The 2023 Shaw Classic took place on August 19-20, in Loveland, Colorado, and it featured the biggest prize purse in the competition’s existence so far. This edition of this competition was quite special, since it was Brian Shaw’s final appearance and the winner gained the title of “Strongest Man On Earth”. So, with everything accounted for, the overall prize purse for all athletes came out to $251,932.
Brian Shaw won the 2023 Shaw Classic after two days of action, which made his retirement as special as it could be. Brian Shaw recapped the competition and explained how the massive prize purse was distributed in a video.
In addition, seeing how Brian Shaw finished in first place, he was supposed to claim the biggest money reward of the 2023 Shaw Classic. However, he has decided to give all of his prize money to other competitors, as each of the remaining 13 athletes received an equal portion of it.
So, since Brian Shaw decided to give away his prize of $95,983, each of the 13 competitors received $6,691 more than what they initially would. In addition, the remaining portion of his prize was given to the Women’s and Men’s Open divisions of the 2023 Shaw Classic as well.
2023 Shaw Classic Prize Winnings
- Brian Shaw — No Prize
- Mitchell Hooper — $49,771
- Tom Stoltman — $34,655
- Evan Singleton — $24,830
- Trey Mitchell — $19,540
- Thomas Evans — $17,020
- Bobby Thompson — $16,013
- Maxime Boudreault — $15,005
- Kevin Faires — $13,997
- Oleksii Novikov — $12,990
- Gavin Bilton — $11,982
- Aivars Šmaukstelis — $9,967
- Luke Stoltman — $8,959
- Adam Bishop — $8,203
Related: Mitchell Hooper Reflects on Hamstring Injury and Second Place Finish at 2023 Shaw Classic
Brian Shaw Reflects On 2023 Shaw Classic Performance
Brian Shaw stayed extremely focused during training for the 2023 Shaw Classic, and it paid off, as he put on one of his best performances ever. He managed to outperform three WSM champions, and a lot of other elite Strongmen.
Considering that Brian Shaw wasn’t expected to win the first two events – Log Lift and Wheelbarrow x Arm-Over-Arm Medley – his aim was to secure a high placement. However, moving onto the third event, Car Leg Press, he managed to win and claim maximum points.
“I did not expect that the reps would be as high as they were in the contest… I had to dig deep to get those 14 reps.”
Moving onto day two of the competition, Brian Shaw was excited to take on the deadlift event, as he focused a lot on it during his preparation. He once again secured very solid points by locking out a Hummer Tire Deadlift of 1,050 pounds.
The next event was the Standing Bench Press, which Brian Shaw managed to win with nine successful repetitions. However, when he attempted to lock out another rep, Brian felt an injury in his chest.
“I went for the 10th rep and felt my chest tearing a little bit. I felt it right off the bottom of the lift, and I just stopped at that moment. It was, at that time, certainly very highly-concerning for me.”
Despite having a six-point lead ahead of second place, Brian Shaw was still scared that the chest injury would impact his performance on the penultimate event of the competition — the Bag Toss. So, he made sure to not push himself to the limits, but instead perform the event and walk away without making the injury worse.
However, moving on to the final event, Fingal Fingers x Power Stairs Medley, Brian Shaw was determined to push through regardless of the pain it caused. Luckily, his efforts were enough to secure him the victory at the 2023 Shaw Classic.
“I said to myself, there is literally no way that I am stopping. Zero chance. If I am hurt really badly, it doesn’t matter, I am just going to do one stair at a time.”
Brian Shaw was speechless after winning the 2023 Shaw Classic, especially since he earned the title of Strongest Man On Earth in his final appearance ever.
“It was a storybook ending.”
Watch the full video here:
Related: Brian Shaw Crushes 200-lb (91-kg) Dumbbell Bench Press for 5 Reps in Prep for Final Strongman Show
As a competitor, Brian Shaw understands the struggles of being a Strongman, so his goal is to raise the standards of how athletes are treated. For reference, the overall prize purse this year is almost $100,000 greater than in 2022. Brian Shaw and his team are excited about hosting the 2024 Shaw Classic. They aim to make it the best Strongman competition globally.
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