Thanks to a huge effort from Evan “T-Rex” Singleton, Team USA defeated Team UK in a tight battle for the title of World’s Strongest Nation 2023.
On November 18, 2023, the showdown between the United States team led by 2019 World’s Strongest Man Martins Licis and the British team led by legendary British strongman Eddie Hall , seven games in a single-day fixture at Manchester’s M&S Bank Arena. Liverpool, UK. After watching their home team win the title in 2022, UK fans witness Team USA’s win, which includes Kevin Firth’s record-breaking performance In the latest episode of the Giants Live World’s Strongest Man Arena Tour.
Both teams, made up of male and female athletes, face off in a series of challenges that test their strength, power and fitness. Three points are awarded to the team that wins a game, with additional points awarded to the best team in each of the first six games. Despite Team Hall’s fight, Singleton – the 2023 Giant Live Strongman Classic and 2023 Giant Live World Open champion – lifted 551 pounds (250 kilograms) to the finish line for the U.S. The team locked in the “electric staircase” of victory.
Below are the full results from the seven campaigns, along with an overview of each.
Event One: Sandbag Obstacle Race
Each competitor must pick up a sandbag, move quickly, and throw it over a hurdle set at 10 meters. After retrieving it from the other side, the athlete must walk another 10 meters and then throw it to the table 20 meters away. Men use 330.7 lb (150 kg) sandbags and women use 220.5 lb (100 kg) sandbags.
Team USA wins sandbag obstacle course title With a huge gap of nearly 35 seconds, a total of 4 points were obtained.
Team USA (total time — 2:39.39 seconds)
- Inez Carrasquillo — 18.20 seconds
- Rob Kearney — 21.39 seconds
- Nadia Stowers — 22.69 seconds
- Kevin Firth — 20.44 seconds
- Erin Murray — 19.59 seconds
- Spencer Remick — 21.39 seconds
- Inez Carrasquillo — 18.19 seconds
- Alvin Singleton — 17.56 seconds (Bonus Points)
Team GB (total time — 3:13.87 seconds)
- Andrea Thompson — 33.57 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 17.66 seconds
- Lucy Underdown — 32.47 seconds
- Mark Felix — 29.63 seconds
- Donna Moore — 24.43 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 18.00 seconds
- Rebecca Roberts — 19.99 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 18.12 seconds
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Activity 2: Farmer’s Walk
The Farmer’s Walk is a classic strongman event that involves a 40-meter test of grip and endurance. Female athletes carry 198.4 pounds (90 kilograms) on each hand and men carry 308.6 pounds (140 kilograms) on each side.
Team USA beats Team UK in game 2 His team earned its second extra point thanks to another strong performance from Singleton.
Team USA (total time — 3:04.90 seconds)
- Inez Carrasquillo — 21.68 seconds
- Spencer Remick — 23.26 seconds
- Nadia Stowers — 34.25 seconds
- Martin Lysis — 21.12 seconds
- Erin Murray — 24.65 seconds
- Kevin Firth — 20.36 seconds
- Gabby Dixon — 21.48 seconds
- Alvin Singleton — 18.10 seconds (Bonus Points)
Team GB (total time — 3:13.65 seconds)
- Andrea Thompson — 21.87 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 25.17 seconds
- Lucy Underdown — 26.55 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 20.11 seconds
- Donna Moore — 32.53 seconds
- Tom Stoltman — 19.94 seconds
- Rebecca Roberts — 20.87 seconds
- Mark Felix — 26.61 seconds
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Event 3: Axle Deadlift
In a deadlift proficiency test, competitors used a 793.7-pound (360-kilogram) axle—a weight that proved extremely challenging. Meanwhile, the female competitors took advantage of the 485-pound (220-kilogram) axle to achieve an impressive overall score.
Team GB beat Team USA five times overall Bonus points for Lucy Underdown’s brilliant performance.
Team USA (Total — 23)
- Gabby Dixon – 10 times
- Nadia Stowers — six times
- Rob Kearney — four reps
- Alvin Singleton — three times
Team GB (Total – 28)
- Lucy Underdown — 13 times (Bonus Points)
- Andrea Thompson — eight reps
- Gavin Bilton — four reps
- Tom Stoltman — three times
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Project 4: Circus Dumbbells
Arguably the most technically difficult event on the schedule, the circus dumbbell tests the athlete’s explosive power and overhead press coordination. Lysis cleverly used his Joker card to maximize his team’s potential points – and the move paid off.
The U.S. won three games overall, Singleton defeated all competitors with seven reps to earn his third bonus point. The Joker card gives Americans double points.
Team USA (Total — 22)
- Nadia Stowers — four reps
- Inez Carrasquillo — Repeat five times
- Rob Kearney — six times
- Alvin Singleton — seven reps (Bonus Points)
Team GB (Total – 19)
- Donna Moore — four reps
- Andrea Thompson — six times
- Luke Stoltman — six times
- Gavin Bilton — three times
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Event 5: Wrecking Ball Holding
The event, held for the first time earlier this year at the Giant Live Strongman Open, tests athletes’ grip strength and willpower. Kevin Faires cemented his place in the Strongman history books by setting a world record by holding the wrecking ball in place for nearly two minutes in ninth place at the 2023 Giants Live Strongman Classic position in.
However, Team GB still wins Thanks to WSM competitor Mark Felix ’18, he set an impressive score that gave his team a decisive advantage.
Team USA (total time — 4:01.84 seconds)
- Gabby Dixon — 6.84 seconds
- Nadia Stowers — 46.01 seconds
- Kevin Firth — 1:53.00 seconds (world record)
- Alvin Singleton — 1:15.99 seconds
Team GB (total time – 4:23.30 seconds)
- Lucy Underdown — 46.43 seconds
- Rebecca Roberts — 57.47 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 1:02.02 seconds
- Mark Felix — 1:37.38 seconds
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Activity 6: Tug-of-war competition
Eddie Hall confidently uses his Joker card in an old-fashioned tug-of-war. The tournament is divided into three parts, starting with a four-person men’s and women’s team’s solo showdown and ending with an eight-person mixed-gender tag team match.
Unfortunately for Team USA, All three rounds will be played by Team GBhe narrowed the gap to three points in the final game.
Pull point 1: Women
british team (Moore, Roberts, Thompson and Underdown) beat team america (Casquero, Dixon, Murray and Stowers)
Pull 2: Men
british team (Belton, Felix, L. Stoltman, and T. Stoltman) beat team america (Kearney, Lisis, Remick, Singleton)
Pull 3: Mix
british team (Moore, Roberts, Thompson, Underdown, Bilton, Hall, L. Stoltman and T. Stoltman) beat team america (Carasquillo, Dixon, Murray, Stowers, Fells, Carney, Lysis and Remick)
[Related: Australian Strongman Smashes World Record by Pulling 44,753-Pound Crane]
Activity 7: Electric Staircase
In the final activity, three men and two women alternated carrying weights to the top of the stairs. Men use weights of 496 lb (225 kg) and 551.2 lb (250 kg), while women use 275.6 lb (125 kg) and 286.6 lb (130 kg).
With a three-point lead, he gained a 1.5-second lead and completed the challenge with excellent technique, Team USA Climbs Up the Ladder and Claims Title as World’s Strongest Nation.
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Ultimately, all athletes showed tremendous class and respect for each other while sacrificing their bodies for national pride. As the two teams were evenly matched in the first two games, the competition in the third edition of the World’s Strongest Powers should be even more intense. Only time will tell if Team USA can become the first team in the history of the game to win back-to-back games.
Featured Image: Giants Live Strongman/Instagram