World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Botswana

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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

Athletes

  • Johannes Årsjö (Sweden)
  • Mark Felix (Great Britain)
  • Martins Licis (United States)
  • Luke Stoltman (Great Britain)
  • Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia)
  • Robert Oberst (United States)

Events

  • Loading Race (Oil Drums)
  • Hercules Hold
  • Final’s Fingers
  • Squat Lift
  • Dumbbell Press
  • Atlas Stones

Group 2

Athletes

  • Eddie Hall (Great Britain)
  • Gregorz Szymanski (Poland)
  • Nick Best (United States)
  • Adam Bishop (Great Britain)
  • Jon Olav Granli (Norway)
  • Frank Okalome (Nigeria)

Events

  • Loading Race (Oil Drums)
  • Truck Pull
  • Keg Toss for Height
  • Deadlift
  • Viking Press
  • Atlas Stones

Group 3

Athletes

  • Derek DeVaughan (United States)
  • Terry Hollands (Great Britain)
  • Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Iceland)
  • Colm Woulfe (New Zealand)
  • Johnny Hansson (Sweden)
  • Konstantine Janashia (Georgia)

Events

  • Loading Race
  • Fingal’s Fingers
  • Keg Toss for Height
  • Deadlift
  • Dumbbell Press
  • Atlas Stones

Group 4

Athletes

  • Laurence Shahlaei (Great Britain)
  • Mikkel Leicht (Denmark)
  • Bryan Benzel (United States)
  • Jean-Francois Caron (Canada)
  • Misha Shivlyakov (Russia)
  • Ari Gunnarsson (Iceland)

Events

  • Loading Race (Oil Drums)
  • Hercules Hold
  • Truck Pull
  • Squat Lift
  • Dumbbell Press
  • Atlas Stones

Group 5

Athletes

  • Benedikt Magnusson (Iceland)
  • Mateusz Kielszkowski (Poland)
  • Brian Shaw (United States)
  • Eben Le Roux (Australia)
  • Charlie Gough (Great Britain)
  • Gerhard Van Staden (South Africa)

Events

  • Loading Race
  • Truck Pull
  • Keg Toss for Height
  • Deadlift
  • Viking Press
  • Atlas Stones

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.

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