2018 Arnold Strongman Australia Preview

March 14, 2018

By Kalle Beck

With the Arnold Strongman Classic just ending, the athletes are now looking to qualify for the 2019 Arnold with the second stop in the Arnold Strongman World Series in Australia on March 16th-18th at the Melbourne & Exhibition Center.

Watch my video for full predictions.

Update

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.

It also seems to get a very strong list of athletes, despite always being wedged right in between The Arnold Classic and Worlds Strongest Man.

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.

Ohio has had its turn, now its ours. Introducing – The Mad Max brothers. The big guy made it’s first appearance at the @arnoldclassicau last year, where @krzysztofradzikowski and @savickas_bigz almost set a new record. This year, the competition calls for reps, rather than a max, but the summer has not been kind to him, and he has stacked on another 22kg, totalling a monsterous 190kg. Luckily his little brother, Mini Max, has come onto the scene. Starting at a much more appropriate weight, it will be stacked out to 170kg. Although lacking a canvas, this is our artform. www.standorsubmit.com.au

A post shared by strongman training equipment (@stand_or_submit) on Mar 8, 2017 at 12:19am PST

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.