Oleksii Novikov (Ukrainian: Олексій Новіков, born 11 February 1996) is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian to win the title since Vasyl Virastyuk in 2004, and at 24 years, 278 days, he is also the second youngest winner in history, being only seven days elder than Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984. He is also a two time World's Ultimate Strongman (2021 in Bahrain and 2021 in Dubai), the 2022 Rogue Invitational champion, and the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.

Oleksii Novikov
2020 World's Strongest Man win
Personal information
Born (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 28)
Kyiv, Ukraine
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight132–139 kg (291–306 lb)[1]
Sport
SportStrongman
Medal record
Strongman
Representing  Ukraine
World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2019 World's Strongest Man
1st 2020 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2021 World's Strongest Man
3rd 2022 World's Strongest Man
3rd 2023 World's Strongest Man
Arnold Strongman Classic
7th 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic
5th 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic
2nd 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic
6th 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic
Europe's Strongest Man
2nd 2021 Europe's Strongest Man
1st 2022 Europe's Strongest Man
2nd 2023 Europe's Strongest Man
3rd 2024 Europe's Strongest Man
Rogue Invitational
3rd 2021 Rogue Invitational
1st 2022 Rogue Invitational
9th 2023 Rogue Invitational
Shaw Classic
3rd 2020 Shaw Classic
4th 2022 Shaw Classic
10th 2023 Strongest Man on Earth
16th 2024 Strongest Man on Earth
World's Ultimate Strongman
6th 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman
1st 2021 Bahrain
1st 2021 Dubai
Giants Live
3rd 2019 World Tour Finals
1st 2021 Strongman Classic
3rd 2021 World Open
2nd 2021 Arnold UK
1st 2022 Strongman Classic
3rd 2022 World Open
11th 2023 World Open
6th 2024 Strongman Classic
6th 2024 World Open
7th 2024 US Strongman Championship
Arnold Pro Strongman World Series
8th 2018 Africa
1st 2019 South America
1st 2019 Africa
2nd 2019 Europe
11th 2020 USA
2nd 2022 UK
Ukraine's Strongest Man
1st 2016
1st 2017
1st 2018
1st 2019
2nd 2020
1st 2024

Novikov is the current world record holder of the hummer tyre deadlift, the Flintstone press, wrecking ball hold and the one arm giant dumbbell press for reps in 3 weight categories: 100 kg (220 lb), 110 kg (242 lb) and 125 kg (275 lb).

Biography

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He was born and raised in Kyiv. He was a student of the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics (KNUTE) as of 2020.[2]

Career

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2016–2019

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Novikov won Ukraine's Strongest Man every year from 2016 to 2019.

In 2018, he had his first breakthrough performance, winning the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships. Through this, he qualified for the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic, where he placed 7th overall.

In April 2019, he won the Arnold Strongman Classic South America, qualifying for the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic. He beat Mateusz Kieliszkowski by 0.5 points, making it one of the tightest finishes in a strongman competition since the 2014 World's Strongest Man, where Zydrunas Savickas beat Hafthor Bjornsson by the same amount. In May, Novikov won the Arnold Strongman Classic Africa.

In June, Novikov competed at his first World's Strongest Man contest. In the heats, 4-times World's Strongest Man Brian Shaw won his group. Novikov was in second place, ahead of Trey Mitchell by 7 points. Novikov and Mitchell faced each other in the stone-off, where Mitchell would beat Novikov for a place in the finals.

In September, Novikov competed in the Arnold Strongman Classic Europe, placing 2nd, and in October he competed at World's Ultimate Strongman, placing 6th.

2020-2022

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In March, Novikov competed at the Arnold Strongman Classic, placing 5th, an improvement on 7th the year prior.

In May, Novikov took part in the first season of the World's Ultimate Strongman Feats of Strength series to set a world record for the Giant Dumbbell for Reps (100 KG). Novikov set the world record at 11 repetitions.[3]

In November, with the absence of perennial favorite Mateusz Kieliszkowski and defending champion Martins Licis, who did not compete due to injury, Novikov won his first World's Strongest Man title, becoming the second youngest man to win the competition at just 24 years 278 days of age, after Jón Páll Sigmarsson won at 24 years 271 days of age in 1984.[4][5][6] In the Max 18-inch Deadlift event, Novikov set a new world record by lifting 537.5 kg (1,185 lb).[7]

In December, Novikov participated in the first ever annual Shaw Classic, placing 3rd overall.

Novikov won both World's Ultimate Strongman shows that occurred in 2021: the first in Bahrain in March, and the second in Dubai in September. In July, Novikov won the Giants Live Strongman Classic in Royal Albert Hall, London. However, at the 2021 World's Strongest Man, he finished fourth in his heat, failing to qualify for the final. In doing so, he became the first World's Strongest Man reigning champion to compete at the following year's event and fail to qualify for the final since Magnús Ver Magnússon in 1997, nearly a quarter of a century prior. In October, Novikov placed 3rd at the first Rogue Invitational strongman competition.

In March, Novikov placed second at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic.[8] He later won Europe’s Strongest Man 2022, despite having limited training accessibility due to partaking in the draft for Ukraine. [9]

In June, he placed 3rd at World's Strongest Man,[10] despite winning 3 of 6 events in the final. In July, Novikov defended his Giants Live Strongman Classic[11] championship in Royal Albert Hall, London, winning 3 of 5 events. In August, Novikov would place 3rd at the Giants Live World Open, behind Mitchell Hooper and fellow Ukrainian Pavlo Nakonechnyy.

In August, he placed 4th at the 2022 Shaw Classic, breaking two world records on the first day, with a 1210lb hummer tire max deadlift followed by 8 reps on the 110kg circus dumbbell.

In October, at the Rogue Invitational, Novikov won the Cyr Dumbbell Ladder,[12] and was consistent in the other 5 events to win the competition with one of the biggest prize purses in strongman history.[13]

2023-2024

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In April, he placed 2nd at Europe's and placed 3rd at World's Strongest Man for the 2nd time in a row. This was his third podium at World's Strongest Man, the most for a Ukrainian. Novikov dealt with injuries the rest of the year, finishing 10th at the Strongest Man on Earth and 9th at Rogue Invitational.

In March 2024, Novikov returned to strongman and placed 6th at the Arnold Strongman Classic. He then placed 3rd at Europe's Strongest Man. He missed World's Strongest Man in May due to injury. During the summer he placed 6th at two Giants Live shows and 16th at the Strongest Man on Earth.

Personal records

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Competitive record

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Winning percentage: 24.44%
Podium percentage: 64.44%

1st 2nd 3rd Podium 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 16th Total
International competitions 11 8 10 29 3 1 7 2 1 1 1 2 1 45

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Oleksii Novikov". World's Strongest Man. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Студент КНТЕУ Олексій Новіков переміг на міжнародному фестивалі стронгменів у США «Arnold sports Festival-2018»
  3. ^ a b Blechman, Phil (June 1, 2020). "Strongman Alexey Novikov Sets World Record In Giant Dumbbell For Reps". BarBend. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Gutman, Andrew (November 15, 2020). "Novikov Secures 2020 World's Strongest Man Victory". BarBend. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Schad, Tom. "Ukraine's Alexey Novikov wins 2020 World's Strongest Man after 1,185-pound partial deadlift". USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Strongman Archives - Records: Youngest WSM Winner". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  7. ^ Blechman, Phil (November 15, 2020). "Alexey Novikov Leads 2020 World's Strongest Man Finals After Day One". BarBend. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Martins Licis Wins the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic". BarBend. 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  9. ^ Blechman, Phil (2022-04-04). "Strongman Oleksii Novikov Shares Ukrainian Military Training Footage". BarBend. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  10. ^ Gutman, Andrew (2022-05-29). "2022 World's Strongest Man Results and Leaderboard". BarBend. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  11. ^ Lockridge, Roger (2022-07-10). "Oleksii Novikov Wins 2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic". BarBend. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  12. ^ Lockridge, Roger (October 29, 2022). "2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman Event 2 — Cyr Dumbbell Ladder Results & Recap". BarBend.
  13. ^ Gutman, Andrew (October 29, 2022). "Oleksii Novikov Wins The 2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman Competition". BarBend.
  14. ^ "2021 World Deadlift Championships". strongmanarchives. 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  15. ^ "2021 Rogue Invitational". YouTube. March 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2021. See from 16:21 to 17:50
  16. ^ "2022 Shaw Classic". YouTube. August 13, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Возвращаемся к тренировкам послеpow, retrieved 2023-11-24
  18. ^ "Arnold Strongman Classic 2022 Squat Event All Lifts". YouTube. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Strongman Archives - 2020 Shaw Classic". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  20. ^ "2021 World's Ultimate Strongman Dubai". strongmanarchives. 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  21. ^ "2021 World's Ultimate Strongman Dubai". barbend. 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  22. ^ "2021 Giants Live Strong Man Classic". Strongman Archives. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Arnold Classic Strongman Africa 2019 Full Events - Mateusz Kieliszkowski". YouTube. June 4, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2021. See from 1:04:42 to 1:06:15
  24. ^ "Instagram: "My new personal best, bench press 225 2reps"". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
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