A gauntlet of events awaits the athletes in Columbus.
The 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) can be the unofficial start of the foremost competitive strongperson circuit within the yr 2023. With the official respective rosters for the Women and Men already confirmed, the Arnold Sports organizing body saw fit to announce the events the athletes will tackle in a Dec. 9, 2022, Instagram video.
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The 2023 ASC can be comprised of 5 distinctive events over two days — the Wheel of Pain, the Austrian Oak, the Elephant Bar Deadlift, the Unspunnen Stone Throw, and the Frame Carry. The competing strongwomen and strongmen will determine their respective champions on Mar. 3-4, 2023, in Columbus, OH.
Here’s a concise overview of what to potentially expect in each event on the 2023 ASC:
Friday, March 3
Two events will make up the primary day of the 2023 ASC before heading into Saturday’s finale.
Event One — Wheel of Pain
Making its return to the competition, the imposing “Wheel of Pain” will task competitors with pushing the handle on a big wheel (weight undisclosed) so far as possible inside a minute’s time. Scores can be determined by total distance covered.
Event Two — The Austrian Oak
This portion of the competition will act because the 2023 ASC’s variation of the Log Lift. On the time of this writing, it’s unclear if The Austrian Oak can be for max weight or max reps. Luke Stoltman won the event on the 2022 ASC with a max lift of 213 kilograms (470 kilos).
Saturday, March 4
The 2023 ASC will then see through its last three events on Saturday before determining the ultimate champions.
Event Three — Elephant Bar Deadlift
One other ASC staple, the Elephant Bar Deadlift will begin the second day of the competition. The eponymous implement is longer than a standard deadlift barbell. In a max-weight event, among the participating athletes could potentially try their hand at breaking Hafthor Björnsson’s World Record of 474 kilograms (1,046 kilos), which he achieved in 2019.
Event 4 — Unspunnen Stone Throw
In its debut on the ASC, the Unspunnen Stone Throw will ask the competitors to lift a stone (weight undisclosed) overhead and throw so far as they’ll.
Event Five — Frame Carry
The closing event of the 2023 ASC can be the same old Frame Carry. The precise format of this yr’s iteration is unclear on the time of this writing. Though past editions of the ASC have mandated the athletes carry a 400-kilogram (881-pound) picket frame as fast as possible up a ramp. In the event that they couldn’t reach the highest, they were scored on their distance. Polish strongman Mateusz Kieliszkowski — who will return to the ASC after two years away — possesses the present Frame Carry World Record of seven seconds from 2019.
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So far as who could come out on top on the 2023 ASC, it may very well be anyone’s game on the Men’s side. With defending champion Martins Licis and runner-up Oleksii Novikov not participating, athletes like reigning two-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Tom Stoltman, ascending superstar Mitchell Hooper, and Kieliszkowski could be in the combination for the title.
On the Women’s side of the matter, 2022 World’s Strongest Woman (WSW) Olga Liashchuk, three-time WSW winner Donna Moore (2016-2017, 2019), and 2022 WSW runner-up Andrea Thompson could be the highest contenders.
The competition continues to be months away, but one thing’s for certain: Even one resounding lift could help elevate an athlete to win the ASC title.
Featured image: @andreathompson_strongwoman on Instagram