2023 Shaw Classic will determine ‘world’s strongest man’

The incentive to win the Shaw Classic just got a whole lot spicier.

Written by Robert Zeglinsky Last updated July 17, 2023

The winner of Shaw Classic 2023 (SC) will now officially win the title of “World’s Strongest Man”.

In an interview video posted on YouTube on July 17, 2023, Brian Shawfour times The strongest man in the world (WSM) champion (2011, 2013, 2015-2016) and organizer of the annual SC, announced that it had acquired the brand “The Strongest Man on Earth” from Paul Ohl. The title had previously been awarded to the winners of Fortissimus, a strongman competition organized by Ohl in 2008-2009. Shaw and Ohl discussed what the title transfer would mean for SC’s future in their chat.

After trying to gain traction in 2008, an eventual lack of sponsorships led to the Fortissimus competition being closed indefinitely in 2009. The competition did not return, but Ohl and the organizers still owned the brand “The Strongest Man on Earth “. As winner of the 2009 edition, quadruple WSM champion (2009-2010, 2012, 2014) Žydrūnas Savickas is technically the defending and final champion of the contest.

Shaw maintained that he approached Ohl about this name transition as he believed it added legitimacy to the SC’s growth as a strongman competition, which had only three iterations at the time of this writing. lines (2020-2022).

Surely that’s something the current roster of elite competitors might enjoy as another part of their potential prize. Here’s a look at the field at SC 2023:

List of the Shaw Classic 2023

Here is an overview of the events expected at SC 2023:

2023 Shaw Classic Events

Note: The Atlas Stones do not appear to be the closing event of SC 2023, as is often the case in other strongman competitions.