With each new power feat, Hooper demonstrates why he is such a robust pressure.
Within the present strongman pantheon, Canada’s Mitchell Hooper is definitely probably the most dominant. The athlete is the reigning World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion and has, at minimal, completed on the rostrum in 10 consecutive strongman competitions. (Be aware: He has solely competed in 11 skilled contests.) The celebrity is getting ready so as to add much more to his trophy case very quickly.
On July 12, 2023, Hooper appeared in a video on 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Laurence Shahlaei’s YouTube channel, the place he paperwork a part of his preparation for the 2023 Shaw Classic (SC). The competition takes place on August 19-20, 2023, in Loveland, CO. Shahlaei helps practice Hooper within the video, and the exercise has Hooper sharpening up his bench press, log lift, sandbag throw, and chest press. On the approximate 13:10 mark of the video beneath, Hooper efficiently locks out a 210-kilogram (463-pound), three-rep bench press for a brand new private report (PR).
There’s a fully bench press-centric occasion on the 2023 SC, making Hooper’s show of an upper-body milestone a wonderful signal for his possibilities within the competitors. Within the sole SC look of his profession in 2022, the strongman completed in third place to two-time defending champion Trey Mitchell (2021-2022) and the competition’s legendary eponymous competitor, Brian Shaw (second place).
Per Hooper, the bench press hasn’t normally been one among his strengths up to now.
“I’m most likely probably the most nervous about this one (the Bench Press occasion) on the Shaw Traditional,” Hooper defined. “I don’t suppose I’m a great bench presser. I believe a variety of my overhead power comes from my legs.”
Hooper had a three-contest profitable streak to start out the 2023 strongman season that was snapped with a third-place end result on the 2023 Giants Live Strongman Classic (GLSC). The athlete will undoubtedly be searching for an emphatic means of placing himself again into the winner’s column on the 2023 SC. A Hooper win would additionally notably preserve the long-lasting Shaw from a triumph in his last-ever strongman competition.
Hooper didn’t recognize falling brief on the 2023 GLSC:
“The longer the third place [at the 2023 GLSC] sits with me, the longer I [expletive] hate it,” Hooper mentioned. “Shedding actually doesn’t actually sit proper with me.”
Right here’s the roster of strongman opponents on the 2023 SC, together with Hooper:
2023 Shaw Traditional Roster
Of the general 2023 SC roster, Hooper figures to be one of many favorites alongside Mitchell and Shaw. Darkish horses would possibly embrace former two-time WSM champion Tom Stoltman and 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov.
It doesn’t matter what occurs on the 2023 SC, Hooper has firmly established himself as a family title in strongman. A part of what makes him so nice is that he’ll probably push full throttle for an additional victory no matter a well-earned popularity.
Featured picture: Huge Loz Official on YouTube
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