes made valiant attempts at pulling 453.6 kilograms (1,000 kilos), Rauno Heinla was the one competitor to successfully pull at the least that much weight. The Estonian strongman eventually deadlifted 476 kilograms (1,049.4 kilos) for a recent Master’s World Record and the event win.
- Rauno Heinla — 476 kilograms (1,049.4 kilos)
- Graham Hicks — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Mitchell Hooper — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Ivan Makarov — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Gavin Bilton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Oleksii Novikov — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Evan Singleton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Shane Flowers — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
- Andy Black — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
- Pa O’Dwyer — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
Medley
After the Max Deadlift concluded, Ivan Makarov withdrew from the competition; he was only in Wales for that event. In the course of the Medley, the athletes needed to perform a Farmer’s Walk with 150-kilogram implements for 10 meters. Then, they’d to load a 120-kilogram (264.5-pound) barrel on a podium that was positioned 12 meters from the beginning of the walk, a 120-kilogram (264.5-pound) sandbag onto a podium 15 meters away, and a 135-kilogram (297.6-pound) tire at 20 meters.
Nakonechnyy won the Medley and his first event of the competition with a stellar time of 37.11 seconds. Hooper (38.23 seconds) closely followed in second place at slightly over a second behind, while defending champion Evan Singleton (38.85 seconds) captured a third-place result.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 37.11 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 38.23 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 38.85 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 41.75 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 49.56 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 49.9 seconds
- Andy Black — 51.37 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 52.39 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 56.3 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Two meters (Farmer’s Walk)
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Log Lift for Reps
In the course of the Log Lift for Reps — the third event of the competition — the competitors needed to lift a 150-kilogram (330.7-pound) log overhead as again and again as possible inside a 75-second cut-off date. After performing a successful eight reps, Hooper won his first event. Nakonechnyy and Novikov followed in a tie for second place with seven reps each as they evenly split points for his or her results.
- Mitchell Hooper — Eight reps
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — Seven reps
- Oleksii Novikov — Seven reps
- Rauno Heinla — Five reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
- Graham Hicks — Three reps
- Andy Black — One rep
- Shane Flowers — Didn’t participate
Note: Singleton and O’Dwyer withdrew after the Medley, leaving an eight-athlete field through the rest of the competition.
Front Hold
Because the Giants Live World Open rounded to a detailed, the Front Hold awaited the remaining field of athletes. Here, they’d to carry up a 30-kilogram implement at shoulder height for so long as they might. While every competitor managed to carry it up for at the least 30 seconds, Hooper won a second-straight event by maintaining his hold for 54.45 seconds. Graham Hicks (50.82 seconds) was in second while Nakonechnyy (47.38 seconds) tailed just behind him in third.
- Mitchell Hooper — 54.45 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 50.82 seconds
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 47.38 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 45.66 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 42.62 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 38.78 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 36.17 seconds
- Andy Black — 35.83 seconds
Atlas Stones
In strongman tradition, the famed Atlas Stones closed this competition. The five Atlas Stones had a weight range of 100 to 180 kilograms (220.4 to 396.8 kilos). Each of the competitors successfully placed all five stones on their respective podiums. With a lightning-quick time of 17 seconds, Pavlo Nakonechnyy won the event and claimed the 2022 Giants Live World Open title.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 17.65 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 18.54 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 19.57 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 20.46 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 21.32 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 21.92 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 24.42 seconds
- Andy Black — 27.63 seconds
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Worthy Stakes
Typically, the top-three finishers in Giants Live competitions earn automatic qualification to the next 12 months’s World’s Strongest Man (WSM). After the 22-year-old Nakonechnyy’s win on this contest, he could make his WSM debut next spring if he decides to compete. Hooper already has a spot within the 2023 WSM because of his solid performance within the Strongman Classic, while Novikov has a lifetime invitation by virtue of winning the 2020 WSM.
The 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals are next for a few of these star strongmen. That contest will occur on October 8, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Featured image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram