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With each new feat of strength, Hooper demonstrates why he is such a powerful force.
In today’s pantheon of strong men, Mitchell Hooper of Canada is unquestionably the most dominant. The athlete is the reigning World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion and has, at a minimum, finished on the podium in 10 consecutive strongman competitions. (Note: he’s only entered 11 professional contests.) The superstar is preparing to add even more to his trophy very soon.
On July 12, 2023, Hooper appeared in a video about 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Laurence Shahlaei’s YouTube channel, where he documents some of his preparation for the Shaw Classic 2023 (CS). The contest takes place August 19-20, 2023 in Loveland, CO. Shahlaei helps train Hooper in the video, and the training allows Hooper to polish his Bench Press, log lift, sandbag throwing and chest press. At around 13:10 in the video below, Hooper successfully locks a 210 kilograms (463 pounds), three-rep bench press for a new personal best (PR).
There’s an all-bench press-focused event at SC 2023, making Hooper’s display of an upper body milestone a great sign for his chances in the competition. In the only SC appearance of his career in 2022, the strongman finished in third place for two-time defending champion Trey Mitchell (2021-2022) and mythical eponymous competitor of the competition, Brian Shaw (second place).
Per Hooper, the bench press has generally not been one of his strengths in the past.
“I’m probably the most nervous about this one (the Bench Press event) at the Shaw Classic,” Hooper explained. “I don’t think I’m a good bench presser. I think a lot of my aerial strength comes from my legs.
Hooper rode a three-game winning streak to start the 2023 strongman season which was cut short with a third-place finish at the 2023 Giants Live Strongman Classic (GLSC). The athlete will no doubt be looking for an emphatic way to get back into the SC 2023 winners column. A win for Hooper would also notably prevent the iconic Shaw from a triumph in his very last strongman competition.
Hooper didn’t appreciate failing at the 2023 GLSC:
“The longer third place (at the 2023 GLSC) stays with me, the more I (expletive) hate it,” Hooper said. “Losing really doesn’t sit well with me.”
Here is the list of strongman competitors at SC 2023, including Hooper:
List of the Shaw Classic 2023
On the overall SC 2023 roster, Hooper is among the favorites alongside Mitchell and Shaw. Dark horses could include former two-time WSM champion Tom Stoltman and 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov.
No matter what happens at SC 2023, Hooper has firmly established himself as a household name in strongman. Part of what makes him so great is that he’ll likely push full throttle for another win, regardless of his well-deserved reputation.
Featured Image: Big Loz Official on YouTube
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