World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Botswana

It’s not long now until the return of World’s Strongest Man. The 2016 edition will be held in Botswana, Africa, between August 13-19th – that’s seven gruelling days of competition in some pretty toasty conditions.

As always, the competition is surrounded by clouds of secrecy, with the organisers keen to keep as many details as they can out of the media spotlight until it’s official airdate on television later in the year.

But fear not! We’re here to help ease the suffering of hardcore strongman fans by doing our utmost to provide you with all the latest news. From the rumoured athlete list and suspected events in the final, to up-to-the-minute (well, almost) results as they come in over the seven days. We’ll keep you in the know as the athletes battle it out to be crowned World’s Strongest Man 2016.

So, without further ado, here are your WSM 2016 competitors, their groupings and qualifying events:

Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

There’s a notable absence of Žydrūnas Savickas (Big Z) who confirmed earlier this year that he wouldn’t be competing due to injury. Let’s hope he makes an impressive return in 2017!

And for the main event, here are the rumoured events for the final:

Final events

• Circus barbell (165kg – floor to overhead for reps)
• Deadlift for max
• Kettlebell throw
• Plane pull
• Frame carry (380kg)
• Atlas stones

In the build up to the competition the athletes have been sharing their training videos on social media – keep an eye out on Strongman.org for event training roundups.