The 2020 winner placed third within the 2023 contest in South Carolina.
2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) winner Oleksii Novikov hoped to hitch the list of two-time champions on the 2023 WSM contest in Myrtle Beach, SC. Nevertheless, he finished in third place behind champion Mitchell Hooper and runner-up Tom Stoltman.
On May 8, 2023, Novikov shared a 42-minute video on his YouTube channel recapping his WSM week. The previous champion reviewed his performance through the competition’s 11 events. Nevertheless, one key piece of knowledge he shared may shed some light on his surprising third-place finish within the Circus Dumbbell event on the ultimate day of competition. Novikov has traditionally dominated that difficult overhead press in previous competitions and set an unofficial world record lifting 153.2 kilograms (337.8 kilos) while training in 2021.
Novikov revealed that he competed within the 2023 WSM with an elbow injury suffered in training, though he didn’t discuss a selected diagnosis. Novikov spoke in Ukrainian and the captions showed the English translation. He spoke in regards to the injury on the 30:36 mark within the video below.
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Novikov suffered the injury in training while performing the Circus Dumbbell with weights heavier than what he would eventually lift in the competition — on the 2023 WSM, Novikov was only capable of successfully press 132.5 kilograms (291 kilos) overhead. He shared that he initially thought it was easy elbow pain and fewer serious than it actually was.
“Within the last training session [before the WSM contest], I lifted 144 kilograms (317 kilos). At 148 kilograms (326 kilos), I didn’t get the lockout. And through all these processes, I got an injury which I didn’t pay much attention to. Just a few elbow pain. I kept training and only then noticed this issue with my elbow.
The elbow lost its function at full extension and activating where it has to activate. And because of that, there have been problems with the lockout. And that’s why locking out heavy weights became an issue for me … Don’t know whether I want a surgery or not, but I’ll actually care for my elbow,” he said.
He felt the problems with lockouts were why he struggled through the dumbbell event on the last day of competition. He’s uncertain whether or not he’ll need surgery, but Novikov made it sound as if that’s at the very least being considered.
Novikov realized that this issue and the results of that event could’ve thoroughly cost him the title in South Carolina.
“My signature event became an Achilles heel for me. For me, that’s an upset of course and it brought me down, mentally, just a little.”
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Novikov also assessed that his issues for the competition went beyond physical problems. Many athletes feel sports are as much mental as they’re physical, and Novikov isn’t any different. Hearing and reading comments that suggested he ‘win or not come back’ as a way of encouragement can have backfired.
“You all want me to win, and I also want that. I suppose not lower than you, nevertheless it puts some type of pressure on me that I start considering that it’s super essential, and I plan my performance the way in which like ‘either win or nothing.’ And when some type of problem occurs, like with the [Reign Total Body Fuel Shield Carry event], it hurts me mentally, and, overall, it becomes hard to concentrate on the subsequent events.”
Novikov also shared that he’ll take day off to let his body get well from the competitions he’s already entered this yr, in addition to to permit his elbow to heal whether he has surgery or not.
Novikov had also suffered a lat injury earlier within the yr leading as much as the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man contest. Clearly, an athlete of Novikov’s caliber has world-class levels of strength each within the muscle and mind, but time to rebuild and refocus might be what he needs to place himself in the very best position to succeed going forward. He didn’t reveal what his next contest can be or if he’ll do one other show in 2023.
Featured Image: Todd Burandt / Courtesy of World’s Strongest Man