A final-minute shake-up hits one among the most important contests in strongman.
Rauno Heinla, Estonian strongman and Masters Deadlift World Record holder (476 kilograms/1,049.4 kilos), has withdrawn from the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM). A news release on The Giants Live Instagram page noted that Heinla suffered an undisclosed “illness,” resulting in the withdrawal. Heinla’s ESM exit follows the departure of rising strongman star Pavlo Nakonechnyy roughly per week prior as he tries to get healthy for the annual World’s Strongest Man (WSM).
The 2023 ESM contest is just across the corner on Apr. 1 in Leeds, England, and, on the time of this text’s publication, there doesn’t look like a alternative for Heinla on the now 13-person roster.
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That is the second time Heinla has been forced to withdraw because of unlucky circumstances within the approximate last calendar 12 months. After prepping for a Silver Dollar Deadlift World Record (579 kilograms/1,278 kilos) he eventually achieved in June 2022, Heinla withdrew from the 2022 (WSM) roughly a month before the competition due to a brief hospitalization.
Heinla is usually thought to be one among the strongest deadlifters on the earth, no matter a strongman or powerlifting context. His victory within the 2022 World Deadlift Championships (WDC) and Masters Record are perfect examples of his pulling prowess. So far, Heinla has participated in three ESMs, with a fourth-place finish in 2021 as his best result.
With Heinla’s withdrawal, here is the entire 2023 ESM roster heading into England on the primary day of April:
2023 Europe’s Strongest Man Roster
Listed here are the expected events for the 2023 ESM:
2023 Europe’s Strongest Man Events
Former 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov is the defending winner of the ESM. He’ll enter the weekend’s contest nursing a minor lat injury that might potentially also linger into next month’s WSM.
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The 2023 ESM is smaller in scale than the upcoming WSM — going down on a single day with competitors from only one continent. That doesn’t diminish its standing in the game. Even with Heinla’s last-minute withdrawal, it must be quite the showcase of strongman power across the pond.
Featured image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram