Oleksii Novikov Will Push By way of 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man, World’s Strongest Man Regardless of Damage

Novikov will not let a small tear derail his ambitions for 2023.

Written by Robert Zeglinski Final up to date on March 22, 2023

Oleksii Novikov is one in all strongman’s largest names and somebody many had an eye fixed on getting into the meat of the 2023 aggressive season. Given latest developments, it appears just like the Ukrainian famous person should take care of a minor bout of adversity to reside as much as astronomical expectations.

Throughout a Mar. 18, 2023, YouTube video, Novikov revealed he suffered “a small tear” in his lat muscle throughout a training session in preparation for the upcoming 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) and World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contests. Novikov didn’t disclose exactly when the harm occurred or its actual diploma, however characterised it as a minor ailment suffered in some unspecified time in the future throughout a sandbag-focused exercise.

He’ll proceed along with his plans to compete within the 2023 ESM on Apr. 1 in Leeds, England, and the 2023 WSM on Apr. 19-23, 2023, in Myrtle Seaside, SC. Novikov is the defending ESM champion and the winner of the 2020 WSM.

Regardless of his harm, Novikov made it seem to be it wasn’t a lot of a hindrance. The video of his reveal featured the strongman powering by means of numerous upper-body centric actions together with a standing log press, an incline press with the identical log implement, and even the famed Fingal’s Fingers: a staple occasion at many strongman contests.

On the similar time, a cautious Novikov maintained he wasn’t making an attempt to “activate” his lat muscles as a lot as he usually would. Novikov’s resolve to defend his ESM title and vie for a second profession WSM championship may be admirable, however the harm may put a hitch into his plans. If the strongman is something lower than 100% at both competitors — once more, the precise timeline and nature of his harm and ensuing restoration course of are unknown on the time of this writing — it may doubtlessly influence each respective podiums.

Right here is the roster for the 2023 ESM on the time of this text’s publication:

2023 Europe’s Strongest Man Roster

Right here is the 2023 WSM roster:

Based on Strongman Archives, Novikov recorded a podium end in seven of eight aggressive strongman appearances in 2022. Along with his ESM victory, the athlete was triumphant within the 2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic and the 2022 Strongman Rogue Invitational. Novikov completed in third place behind Martins Licis (second) and two-time reigning champion Tom Stoltman on the 2022 WSM.