The Arnold Strongman Classic 2016 is fast approaching and this year looks to have one of the strongest line ups ever. Over the weekend of the 5th and 6th of March, ten of the World’s Strongest Man will battle it out to be crowned the ASC 2016 champion.
Whilst the World’s Strongest Man is still the main title many now see the Arnold Classic as a truer test of brute force and strength. You won’t find any loading events or keg toss at the Classic – raw power is the name of the game.
The events are split across two days:
Friday
- Dumbbell (choice of 124kg/lb and 136kg/300lb)
- The Timber Carry (500kg – as usual, up a slope but with straps)
Saturday
- The Deadlift Event (standard setup with 2inch steel plates)
The Bale Tote (700kg yoke!)
The Austrian Oak (choice of xkg/lb and 205kg/lb)
And here is the line-up:
Zydrunas Savickas
With 7 Arnold Strongman Classic titles under his belt Z has to be one of the favourites going into the competition. We’re pretty confident he has the log press in the bag. Big Z allegedly had back issues when he last attempted a deadlift in competition so we’re keen to see how he fares on this setup. We’ll leave you with a fierce-looking recent photo of the man:
Mikhail Shivlyakov
Despite coming straight from the set of a Van Damne movie this guy means business – one of the lighter competitors but fierce on the dumbbell and a real competitor. We hope he wears his beret.
Brian Shaw
Last year’s winner, the ever prepared Shaw has been vlogging about his build up and prep for the competition. There’s no doubt shaw is looking big (really big!) it’ll certainly be interested to see how he fares against Hall in the max deadlift – two men yet to go head to head in the discipline.
Eddie Hall
We all know he’s a static monster but he previously struggled with the Austrian Oak – that potentially only leaves the deadlift where he could get a win. He’s undeniably come on leaps and bounds on his moving events so perhaps he’ll surprise us all and nail the timer carry or bale tote too.
Hafthor Bjornsson
Okay, so Thor played the Mountain in Game of Thrones but – seriously – he is well on his way to becoming his namesake. He looks to have put on some serious size and his static strength has improved no end – just look back at his performance in the World Deadlift Championships.
Vytautas Lalas
Remember him? Back on the scene after ongoing back issues it’ll be great to see what shape Lalas is in. Wider than he is tall he could be a real contender on the dumbbell if he is in tip top shape.
Dimitar Savatinov
On the subject of the dumbbell – this will be the man to beat. Absolutely destroying it at last year’s WSM Savatinov should be up there on both overhead events.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski
Last year’s third place is looking impressive in training: https://www.facebook.com/610776255711237/videos/813842388737955 (550kg yoke for 5m, 182kg log, 430kg frame for 10m)
Jerry Pritchett
Undeniably a great deadlifter but given the line-up, he might struggle even on his best event. We’re here happy to be proven wrong – best of luck to Pritchett.
Alexandr Lysenko
Qualified by winning the Arnold Amateur 2015 – let’s see how the new kid on the block fares.
