World's Ultimate Strongman

The inaugural edition of the competition was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and out of a very stacked field of 12 athletes, the Icelandic Giant Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson emerged victorious and was crowned the inaugural champion. The 2019 edition was also held in Dubai and was won by Poland's Mateusz Kieliszkowski.

On February 22, 2020, World's Ultimate Strongman announced the competition would be expanding and would hold the championship in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit with a purse of $350,000 which was the largest for any strongman competition.^[1] However, on March 13, 2020, they released a statement entailing that it had to be postponed due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, until a new date would be announced when it's logistically feasible.^[2] The 2020 competition was finally held in March 2021 in Muharraq under the name '2021 WUS Strength Island' and in September they hosted the 2021 competition back in Dubai. Both competitions were won by Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov.

The first three competitions out of the four are widely regarded as International strongman majors.^[3]

Due to the postponement of worldwide sporting events and travel restrictions being in place for many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World's Ultimate Strongman announced an at home/private gym Feats of Strength series with differing strongman record attempts to be live streamed for free. Below are the record attempts (Men's World Record unless otherwise stated):

Season 1

More information Date, Attempt ...

Date	Attempt	Athlete	Record Broken?	Existing Record and Holder	New Record if Broken
May 2, 2020[12][13]	Maximum Deadlift (standard bar)	Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson	Yes	500 kg (1,102 lb) ( Eddie Hall)	501 kg (1,105 lb)
May 16, 2020[14]	Maximum Log Lift	Luke Stoltman	No	228 kg (503 lb) ( Žydrūnas Savickas)	–
May 23, 2020[15]	Maximum Atlas Stone Lift	Tom Stoltman	Yes	273 kg (602 lb) ( Tom Stoltman)	286 kg (631 lb)
May 30, 2020[16]	100 kg (220 lb) Dumbbell Press for Repetitions	Oleksii Novikov	Yes	10 repetitions ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson)	11 repetitions
June 6, 2020[17]	Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Under-64kg Record	Rhianon Lovelace	Yes	139 kg (306 lb) ( Alana Curnow)	141 kg (311 lb)
June 13, 2020[18]	Maximum Log Lift American Record	Rob Kearney	Yes	214 kg (472 lb) ( Rob Kearney)	216 kg (476 lb)
June 20, 2020[19]	400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions	Jerry Pritchett	No	5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Konstantine Janashia)	–
		Rauno Heinla	Equalled		–
June 20, 2020[20]	Raw Bench Press (power bar)	Julius Maddox 1	No	349 kg (769 lb) ( Julius Maddox)	–
June 27, 2020	Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record	Terry Hollands	No	430 kg (948 lb) ( James Hickey)	–
		Mikhail Shivlyakov	No		–
July 4, 2020	Maximum Log Lift Women's Record	Andrea Thompson	Yes	129 kg (284 lb) ( Danielle Vaji)	135 kg (298 lb)
July 11, 2020	400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions	Adam Bishop 2	No	5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia)	–
		Jean-François Caron	No		–

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¹ It was found during the event that Maddox's bar had been misloaded with one side being 25 kg heavier than the other.
² It was found during the event that Bishop had 402.5 kg on the barbell, rather than 400 kg, causing an unofficial world record of 402.5 kg for 4 repetitions.

Season 2

More information Date, Attempt ...

Date	Attempt	Athlete	Record Broken?	Existing Record and Holder	New Record if Broken
September 13, 2020	400 kg (882 lb) Deadlift (standard bar) for Repetitions	Rauno Heinla	Yes	5 repetitions ( Jean-François Caron) ( Rauno Heinla) ( Konstantine Janashia)	6 repetitions
		Konstantine Janashia	No		–
September 20, 2020		Trey Mitchell	No	6 repetitions ( Rauno Heinla)	–
September 27, 2020	Maximum Atlas Stone Lift	Tom Stoltman	No	286 kg (631 lb) ( Tom Stoltman)	–
	Maximum Atlas Stone Lift Women's Record	Donna Moore	Yes	162 kg (357 lb) ( Donna Moore)	171 kg (377 lb)
October 4, 2020	Maximum Deadlift (strongwoman) - standard bar Women's Record	Andrea Thompson	Yes	275 kg (606 lb) ( Melissa Edwards)	290 kg (639 lb)
October 11, 2020	Maximum Log Lift	Rob Kearney	No	228 kg (503 lb) ( Žydrūnas Savickas)	–
		Luke Stoltman	No		–
October 18, 2020	Maximum Deadlift (standard bar)	Rauno Heinla	No	501 kg (1,105 lb) ( Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson)	–
		Ivan Makarov	No		–
	Maximum Deadlift (standard bar) Masters (Over-40s) Record	Mikhail Shivlyakov	Yes	435 kg (959 lb) (James Hickey)	436 kg (961 lb)

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• Deadlift – Lifting weights or vehicles straight off the ground until knees lock in a standing position. The 2018 edition consisted of a max Silver Dollar Deadlift, a variation in which the weight is lifted from 18 inches (460 mm). Straps are allowed for this variation. The 2019 edition used the conventional strongman version of the deadlift, using a standard deadlift bar with straps and a deadlift suit.^[21]
• Super Yoke – Apparatus composed of a crossbar and two uprights. The uprights each have a heavy weight attached to them, such as a refrigerator or diesel engine, and the competitors must carry the yoke on their shoulders for a short distance.^[22]
• Shield Carry – Athletes compete in carrying a 'shield' usually weighing between 160–180 kilograms (350–400 lb) for distance or a set distance for the fastest time. The Shield Carry can be its own event or be used alongside the super yoke.
• Press Medley – Athletes must press various equipment overhead such as a log, axle, circus barbell, and giant dumbbell. The event is scored based on the number of implements completed, then the fastest time.
• Vehicle pull – Vehicles such as transport trucks, trams, boxcars, buses, or planes are pulled across a 100-foot (30 m) course as fast as possible. One variation sees the competitors pull the object with a rope toward them. Another has them attached to a rope which is attached to a vehicle, while they use another rope to pull themselves down the course.^[23]
• McGlashen Stones / Atlas Stones – Five heavy round stones increasing in weight from 170–225 kilograms (375–496 lb) are lifted and set on platforms. When the stones were first introduced to the competition, it was an individual event and the platforms were all of equal height. The modern Atlas Stones event takes place on a 16–33-foot (5–10 m) long course and the competitors participate two at a time. In the 2019 edition, a 10 stone event was introduced with stones ranging from 100–200 kilograms (220–440 lb), a first of its kind.^[24]