A mere 15 months ago, Nick Best tore a lat muscle, temporarily derailing much of his competitive strength sports plans. Now, after one other contest under his belt, it seems the powerlifter/strongman dynamo is sort of back to full power. 

On July 23, 2022, Best took part within the 2022 Clash of the Masters strongman contest in Colombia, MO. As a part of his overall performance, Best showed stellar conditioning and leg strength by notching a 317.5-kilogram (700-pound) equipped deadlift for 10 reps. The deadlift for reps display helped Best to a third-place podium end in the Masters 40+ competition — ending behind Travis Ortmayer (second place) and Tim Filus (first place). 

Seeing as this was a strongman contest, Best donned a lifting suit, lifting belt, and lifting straps for his deadlift set. 

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While his deadlift output stands out, Best showed versatility on the Clash of the Masters, completing a 272.5-kilogram (600-pound) equipped back squat for 10 reps. Given the journey he’s been on of late, Best expressed appreciation for his performance and peers over his Instagram profile. 

“Congratulations to [Tim Filus] on the amazing world-class performance!” Best writes. “To [Travis Ortmayer], who I even have been competing against since 2005, so great to compete with you again! What an incredible journey back; so pleased with you! To all of the competitors and all of the fans, a sincere thanks! Much love!”

In line with Strongman Archives, the 2022 Clash of the Masters is his first strongman contest for the reason that 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM). The athlete returned to powerlifting on the 2022 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) FQ Classic 2 in early May. That contest saw Best finish in first place within the Masters 50-54 division largely due to two WRPF National Records — a 372.5-kilogram (821.5-pound) back squat and a 337.5-kilogram (744-pound) deadlift. 

Best’s latest production in a sanctioned strongman competition just like the Clash of the Matters appears to be one more step forward.

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Full Go

In early July 2022, Best revealed over social media that he would compete within the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG). He’ll feature within the Men’s Masters 50+ division in his fourth appearance on the competition, which is able to occur on November 11-13, 2022, in Daytona Beach, FL.

Other noteworthy names in Best’s category include defending champion Michael Saunders and Wrecking Ball World Record holder (2:20.49) Mark Felix. On the time of this writing, the OSG organization has not revealed the events or format for this 12 months’s competition. At any rate, as a former winner of the OSG (2o16) and fourth-place finisher in 2017 and 2019, Best is likely to be certainly one of the highest contenders for Saunders’ title. 

Should Best come out on top throughout the 2022 OSG, the strength sports legend could mark one other emphatic sign of competitive progress. 

Featured image: @nickbeststrongman