The 2023 Shaw Classic took place on August 19-20, at a packed arena in Loveland, Colorado. This was the fourth edition of the competition, and without a doubt, the most thrilling one yet. In fact, it was one of the most interesting shows of the year, especially because of the incredible roster and extremely difficult events. So, following a very tight competition, Brian Shaw came out on top and won the 2023 Shaw Classic.
Brian Shaw had an incredible competition, from start to finish. Many believe that this is because he was motivated more than ever to succeed, as he has officially retired from professional Strongman following his victory. Moreover, the Shaw Classic recently acquired the title ‘Strongest Man On Earth’, which Brian has now claimed, adding to his impressive 4x WSM titles.
Mitchell Hooper made the 2023 Shaw Classic even better by rivaling Brian Shaw until the very end. So, the viewers got to enjoy what looked to be the clash of Hooper’s talent vs Shaw’s experience. However, despite coming into day two as the overall leader, Hooper walked away with the silver medal.
The third place went to Tom Stoltman, as ‘The Albatross’ had a very poor start to the competition, but climbed up the ranks to outperform ten elite Strongmen for a podium finish.
Interestingly, all top three finishers are also WSM champions, which displays the incredible strength of 2023 Shaw Classic’s lineup. Moreover, Brian has revealed that he will not be taking the cash prize for first place, but will instead spread it out to other competitors.
2023 Shaw Classic Results
- Brian Shaw — 96 points
- Mitchell Hooper — 89 points
- Tom Stoltman — 82 points
- Evan Singleton — 77.5 points
- Trey Mitchell — 73 points
- Thomas Evans — 64 points
- Bobby Thompson — 62 points
- Maxime Boudreault — 57 points
- Kevin Faires — 49 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 44 points
- Gavin Bilton — 43 points
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 41 points
- Luke Stoltman — 32.5 points
- Adam Bishop — 8 points (Withdrew)
Related: “I Just Love Stepping Out There” – Brian Shaw Talks Emotions Before Final Show at 2023 Shaw Classic
2023 Shaw Classic Results Day Two
Event Five — Max Hummer Tire Deadlift
The Max Hummer Tire Deadlift made quite an impression on the Shaw Classic in the previous years, as JF Caron set a World Record in 2020, which was then broken by Oleksii Novikov last year. So, Brian decided to bring it back for the 2023 Shaw Classic. The format of the event was quite simple, as the goal was to lock out as much weight as possible.
Tom Stoltman was the only athlete who was able to complete the 499-kilogram (1,100-pound) deadlift, which secured him first place and 14 points. Tom was working very hard to improve his deadlift in training, and it paid off massively.
Five men tied for second place in the Max Hummer Tire Deadlift event, as they all locked out 476 kilograms (1,050 pounds), but were not able to lift more weight. So, with how the point system works, each of the five athletes received 11 points.
Unfortunately, Adam Bishop announced his withdrawal from the 2023 Shaw Classic before the start of this event. He revealed that the reason was a pec injury, but did not say how severe it was.
- Tom Stoltman — 499-kg (1,100-lb)
- Mitchell Hooper — 476-kg (1,050-lb)
- Brian Shaw — 476-kg (1,050-lb)
- Trey Mitchell — 476-kg (1,050-lb)
- Bobby Thompson — 476-kg (1,050-lb)
- Oleksii Novikov — 476-kg (1,050-lb)
- Evan Singleton — 431-kg (950-lb)
- Thomas Evans — 431-kg (950-lb)
- Gavin Bilton — 431-kg (950-lb)
- Kevin Faires — 408-kg (900-lb)
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 408-kg (900-lb)
- Luke Stoltman — 408-kg (900-lb)
- Maxime Boudreault — No lift
- Adam Bishop — Withdrew
Event Six — Standing Chest Press
The second event on day two of the 2023 Shaw Classic was something never seen before in a Strongman competition, as the Standing Chest Press was a brand new concept. The athletes first leaned back on the pad, got comfortable, and started pushing the weight. The goal was to complete as many reps as possible, but each rep was heavier than the last. After all eight weights were completed, the athlete performed as many reps as possible with the final weight of 575-lb (261-kg).
Weight One: 390-lb (177-kg)
Weight Two: 416-lb (189-kg)
Weight Three: 444-lb (201-kg)
Weight Four: 473-lb (214-kg)
Weight Five: 512-lb (232-kg)
Weight Six: 526-lb (238-kg)
Weight Seven: 542-lb (246-kg)
Weight Eight: 575-lb (261-kg)
It was Brian Shaw who won the event by successfully locking out all eight weights, and then performing one more rep with the heaviest weight. This was a very important victory, since only two events remained and he took over the leader’s position overall. Following his win, Brian was interviewed and asked how much weight he could lock out on the standard bench press due to the similarity to this event. He revealed that his standard bench press PR at the moment would be in the excess of 600 pounds (272 kilograms).
In a very surprising feat of strength, Thomas Evans proved to be one of the greatest pressers in the world. He was the only man apart from Brian to complete all eight weights, but he could not perform another rep with the heaviest weight.
The third place was shared between four athletes, so they ended up taking 10.5 points each. Mitchell Hooper was one of the athletes who shared the third place, meaning he lost a lot of points compared to Brian Shaw.
- Brian Shaw — 9 reps
- Thomas Evans — 8 reps
- Bobby Thompson — 7 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 7 reps
- Evan Singleton — 7 reps
- Kevin Faires — 7 reps
- Trey Mitchell — 6 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 6 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 6 reps
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 5 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 4 reps
- Maxime Boudreault — 4 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
Event Seven — Bag Toss
The penultimate event of the 2023 Shaw Classic was the Bag Toss, where the competitors faced a series of eight sandbags increasing in weight. The weight of the sandbags was 2x 50-lb (22-kg) / 2x 55-lb (25-kg) / 2x 60-lb (27-kg) / 2×65-lb (29-kg). The time cap for this event was 75 seconds with the bar being set to a height of 15 feet.
Tom Stoltman’s speed was unmatched on the second-to-last event of the 2023 Shaw Classic, as he was the quickest man to throw all eight sandbags over the barbell. This moved him up to third place overall with just one event to go.
Maxime Boudreault had a few bad events in a row, but the Bag Toss was definitely not one of them. In this event he managed to squeeze into second place with an incredibly fast time to clear all eight sandbags.
Brian Shaw is notoriously good in this event, so it is no surprise that he finished in third place. However, he extended his advantage over Mitchell Hooper by another three points, and made a massive step towards winning the title.
- Tom Stoltman — 8 bags
- Maxime Boudreault — 8 bags
- Brian Shaw — 8 bags
- Evan Singleton — 7 bags
- Gavin Bilton — 7 bags
- Mitchell Hooper — 6 bags
- Bobby Thompson — 6 bags
- Thomas Evans — 6 bags
- Trey Mitchell — 6 bags
- Luke Stoltman — 6 bags
- Kevin Faires — 4 bags
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 4 bags
- Oleksii Novikov — 4 bags
Event Eight — Fingal Fingers / Power Stairs
The final event of the 2023 Shaw Classic was a two-part medley. For the first portion of the event, the athletes had to lift two heavy Fingal Fingers. After they finished lifting and flipping the Fingal Fingers, the competitors moved on to the Power Stairs, where they faced two humongous implements. They had to carry both of these implements up five stairs each. The height of each step on the stairs was 15 inches.
First Fingal Finger: 300-lb (136-kg)
Second Fingal Finger: 325-lb (147-kg)
First Power Stairs Implement: 550-lb (250-kg)
Second Power Stairs Implement: 600-lb (272-kg)
Tom Stoltman wrapped up his spectacular comeback by winning yet another event on day two, thus officially finishing in third place overall. Tom proved that he is the greatest Strongman in the world when it comes to moving events, but his bad start to the competition on day one put him out of the title race.
Evan Singleton was the second fastest man to finish both Fingal Fingers and all 10 stairs, doing so in a time of 49 seconds. Shortly behind him finished Aivars Šmaukstelis, who rounded up the top three in this event.
Brian Shaw once again placed higher than Mitchell Hooper and thus extended his point lead, which also officially secured him the title of Strongest Man On Earth.
- Tom Stoltman — 10 in 46 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 10 stairs in 49 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 10 stairs in 56 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 10 stairs in 59 seconds
- Brian Shaw — 10 stairs
- Mitchell Hooper — 8 stairs
- Thomas Evans — 7 stairs
- Trey Mitchell — 6 stairs
- Bobby Thompson — 6 stairs
- Kevin Faires — 6 stairs
- Luke Stoltman — 6 stairs
- Gavin Bilton — 5 stairs
- Oleksii Novikov — 1 stair
2023 Shaw Classic Results Day One
Event One — Log Medley
The 2023 Shaw Classic kicked off with a test of overhead strength, as the athletes faced three progressively heavier logs, and had to choose one that they think is the best for them. They then performed as many repetitions as possible with the log of their choosing. However, athletes who performed even one rep with the heavier log were placed higher than those who performed multiple reps with the lighter log.
Log One: 380-lb (172-kg)
Log Two: 410-lb (186-kg)
Log Three: 440-lb (200-kg)
The first event of the 2023 Shaw Classic was won by Trey Mitchell, who completed two repetitions with the heaviest log in the fastest time. This signified a big step for him as he is the reigning 2x Shaw Classic champion and looks to claim his third consecutive title as well. During an interview after the first event, Trey said he felt great about the rest of the day, as the events suited his strengths.
The second place belonged to Bobby Thompson, the Log Lift American Record holder. Bobby also completed two repetitions, but was slightly slower than Trey.
The third place in the Log Lift event went to the reigning World’s Strongest Man champion, Mitchell Hooper. This is Hooper’s debut at the Shaw Classic, but he is aiming for the title nonetheless.
The athletes below have been ranked in order of placing, but the official 2023 Shaw Classic results for their times are not yet available. We will update this list as soon as the official results are available.
- Trey Mitchell — 2 reps with 200-kg
- Bobby Thompson — 2 reps with 200-kg
- Mitchell Hooper — 2 reps with 200-kg
- Brian Shaw — 2 reps with 186-kg
- Thomas Evans — 2 reps with 186-kg
- Evan Singleton — 1 rep with 186-kg
- Maxime Boudreault — 1 rep with 186-kg
- Kevin Faires —2 reps with 172-kg
- Oleksii Novikov — 1 rep with 172-kg
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — No reps
- Tom Stoltman — No reps
- Luke Stoltman — No reps
- Gavin Bilton — No reps
- Adam Bishop — No reps
Event Two — Wheelbarrow / Arm Over Arm
The second event of the 2023 Shaw Classic was specially made to test the endurance of athletes. The athletes first had to load three progressively heavier sandbags (300-lb / 325-lb / 350-lb) into a wheelbarrow and push it for a set distance. Once all was done, only then could they advance to the 700-lb (317.5-kg) Rope Arm-Over-Arm Pull.
Despite suffering a pretty severe leg injury earlier this year, Maxime Boudreault made the most of his comeback to competing, as he won the second event of the 2023 Shaw Classic. Maxime surprised everyone, as he made easy work out of the three sandbags, and pushed the wheelbarrow insanely quickly. He then grabbed the rope and utilized his entire body with each pull. In the end, he finished with a time of 60.55 seconds.
Mitchell Hooper went head-to-head against Brian Shaw, which gave him more motivation to perform well. He finished the sandbag loads, wheelbarrow push, and rope pull in just 62.29 seconds, which secured him second place.
Evan Singleton has been displaying a brand new form throughout the 2023, and he has carried the momentum to the Shaw Classic as well. So, he finished the event with a time of 68 seconds, meaning he rounded up the top three.
The athletes which didn’t finish their arm-over-arm pull were ranked by how much they managed to move it by the time the 2-minute mark ran out. Unfortunately, the length was not revealed to the public. However, the commentators did mention how much Trey Mitchell and Bobby Thompson managed to pull the weight.
- Maxime Boudreault — 60.55 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 62.29 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 68.00 seconds
- Brian Shaw — 70.99 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 88.00 seconds
- Thomas Evans — 89.00 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — DNF Pull
- Kevin Faires — DNF Pull
- Trey Mitchell — DNF Pull (65 ¾ Inches Pull)
- Gavin Bilton — DNF Pull
- Bobby Thompson — DNF Pull (49 ¾ Inches Pull)
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — DNF Pull
- Adam Bishop — DNF Pull
- Luke Stoltman —DNF Wheelbarrow Push
Event Three — Car Leg Press
The Car Leg Press event is familiar to many Strongman fans, as it made its debut at last year’s Shaw Classic. Like last year, the athletes had to get seated on a custom Leg Press machine, and perform as many reps as possible. The weight of the Car on the leg press was 840-kg (1,850-lb).
Brian Shaw claimed his first event victory of the competition after putting on a show with 14 successful repetitions. As he won this event in last year’s Shaw Classic, Brian was considered a favorite for this event and surpassed expectations. While he was pushed extremely hard by his opponents, he was able to edge them out in the end.
According to Brian, the crowd provided him with the motivation he needed to complete the 14th repetition in the end, which proved to be crucial to his victory.
Two men locked out 13 reps each and shared the second place. Those were Trey Mitchell and Mitchell Hooper. Both men were left physically strained after their performance, but got rewarded with a large sum of points.
Evan Singleton was also on the verge of completing 13 reps and tying for second place with the aforementioned duo. However, Evan’s final rep was discredited due to a rule which states that his hands could not leave the handlebars. So, he ended up in fourth place with 12 reps.
Brian won the same event with 8 repetitions in last year’s Shaw Classic. Currently, seven athletes, including Brian, have completed more than 8 reps at the 2023 Shaw Classic. There is no doubt that the roster for this competition is among the strongest ever seen.
- Brian Shaw — 14 reps
- Trey Mitchell — 13 reps
- Mitchell Hooper — 13 reps
- Evan Singleton — 12 reps
- Bobby Thompson — 11 reps
- Tom Stoltman — 10 reps
- Kevin Faires — 9 reps
- Oleksii Novikov — 8 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 7 reps
- Thomas Evans — 5 reps
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 5 reps
- Adam Bishop — 5 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 4 reps
- Maxime Boudreault — 1 rep
Event Four — Atlas Stones
The Atlas Stones are usually the last event in Strongman competitions, but Brian has decided to switch things up for the 2023 Shaw Classic and put them in day one. This event required athletes to lift and load a series of Atlas Stones onto their respective platforms.
First Stone: 350-lb (158-kg)
Second Stone: 375-lb (170-kg)
Third Stone: 400-lb (181-kg)
Fourth Stone: 425-lb (192-kg)
Fifth Stone: 450-lb (204-kg)
Tom Stoltman is once again the King of Atlas Stones, having completed all five implements in just 23 seconds. Moreover, he was not even in a rush to finish, as he built up a huge advantage by picking up the first three stones like they weighed nothing.
In the Atlas Stones event, two men competed for second place, giving their best effort to win. Brian Shaw and Mitchell Hooper both loaded the final stone at almost the same time. However, Brian utilized his experience and removed his hands from the Atlas Stone just fractions of a second faster than Hooper, thus claiming one point more than the Canadian and getting closer on the overall leaderboards.
Unfortunately, Bobby Thompson seemingly got injured on the Atlas Stones, as he bailed out after feeling something in his arm on the first implement. It remains to be seen if his injury is severe and if he plans on continuing the competition.
- Tom Stoltman — 5 in 23 seconds
- Brian Shaw — 5 in 26 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 5 in 27.3 seconds
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 29 seconds
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — 5 in 31.5 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 5 in 53 stones
- Luke Stoltman — 5 in 53 seconds
- Maxime Boudreault — 5 in 57 seconds
- Thomas Evans — 4 stones
- Oleksii Novikov — 4 stones
- Evan Singleton — 3 stones
- Kevin Faires — 3 stones
- Adam Bishop — 3 stones
- Bobby Thompson — No lift
Related: How To Watch The 2023 Shaw Classic Online
Brian Shaw is bidding farewell after an incredible career that spanned more than 15 years. He could not have asked for a better ending to his career, since he added the title of Strongest Man On Earth to his resume, organized one of the best competitions of the year, and retired in front of a packed arena. So, there is no doubt that he will now shift his focus to the organization of the 2024 Shaw Classic, which is set to be another monumental competition.
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