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

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 certainly one of strongman’s largest names and somebody many had a watch on getting into the meat of the 2023 aggressive season. Given latest developments, it seems to be just like the Ukrainian celebrity should cope with a minor bout of adversity to stay 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 sooner or later 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 via 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 identical time, a cautious Novikov maintained he wasn’t attempting 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 is likely to 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 probably 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:

In response to 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.