Pavlo Nakonechnyy is the champion of the 2022 Giants Live World Open. On August 6, 2022, the Ukrainian athlete stood atop the podium in Cardiff, Wales, after winning a battle of elite strength in just his fourth career strongman contest.
Joining Nakonechnyy on the podium were Canada’s Mitchell Hooper and another Ukrainian competitor, Oleksii Novikov, in second and third place, respectively. This was Hooper’s second consecutive podium finish after a strong showing at the Giants Live Strongman Classic in early July. Novikov won that contest. According to Strongman Archives, with his third-place result at the World Open, Novikov has now stood on a podium in 11 straight competitions dating back to July 2021.
Here are the final standings from the 2022 Giants Live World Open:
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 49 points | 2022 Giants Live World Open Champion
- Mitchell Hooper — 47 points
- Oleksii Novikov — 39.5 points
- Graham Hicks — 37.5 points
- Gavin Bilton — 34 points
- Rauno Heinla — 33 points |
- Andy Black — 20 points
- Shane Flowers — 18 points
- Evan Singleton — 14 points (Withdrew after Medley)
- Ivan Makarov — Eight points (Withdrew after Max Deadlift)
- Pa O’Dwyer — Six points (Withdrew after Medley)
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The competition consisted of five events in one day, including the Max Deadlift, Medley, Log Lift for Reps, Front Hold, and Atlas Stones. Here’s a short rundown of how each competitor fared in the individual events.
Max Deadlift
The Max Deadlift, which doubled as the 2022 World Deadlift Championships (WDC), started the contest. The set-up was straightforward — deadlift as much weight as possible. The athletes began with 400 kilograms (938.1 pounds) and slowly increased the load on their barbells.
While five athletes made valiant attempts at pulling 453.6 kilograms (1,000 pounds), Rauno Heinla was the only competitor to successfully pull at least that much weight. The Estonian strongman eventually deadlifted 476 kilograms (1,049.4 pounds) for a new Master’s World Record and the event win.
- Rauno Heinla — 476 kilograms (1,049.4 pounds)
- Graham Hicks — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Mitchell Hooper — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Ivan Makarov — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 pounds)
- Gavin Bilton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Oleksii Novikov — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Evan Singleton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 pounds)
- Shane Flowers — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
- Andy Black — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
- Pa O’Dwyer — 400 Kilograms (881.9 pounds)
Medley
After the Max Deadlift concluded, Ivan Makarov withdrew from the competition; he was only in Wales for that event. During the Medley, the athletes had to perform a Farmer’s Walk with 150-kilogram implements for 10 meters. Then, they had to load a 120-kilogram (264.5-pound) barrel on a podium that was positioned 12 meters from the start of the walk, a 120-kilogram (264.5-pound) sandbag onto a podium 15 meters away, and a 135-kilogram (297.6-pound) tire at 20 meters.
Nakonechnyy won the Medley and his first event of the contest with a stellar time of 37.11 seconds. Hooper (38.23 seconds) closely followed in second place at a little over a second behind, while defending champion Evan Singleton (38.85 seconds) captured a third-place result.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 37.11 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 38.23 seconds
- Evan Singleton — 38.85 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 41.75 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 49.56 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 49.9 seconds
- Andy Black — 51.37 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 52.39 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 56.3 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — Two meters (Farmer’s Walk)
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Log Lift for Reps
During the Log Lift for Reps — the third event of the contest — the competitors had to lift a 150-kilogram (330.7-pound) log overhead as many times as possible within a 75-second time limit. After performing a successful eight reps, Hooper won his first event. Nakonechnyy and Novikov followed in a tie for second place with seven reps each as they evenly split points for their results.
- Mitchell Hooper — Eight reps
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — Seven reps
- Oleksii Novikov — Seven reps
- Rauno Heinla — Five reps
- Gavin Bilton — Four reps
- Graham Hicks — Three reps
- Andy Black — One rep
- Shane Flowers — Did not participate
Note: Singleton and O’Dwyer withdrew after the Medley, leaving an eight-athlete field through the remainder of the contest.
Front Hold
As the Giants Live World Open rounded to a close, the Front Hold awaited the remaining field of athletes. Here, they had to hold up a 30-kilogram implement at shoulder height for as long as they could. While every competitor managed to hold it up for at least 30 seconds, Hooper won a second-straight event by maintaining his hold for 54.45 seconds. Graham Hicks (50.82 seconds) was in second while Nakonechnyy (47.38 seconds) tailed just behind him in third.
- Mitchell Hooper — 54.45 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 50.82 seconds
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 47.38 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 45.66 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 42.62 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 38.78 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 36.17 seconds
- Andy Black — 35.83 seconds
Atlas Stones
In strongman tradition, the famed Atlas Stones closed this competition. The five Atlas Stones had a weight range of 100 to 180 kilograms (220.4 to 396.8 pounds). Each of the competitors successfully placed all five stones on their respective podiums. With a lightning-quick time of 17 seconds, Pavlo Nakonechnyy won the event and claimed the 2022 Giants Live World Open title.
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 17.65 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 18.54 seconds
- Oleksii Novikov — 19.57 seconds
- Shane Flowers — 20.46 seconds
- Mitchell Hooper — 21.32 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 21.92 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 24.42 seconds
- Andy Black — 27.63 seconds
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Worthy Stakes
Typically, the top-three finishers in Giants Live competitions earn automatic qualification to the following year’s World’s Strongest Man (WSM). After the 22-year-old Nakonechnyy’s win in this contest, he could make his WSM debut next spring if he decides to compete. Hooper already has a place in the 2023 WSM thanks to his solid performance in the Strongman Classic, while Novikov has a lifetime invitation by virtue of winning the 2020 WSM.
The 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals are next for some of these star strongmen. That contest will occur on October 8, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Featured image: @giantslivestrongman on Instagram
