Incentive to win the Shaw Classic just got quite a bit spicier.
The winner of the 2023 Shaw Classic (SC) will now officially earn the title of “The Strongest Man on Earth.”
In an interview video posted to YouTube on July 17, 2023, Brian Shaw, four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion (2011, 2013, 2015-2016) and organizer of the annual SC, announced that he’d acquired the “The Strongest Man on Earth” trademark from Paul Ohl. The title had previously been awarded to winners of Fortissimus, a strongman contest that Ohl organized from 2008-2009. Shaw and Ohl discussed what the title transfer would mean for the SC’s future of their conversation.
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After attempting to realize traction in 2008, an eventual lack of sponsorships led to the indefinite shuttering of the Fortissimus competition in 2009. The competition didn’t come back, but Ohl and organizers still owned the “The Strongest Man on Earth” trademark. Because the winner of the 2009 edition, four-time WSM champion (2009-2010, 2012, 2014) Žydrūnas Savickas is technically the defending and final champion of the competition.
Shaw maintained that he approached Ohl for this name transition because he believes it adds legitimacy to the expansion of the SC as a tentpole strongman competition, which only has three iterations on the time of this writing (2020-2022).
It is definitely something the present roster of elite competitors may come to understand as one other a part of their potential prize. Here’s an summary of the sphere on the 2023 SC:
2023 Shaw Classic Roster
Here’s a rundown of the expected events on the 2023 SC:
2023 Shaw Classic Events
Note: The Atlas Stones appear to not be the closing event of the 2023 SC, because it often is in other strongman contests.
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Trey Mitchell is the two-time defending SC champion but faces a gauntlet of peers waiting to take his throne. Probably the most notable contenders, other than Shaw himself, are a trio of recent WSM champions — Mitchell Hooper (2023, reigning), Tom Stoltman (2021-2022), and Oleksii Novikov (2020). With “The Strongest Man on Earth” title now awaiting the most recent victor, it should add more incentive to a spirited strongman battle in Loveland, CO, on August 19-20, 2023.
Featured image: @shawstrength on Instagram