Canadian strongman Mitchell Hooper won the prestigious 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competition on Sunday, April 23, find out all the details of the competition below along with the results and winner
The 27-year-old won a hard-fought victory at the event, which took place at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from April 19-23.
World’s Strongest Man (WSM) 2023 winner, prize money, results, standings
The prize money for World’s Strongest Man has been lower than other high level Strongman contest but first place prize money has been increased from about 47,000 to 75,000 and the total prize money is now over 200,000 which may make it the highest total money in all of Strongman.
Giving it their all.
The 10 top strongest men in the world fought until the last event for the coveted title of 2023 SBD World's Strongest Man.
🥇 Mitchell Hooper
🥈 Tom Stoltman
🥉 Oleksii Novikov pic.twitter.com/szZg9V7Gdg— SBD (@SBDApparel) April 23, 2023
Canada's Mitchell "Moose" Hooper wins 2023 World's Strongest Man.
1. Mitchell Hooper 53.5 pts.
2. Tom Stoltman 49 pts.
3. Oleksii Novikov 41 pts.Check out the story at https://t.co/Ml7M49yBSZ#WSM #worldsstrongestman pic.twitter.com/tErWlyeI5q
— THE BARBELL (@TheBarbell) April 23, 2023
Behind Mitchell Hooper were Tom Stoltman and Oleksii Novikov who came in second and third-place respectively.
Mitchell Hooper journey to the top
Mitchell Hooper’s win was a special victory not just for him but for fans across the world. Many fans had spent most of last year speculating about how Mitchell is the next big thing in strongman. But it obviously didn’t come easy going from a debut eighth place finish in 2022 to clinching the overall title in just his second appearance.
Hooper made his first WSM appearance in 2022, and it was also his first International competition in his pro career. Following his international debut, the Canadian international has gone on to achieve great heights.
Ever since his debut, Hooper went on a series of wins including:
- Podium finishes at the 2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic, World Open, and the Shaw Classic
- Won the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK
- Won The Giants Live World Tour Finals
- Third at the 2022 Rogue Strongman Invitational
- Won the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic (in Ohio)
In this year’s event, Hooper’s dominance became clear by the second day itself, and that Hooper was in his element. His mind-blowing performances in each event confirmed how he could surpass the veterans of the sport as well as previous WSM winners.
2023 World’s Strongest Man final leaderboard
Given below is the final leaderboard for the 2023 World’s Strongest Man event:
- Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
- Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom)
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine)
- Trey Mitchell (United States)
- Evan Singleton (United States)
- Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine)
- Brian Shaw (United States)
- Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom)
- Matthew Ragg (New Zealand)
- *Jaco Schoonwinkel (South Africa) | *Withdrew on contest’s last day
Mitchell Hooper 2023 WSM all event results
Given below are Hooper’s results in all the events of the 2023 WSM:
| Events | Time/reps | Points | Position |
| Loading Race | 5 objects in 0:42.05 | 6pts | 1st place |
| Deadlift Machine | 8 reps | 6pts | 1st place |
| Log Ladder | 5 reps in 0:39.51 | 6pts | 1st place |
| Conan’s Wheel | 636 degrees | 6pts | 1st place |
| Kettlebell Toss | 6 reps in 0:17.18 | 6pts | 2nd place |
| Reign Total Body Fuel Shield Carry | 64.80 meters | 10pts | 1st place |
| KNAACK Deadlift | 8 reps | 10pts | 1st place |
| Fingal’s Fingers | 5 reps in 0:49:89s | 5pts | 6th place |
| Max Dumbbell | 4 reps | 9.5pts | t-1st place with Evan Singleton |
| Bus Pull | 0:30:24s | 10pts | 1st place |
| Atlas Stones | 5 reps in 0:036.96 | 9pts | 2nd place |
Hooper faced his biggest struggle in the Fingal’s Fingers event on day three where he was placed in sixth place. The Fingers are a fan-favorite event, and features each of the nine finalists lifting and toppling five massive wooden pillars in as little time as possible.
Stoltman, the Two-time World’s Strongest Man (2021, 2022) and Novikov, the 2022 Rogue Invitational won first and second respectively. Meanwhile, Trey Mitchell, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Evan Singleton, won ahead of Hooper.
Mitchell Hooper the start of a new hope
Back in an interview in May last year, Mitchell Hooper shared with confidence that fans had only seen his worst. And now, just a year after making his pro debut, the young Canadian has won the most prestigious podium in the strongman sport, alongside competitors who have many decades more experience.
Hooper’s recent win in Myrtle Beach was a landmark for Canadian strongman as he is the first Canadian to win any WSM event and also the fifth ever to finish on the podium after Tom Magee, Dominic Filiou, JF Caron, and Maxime Boudreault. Moreover, Hooper’s win heralds a new era for the sport, showing how you don’t need necessarily twenty years of training to win strongman athlete competition.