It is being reported but not confirmed that Mateusz Ostazsewski, Mikhail Shivlyakov and Mateusz Kieliskowski are out of the competition.
The Arnold Australia is one of my personal favorite Arnold competitions, mainly because the equipment made for it by Stand Or Submit, is always unique and just plain bad ass with a very Mad Max style which just works.
With competitors fresh off competing in Ohio, including Mikhail Shivlyakov, J-F Caron, Rauno Heinla, Matjaz Belsak and Dimitar Savatinov along with 2017 Arnold competitor and 4th place at 2017 Worlds Strongest Man Martins Licis, and Terry Hollands.
The 6 events are split over two days to give the athletes a break, and are almost purely static except for the Tank Pull, which is for a Guinness World Record and a World Record Atlas Stone series of yet to be announced weight. An axle squat for reps, a log press for reps, a max deadlift, and a Circus Dumbbell for max. This contest won’t have the athletes moving very much, but if you are a fan of static lifts this will be a real treat. Martins Licis will be hard to beat on the squat for reps.
In the log for reps athletes have their choice between the 170kg/374lb “Mini Max” Log or the 190kg/418lb Leviathan log.
1 rep with the bigger log beats any amount of reps with the smaller log. Last year Caron, Shivlyakov and Kieliskowski all got reps on the Leviathan. I expect the outcome to be similar this year, as long as Kieliskowski’s tricep feels better than it did with the 400lb axle in Ohio, and Shivlyakov doesn’t sustain any major injuries during that event.
Day 1 ends with a Deadlift for max weight where athletes will be lifting an apparatus from a height of 17″ with weight being added with every successful rep
Look for Caron, Shivlyakov, and Licis be at the top here with this being an important event for Kieliskowski, as the deadlift tends to cost him points. Day 2 starts with the tank pull. Kieliskowski will again pick up points as evidenced by his win in the plane pull win at Worlds Strongest Man last year, Licis and Hollands will likely round out the top three. Next up is the Monster Dumbbell for max weight. This will be a real treat as we get to see Belsak and Savatinov go head to head for the first time on a heavy dumbbell. I believe they will be 1 and 2 with Savatinov winning the battle and Kieliskowski gaining points against the others hunting for the overall win. It all comes down to the stones, and this is said to be the heaviest stone series of all time. Last year, it ended at 220kg with Rauno Heinla winning the event. J-F Caron finished as well. With last year ending on 220kg, it only makes sense that this year it will be 230kg/505lbs. I think Licis will win the event and set the world record with Caron, Heinla and Kieliskowski making him work for the fastest time. So, who will come out on top and win their invite to the Arnold Classic in 2019? I think Kieliskowski is likely to win, but with two pressing events and his repaired tricep possibly not being 100%, yet that could be a gamble. So, I will go with Martins Licis as my final predication with Kieliskowski and Shivlyakov sharing the podium.
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