World's Strongest Man 2022 Results: Oleksii Novikov Win Highlights Day 1 of Finals

The first day of the 2022 World's Strongest Man finals is complete, and Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov and the United Kingdom's Tom Stoltman are neck-and-neck ahead of the rest of the 10-competitor field.

Novikov and Stoltman won the 2020 and 2021 contests, respectively, and it appears one of them will become a two-time victor when the competition concludes Sunday from Sacramento, California.

Competitors ran through three of the six events Saturday: KNAACK Giant's Medley, Deadlift and Flintstone Barbell. Sunday, the field will roll through Bus Pull, Reign Total Body Fuel Power Stairs and Atlas Stones. A description of all events can be found through this link.

Here's a look at Saturday's results as well as highlights of the event winners' performances.

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Day 1 Results

1. Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine): 27.5 (8 Medley, 10 Deadlift, 9.5 Barbell)

2. Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom): 27 (9 Medley, 8.5 Deadlift, 9.5 Barbell)

3. Martins Licis (United States): 20 (6 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 8 Barbell)

4. Mitchell Hooper (Canada): 19 (10 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 3 Barbell)

5. Trey Mitchell (United States): 18 (4 Medley, 8.5 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)

6. Brian Shaw (United States): 16.5 (5 Medley, 6 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)

7. Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom): 15.5 (7 Medley, 3 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)

8. Maxime Boudreault (Canada): 11.5 (2 Medley, 4 Deadlift, 5.5 Barbell)

9. Gabriel Rheaume (Canada): 6 (3 Medley, 1.5 Deadlift, 1.5 Barbell)

10. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland): 4 (1 Medley, 1.5 Deadlift, 1.5 Barbell)

Source: Official World's Strongest Man website

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Notes and Highlights

The highlight of the day may have been courtesy of Novikov, who set the world record in the barbell competition:

He also dominated the deadlift with an astounding 15 reps:

Novikov took first in both those events, but Canada's Mitchell Hooper ruled the giant's medley by finishing in 21.96 seconds, or nearly three seconds faster than anyone else in the field.

Stoltman didn't win any events, but he finished solo second or tied for second in all three competitions, setting up a fantastic duel with Novikov on Sunday.