🏋️ the world's strongest repeat

Author

Robert Zeglinski
May 30, 2022

Another year, another World's Strongest Man is crowned. Except it's the same man getting the crown, as Scotland's Tom Stoltman pulls off the rare back-to-back victory for his second title.

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Less than a year after an elbow dislocation had some fans questioning her future in the sport, Brooke Wells has once again qualified for the CrossFit Games.

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Strongman

Stoltman Repeats As World's Strongest Man

Featured image courtesy of Joe Martinez/World’s Strongest Man

Four former World's Strongest Man winners stood atop the standings at the end of this year's competition, but only one could claim another title. Scotland's Tom Stoltman pulled off the rare repeat victory in a Final group some fans are already calling the most competitive of all time.

The 27-year-old claimed his second title after a close battle with Ukrainian Oleksii Novikov. Stoltman is the first back-to-back winner since 2016 and is the 10th man to win multiple WSMs. Consistency was the name of the game for Stoltman, who never placed worse than third in any of the six Finals events. 

The standings at the conclusion of this year's competition:

1. Tom Stoltman — United Kingdom 2. Martins Licis — USA 3. Oleksii Novikov — Ukraine 4. Brian Shaw — USA5. Maxime Boudreault — Canada 6. Trey Mitchell — USA 7. Luke Stoltman — United Kingdom 8. Mitchell Hooper — Canada 9. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted — Iceland 10. Gabriel RhĂ©aume — Canada 

Fun fact: There are eight titles among the top four finishers. That's...insane.

CrossFit 

Brooke Wells Returns, Along with Other Familiar Faces

Featured Image: @midatlanticcrossfitchallenge / Instagram

The weekend of May 27-29, the 2022 CrossFit Semifinals continued across two continents — the CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town in Stellenbosch, South Africa and the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge in Knoxville, TN in North America. The second round of Semifinals had some of the most famous athletes in the sport coming out to one of the most famous Semifinals in the sport — the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge, affectionately known as the MACC.

Games veterans Saxon Panchik and Danielle Brandon stood atop the leaderboard at the end of the competition. But with Individual qualifying spots extending down through fifth place, it was Brooke Wells who turned heads after finishing in fourth. Her return to the CrossFit Games comes less than a year after suffering a severe elbow dislocation during the 2021 Games heavy snatch ladder. 

It was an injury some said could derail Wells' career. Clearly, it's a bump in the road she's overcome with grace.

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Everything Else

Out With the Stones, in With the Barbell

Featured Image: SGr / Shutterstock