The Arnold Strongman USA took place on January 19th on the Santa Monica Pier as a last chance qualifier for the Arnold Strongman Classic in Ohio. The contest was announced and tickets became available just a few weeks before the actual contest but to say that it was a success would be a massive understatement. I think its one of the biggest things to happen for professional Strongman in the USA in the past decade.

The event featured 10 of the top strongmen in the world with the likely favorites being Mateusz Kieliszkowski & Martins Licis having another showdown in their budding rivalry a long with 5 events that somewhat mimic the events coming up in Columbus in 6 weeks this show would give some good insight on what to expect at the Arnold Classic in Ohio.

Preview of the event

Strong Talk Recap

The contest was incredible with notable performances including Kieliszkowski’s 385lb log for 3 reps that he 1motioned! Jerry Pritchett’s easy 950lb deadlift and the epic stone to shouldering of Martins Licis to match Kieliszkowski with 5 reps and win the overall event the crowd and atmosphere was just electric but to me the biggest highlight of the event was a big crowd of people in America watching high level Strongman as a stand alone event something the sport needs to advance to the next level in America, between Arnold himself cheering on each competitor in the truck pull, a fantastic live stream which may be the best one for Strongman ever to raising money for firefighters in California this event was executed perfectly and shows that live Strongman can succeed in America just like it does in Europe.

Full Results

Watch the event
Part 1

Part 2

Martins Licis amazing Vlog from the event

 

View this post on Instagram

 

“A machine doesn’t feel.” (LINK IN BIO) Our first YouTube collaborator: @schwarzenegger ! What a weekend it was. I got to compete in the first @arnoldsports Strongman competition in Santa Monica, California; all to raise money for our brave firefighters that risked their lives to save Southern Cali. It was an incredible competition, with some of the best strongmen on the planet showing up, and giving their all. The events were chosen to mimic the same events coming up in the final in 6 weeks, so this was a perfect testing ground to see whats come of my training. Watch our YouTube episode to see how it all turned out! — Thank you for your great video work, @romarkweiss and @lindseybowenn ! — @sbd.usa @sbdapparel @oddhaugen @thetraininghall @probodycoach #NathanPayton #sbdusa #sbdapparel #strongman #power #arnoldschwarzenegger #santaMonica #pier #venice #muscleBeach #bodybuilding #firefighters #GravityAintNothin #BeALegend

A post shared by Martins Licis (@martinslicis) on Jan 21, 2019 at 9:08pm PST

 

Finalized list of qualified athletes for the Arnold Classic

 

2019 ARNOLD STRONGMAN CLASSIC COMPETITORS
1. Hafthor Bjornsson (Iceland) – 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic Champion
2. Rauno Heinla (Estonia) – 2018 Arnold Australia
3. Olexii Novikov (Ukraine) – 2018 Arnold Amateur
4. Mikhail Shivlyakov (Russia) – 2018 Arnold South America

5. Jean-Francois Caron (Canada) – 2018 Arnold Africa

6. Brian Shaw (USA) – 2018 Festival Hommes Forts Warwick
7. Martins Licis (USA) – 2018 Arnold Europe
8. Mateusz Kielszikowski (Poland) – 2019 Arnold USA Runner-Up
9. Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia) – Highest Qualifying Points
10. Jerry Pritchett (USA) – Second Highest Qualifying Points

 

Alternate: Jitse Kramer (Holland) Third Highest Qualifying Points

 

 

FINAL 2018 SERIES POINTS STANDINGS*
1. Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia), 31 points
2. Jerry Pritchett (USA) 29 points
3. Jitse Kramer (Holland) 21 points
4. Dimitar Savatinov (Bulgaria), 20 points
5. Jimmy Paquet (Canada), 10 points
6. Kryszstof Radzikowski (Poland), 8 points
7. Andrew Clayton (USA), 7 points
8. (tie) Brian Clark (USA), Trey Mitchell (USA), and Johan Els (South Africa), 6 points
11. (tie) Mateusz Ostaszewski (Poland), Rongo Keene (New Zealand), Bryan Bensel (USA), Maxime Boudrealt (Canada), and Eben Le Roux (Australia), 4 points
16. (tie) Mathew Ragg (New Zealand) and Robert Cyrwus, 3 points
18. (tie) Eddie Williams (Australia), Karl Hjelholt (Canada) and Brendan Page (USA), 2 points
21. Tiaga Aparecido (Brasil), Jean Stephen Coraboeuf (Australia) and Maciej Hirsz (Poland), 1 point

 

 

2019 ARNOLD STRONGMAN USA (Santa Monica) Series Points.

1. Martins Licis (USA), 9 qualifying points
2. Mateusz Kielszikowski (Poland), 8 points
3. Rauno Heinla (Estonia), 7 points
4.  Matjaz Belsak (Slovenia), 6 points
5. Jitse Kramer (Holland), 5 points
6. Jerry Pritchett (USA), 4 points
7.  Brian Clark (USA), 3 points
8. Jean-Francois Caron (Canada), 2 points
9.  9. Mateusz Ostaszewski (Poland), 1 point