2022 Europe’s Strongest Man Results – Oleksii Novikov Victorious

The 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man took place on April 2nd, 2022, from inside the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. The one-day competition was filled with action and impressive feats of strength, having featured some of the most elite Strongman athletes in the World. However, only one man could be proclaimed as the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man, and Oleksii Novikov earned the win following a spectacular performance. 

Luke Stoltman won the competition last year, but could not defend his title this year. Coming into the final event of the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man, it was a race between Stoltman and Novikov, but Oleksii claimed the win. Konstantine Janashia finished in 3rd place to round up the podium. 

2022 Europe’s Strongest Man Full Results

Related: Strongman JF Caron Reacts To His Career-Ending Injury: ‘I Really Think Strongman is Done’

2022 Europe’s Strongest Man Event Recap

First Event – Log Lift

The aim of the Log Lift event was to clean and press the heaviest log possible. However, the competitors did not get the chance to choose their weight jump attempts, as they were set before the event started. The predisposed jumps were: 170 kg (375 lbs) – 185 kg (408 lbs) – 200 kg (441 lbs) – 210 kg (463 lbs) – 218 kg (480 lbs) – 230 kg (507 lbs).

Luke Stoltman decided to attempt the World Record Log Lift despite claiming the win earlier in the event. He was not successful and his final score was 218 kg. Oleksii Novikov understood that he could not beat Luke, so he did not even attempt the 200 kg log. As a lot of competitors found the log to be very heavy, Oleksii got into the shared second-place finish.

1. Luke Stoltman – 218 kg / 12 points 
2. Oleksii Novikov – 185 kg / 10 points
3. Eythór Melsted – 185 kg / 10 points 
4. Pavlo Kordiyaka – 185 kg / 10 points
5. Gavin Bilton – 170 kg / 6.5 points
6. Shane Flowers – 170 kg / 6.5 points
7. Konstantine Janashia – 170 kg / 6.5 points
8. Marius Lalas – 170 kg / 6.5 points 
9. Rauno Heinla – No lift / 0 points
10. Kelvin De Ruiter – No lift / 0 points
11. Pa O’Dwyer – No lift / 0 points
12. Aivars Smaukstelis – No lift / 0 points 

2022 Log Lift Challenge

The 2022 Log Lift Challenge was a part of the “Log Lift ” event at the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man. It featured two special invite athletes. Chieck “Iron Biby” Sanou and Bobby Thompson joined the other competitors for the first event ONLY. They attempted to break the Log Lift records, and their performance did not affect the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man standings in any way. 

Neither Iron Biby nor Bobby Thompson were able to break any records in this competition. Iron Biby did press 218 kg, but after the 230 kg World Record attempt, Biby explained that he suffered a small chest tear in training last week. This was evident in his final attempt, as he locked out the right arm, but his left side slacked behind.

Second Event – Deadlift Ladder

The competitors had 75 seconds to complete 5 progressively heavier deadlifts. The deadlifts start at 300 kg and increase by 25 kg with every next lift. The rules also state that the bar cannot be dropped once the deadlift is completed, but has to be lowered down in a controlled manner.

The Deadlift Ladder turned out to be a very taxing event, as not one athlete was able to pull all 5 implements. However, Konstantine Janashia was the fastest amongst the men who managed to pull 4 implements. He was closely followed by Heinla and Novikov. Luke Stoltman got a solid and important 8 points, as this event was deemed the least suitable for him in the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.

1. Konstantine Janashia – 4 in 35.04 s / 12 points 
2. Rauno Heinla – 4 in 39.49 s / 11 points
3. Oleksii Novikov – 4 in 41.92 s / 10 points
4. Marius Lalas – 4 in 48.05 s / 9 points 
5. Luke Stoltman – 4 in 55.21 s / 8 points 
6. Shane Flowers – 4 in 61.93 s / 7 points
7. Pa O’Dwyer – 3 in 28.21 s / 6 points
8. Aivars Smaukstelis – 3 in 29.23 s / 5 points 
9. Eythór Melsted – 3 in 32.34 s / 4 points 
10. Gavin Bilton – 3 in 38.19 s / 3 points
11. Kelvin De Ruiter – 3 in 40.78 s / 2 points
12. Pavlo Kordiyaka – 3 in 48.76 s / 1 point

Related: 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic Final Results – Martins Licis Is The Winner

Third Event – Carry & Drag

The third event required athletes to carry a 120 kg anchor for 20 meters, then connect that anchor to a heavy chain. Once connected, they had to drag the anchor and the chain for another 20 meters. Both of the implements had to be fully across the line for the stopwatch to stop.

Oleksii Novikov made a huge turnaround in the third event of the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man. Luke Stoltman finished in 5th place, and Novikov took over the overall lead for the first time. Kelvin De Ruiter and Shane Flowers posted excellent performances to round up the top 3.

1. Oleksii Novikov – 26.26 s / 12 points
2. Kelvin De Ruiter – 26.5 s / 11 points
3. Shane Flowers – 27.45 s / 10 points
4. Pavlo Kordiyaka – 28.13 s / 9 points
5. Luke Stoltman – 28.40 s / 8 points
6. Aivars Smaukstelis – 29.03 s / 7 points 
7. Pa O’Dwyer – 29.54 s / 6 points 
8. Marius Lalas – 30.11 s / 5 points 
9. Eythór Melsted – 33.51 s / 4 points 
10. Konstantine Janashia – 35.28 s / 3 points
11. Rauno Heinla – 35.87 s / 2 points
12. Gavin Bilton – 42.22 s / 1 point

Fourth Event – Power Stairs

To complete the event, athletes had to go up 15 stairs with 5 weights getting progressively heavier after every three steps. The height of each stair is 42 cm (16.5-in), and fifteen stairs are climbed in total. The weight set for the event was: 200 kg (441 lbs) – 210 kg (463 lbs) – 225 kg (496 lbs) – 240 kg (529 lbs) – 250 kg (551 lbs). Power Stairs have not been used at a Strongman competition for a long time, but it proved to be an interesting and fast-paced event at the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man. 

Rauno Heinla withdrew from the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man before the start of this event. Aivars Smauskstelis dominated the event and was closely followed by Pavlo Kordiyaka. Luke Stoltman also managed to reduce Novikov’s advantage to only three points going into the final event.

1. Aivars Smaukstelis – 27.20 s / 12 points 
2. Pavlo Kordiyaka – 28.09 s / 11 points
3. Shane Flowers – 29.27 s / 10 points
4. Luke Stoltman – 30.1 s / 9 points
5. Oleksii Novikov – 30.25 s / 8 points
6. Konstantine Janashia – 31.05 s / 7 points
7. Marius Lalas – 32.67 s / 6 points 
8. Kelvin De Ruiter – 35.56 s / 5 points
9. Pa O’Dwyer – 40.18 s / 4 points
10. Eythór Melsted – 48.36 s / 3 points
11. Gavin Bilton – 51.81 s / 2 points
12. Rauno Heinla – (Withdrew)

Fifth Event – Atlas Stones

Atlas Stones is a very simple old-school Strongman event. The competitors had to lift progressively heavier stones on the designed platforms. The weight of the stones for this event ranged from 110 kg (242 lbs) – 180 kg (397 lbs). 

Oleksii Novikov and Luke Stoltman went face-to-face in the final event of the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man. The finish of the event could not have been more intense, as only milliseconds separated them. However, Oleksii won both the event and the overall competition.

1. Oleksii Novikov – 5 in 20.44 s / 12 points
2. Luke Stoltman – 5 in 20.69s / 11 points 
3. Konstantine Janashia – 5 in 24.02 s / 10 points
4. Aivars Smaukstelis – 5 in 24.34 s /9  points
5. Eythór Melsted – 5 in 25.02 s / 8 points  
6. Gavin Bilton –  5 in 25.28 s / 7 points
7. Pavlo Kordiyaka – 5 in 25.31 s / 6 points
8. Kelvin De Ruiter – 5 in 30.60 s / 5 points
9. Pa O’Dwyer – 5 in 31.23 s / 4 points
10. Shane Flowers – 4 in 17.06 s / 3 points
11. Marius Lalas – 4 in 17.98 s / 2 points 

Related: Strongman Luke Richardson Re-ruptured His Biceps While Lifting Atlas Stones in Training

The 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man is the last major competition before the 2022 World’s Strongest Man, which will take place from May 24-29, 2022, in Sacramento, CA. This means that the competitors won’t have much time to rest, as everyone apart from Marius Lalas is set to compete at the WSM. 

Oleksii Novikov proved that he will be one of the main favorites for the win at the 2022 WSM, having claimed the title of 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man and a second-place finish in the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic. 

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