A change has been made lower than two weeks before the competition.
Ukrainian strongman Pavlo Nakonechnyy has officially withdrawn from the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest. Nakonechnyy is not going to make the trip to Myrtle Beach, SC on the week of Apr. 19-23, 2023, on account of the identical knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man competition in mid-March. His fellow countryman, Pavlo Kordiyaka, stepped up and won that competition on Apr. 1, 2023. Nakonechnny initially suffered the injury throughout the deadlift portion of the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic.
The World’s Strongest Man promoters shared the news on Instagram on Saturday, Apr. 8. Nakonechnyy later posted comments on his own Instagram page regarding his absence.
“I [will] miss WSM 2023. I wish all athletes success and see you next 12 months at WSM 2024.”
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On the identical day because the withdrawal announcement, WSM organizers also shared that American competitor Thomas Evans will replace Nakonechnyy within the lineup.
Evans is coming off a fifth-place finish on the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic in early March 2023. Mitchell Hooper won that contest, but Evans finished one spot ahead of two-time World’s Strongest Man champion Tom Stoltman. This might be Evans’ first WSM appearance.
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Prior to the 2023 season, Evans was the 2022 Arnold Amateur Strongman winner and he won the 2022 Shaw Classic open contest. He also competed within the 2022 Official Strongman Games, where he placed eighth out of ten men. The 28-year-old be one among seven Americans on the roster to compete on the WSM. The others are Kevin Faires, Trey Mitchell, Spenser Remick, Evan Singleton, Bobby Thompson, and four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw, who might be competing in the competition for the ultimate time.
With this alteration within the lineup, the entire 30-man WSM roster is now as follows:
Featured Image: @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram