Finding the strongest man in the world starts with 30 competitors and ends with just 10 vying for the most prestigious title in the sport of strongman. On April 30, just one day before the 2024 World’s Strongest Man is set to occur at Myrtle Beach, SC, WSM announced the six athlete groups on their YouTube channel.
[Read More: The Continuous Flux of the 2024 World’s Strongest Man Roster]
The qualifying stage takes place over two days. This year, those days will be May 1st and May 2nd. The top two athletes in each group will advance to the finals occurring on May 4th and May 5th. WSM organizer and promoter Colin Bryce attributed the late group announcement, relative to year’s past, to the sheer number of pre-event drop-outs (including big names like Oleksii Novikov, Martins Licis, and Mateusz Kieliszkowski).
“We’ve lost a few big names on the way in here…if you start calling groups too early, you’re going to end up in a situation where you have two of your biggest seeds falling out of one group. Where does that leave you? It leaves a massive void…All that matters is you get the information on the events as early as possible. And we’ve done that.”
2024 World’s Strongest Man Groups
At long last, here are the groups for 2024 WSM. Of these 30 men who start off, 10 total will move on from their groups into the Final.
Group 1
Luke Stoltman (GB)
Trey Mitchell (USA)
Kevin Faires (USA)
Eddie Williams (AUS)
Oskar Ziółkowski (POL)
Tristain Hoath (CA)
Group 2
Austin Andrade (MX)
Gavin Bilton (BG)
Nicolas Cambi (IT)
Ondrej Fojtu (CZ)
Mitchell Hooper — Defending Champion (CA)
Spenser Remick (USA)
Group 3
Adam Bishop (GB)
Thomas Evans (USA)
Rob Kearney (USA)
Pa O’Dwyer (IRL)
Mathew Ragg (NZ)
Aivars Šmaukstelis (LVA)
Group 4
Marcus Crowder (USA)
Kane Francis (GB)
Rauno Heinla (EST)
Pavlo Kordiyaka (UA)
Evans Nana (GHA)
Evan Singleton (USA)
Group 5
Wesley Derwinsky (CA)
Nathan Goltry (USA)
Adam Roszkowski (POL)
Jaco Schoonwinkel (SA)
Tom Stoltman (GB)
Bobby Thompson (USA)
[Read More: Rob Kearney Will Retire From Competitive Strongman After 2024 World’s Strongest Man]
2024 World’s Strongest Man Events and Schedule
The importance of the groupings cannot be understated. An athlete’s opportunity to reach the Finals Stage can be made or broken in large part by who they’re up against in their groups during the Qualifying Stage.
Another huge component of an athlete’s journey through the WSM? Which events athletes take on, and in which order. Here are the feats of strength these groups will take on during the prestigious week of grit and showmanship.
The events for both the Qualifying Events and Finals follow, along with their day and time in EST.
Qualifying Stage — Day One (Wednesday, May 1)
Qualifying Event 1: Webster Stones — 9:00 AM
Qualifying Event 2: Deadlift Ladder — 1:00 PM
Qualifying Event 3: Sandbag Steeplechase — 4:00 PM
Qualifying Stage — Day Two (Thursday, May 2)
Qualifying Event 4: Globe Viking Press — 9:00 AM
Qualifying Event 5: Car Walk — 1:00 PM
Qualifying Event 6: Stone-Off — 5:00 PM
Finals Stage — Day One (Saturday, May 4)
Finals Event 1: KNAACK Giant’s Medley — 10:00 AM
Finals Event 2: Max Axle Press — 11:30 AM
Finals Event 3: Keg Toss — 3:00 PM
Finals Stage — Day Two (Sunday, May 5)
Finals Event 4: Reign Total Body Fuel Conan’s Wheel — 10:00 AM
Finals Event 5: BFGoodrich Tires HD Terrain Deadlift — 12:00 PM
Finals Event 6: Atlas Stones — 3:00 PM
[Read More: The 2024 World’s Strongest Man Events Revealed]
Stay Tuned
Fans won’t be able to watch the 2024 WSM on livestream, but you can stick around BarBend‘s 2024 WSM results page and up-to-date articles covering each event as soon as they conclude. Our on-the-ground correspondent Roger Lockridge will be bringing all breaking news, event recaps, and analysis right from Myrtle Beach.
With the groups finally announced, the 2024 WSM is all set for an impressive ride.
Featured Image Courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
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