Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov Wins 2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman Title

The 2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman is being held from October 28 -30 at the Dell Diamond Stadium in Greater Austin, Texas. Ten of the strongest men in the world went head-to-head in six grueling tests of strength, endurance and speed, where Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov emerged the winner.

Day One of the 2022 Rogue Invitational saw Novikov take a 1.5-point lead over home-crowd favorite Trey "Big Tex" Mitchell. The second and final day of the competition saw the athletes battle it out in three events - the Rogue-A-Coaster Pull, Yoke Carry and Overhead Log Lift Medley and Stones Over Hitching Post.

Novikov emerged the Rogue Invitational Strongman winner, putting up a consistent performance across all three events on the second day to maintain his narrow lead over Mitchell.

Two-time Shaw Classic winner Mitchell solidified his reputation as one of the most exciting prospects in strongman with a second-place finish at the Rogue Invitational, finishing only 1.5 points behind the leader.

2022 Arnold Classic Strongman and Giants Live World Tour Finals winner Mitchell "The Moose" Hooper took third place, winning the Yoke Medley and coming second at the stones. Lying in fifth place at the end of the first day, Mitchell showed determination and courage, pushing past Martins Licis and Pavlo Nakonechnyy, who finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The fourth-place finish will come as a huge disappointment to 2021 Rogue Invitational winner Martins Licis, who was injured and made a few technical errors during the competition.

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2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman - Final Standings

• Oleksii Novikov - 49.5 points - Winner
• Trey Mitchell - 48 points - 2nd place
• Mitchell Hooper - 43.5 points - 3rd place
• Martins Licis - 37.5 points
• Pavlo Nakonechnyy - 35 points
• Bobby Thompson - 27.5 points
• Maxime Boudreault - 27 points
• Rob Kearney - 25 points
• Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted - 22.5 points
• Kevin Faires - 14.5 points

2022 Rogue Invitational Strongman Day 2 Results - Complete Breakdown

Event Four - Rogue-A-Coaster Pull

• Martins Licis — 33.44 s — Winner
• Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 37.69 s
• Oleksii Novikov — 38.35 s
• Trey Mitchell — 40.25 s
• Mitchell Hooper — 0:42.53 s
• Bobby Thompson — 1:02.62 s
• Maxime Boudreault — 1:09.69 s
• Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 1:27.62 s
• Kevin Faires — 43-foot 3-inches
• Rob Kearney — 25-foot 7-inches

The Rogue-A-Coaster was yet another architectural marvel built by the 2022 Rogue Invitational organizers. The event replaced the famous "Wheel of Pain" from last year.

It was the ultimate test of grip, stamina, and back and leg strength. In 90 seconds, the strongmen had to haul a cart loaded with sandbags up a 54" incline, using an arm-over-arm motion.

Martins Licis put on an amazing show, clearing the course in 33.44 seconds and taking top place. Nakonechnny and Novikov trailed him closely, finishing the course in 37.69 seconds and 38.35 seconds respectively.

Trey Mitchell and Mitchell Hooper finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Kevin Faires and Icelandic strongman Eythor Melsted struggled to finish the course in the allotted time, running out of grip strength and stamina.

Event Five - Yoke Carry and Overhead Log Lift Medley

• Mitchell Hooper — 32.69 s— Winner
• Maxime Boudreault — 46.93 s
• Bobby Thompson — 54.09 s
• Oleksii Novikov — 59.86 s
• Trey Mitchell — 1:08.49
• Rob Kearney — 1:20.64
• Martins Licis — 3 in 44.68 s
• Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted — 3 in 116.66 s
• Kevin Faires — 2 in 39.71 s
• Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 2 in 48.59 s

In a repeat event from last year, the athletes had to carry to carry a 455 kg (1,000 lb) yoke over a 50 ft course. They then had to lift a 163 kg (360 lb) log overhead for three reps inside two and a half minutes.

Mitchell Hooper put on a stunning performance, finishing the course in 32.69 seconds. Reaffirming his position as a moving expert, he finished the Yoke Carry in around ten seconds. Moving straight into the overhead press, Hooper pressed out three quick reps without taking any time to reset between reps.

Fellow Canadian Maxime Boudreault took second place with a strong performance, while American log-lift record holder Bobby Thompson finished third.

DIsaster struck Pavlo Nakonechnyy, as he struggled with the 1000-lb yoke initially. After taking almost 30 seconds to get his hands on the log, he was too fatigued to perform all three reps.

Despite being hyped up and raring to go, Martins Licis had a bad Yoke run, probably due to the knee injuries he had in the past. Moving on to the overhead press, he appeared clearly fatigued, and possibly injured, managing only two successful lifts.

Oleksii Novikov and Trey Mitchell finished fourth and fifth respectively, going slow but steady, making sure no technical errors were made.

Event Six - Stones Over Hitching Post

• Trey Mitchell - 24.79 s - Winner
• Mitchell Hooper - 28.49 s
• Oleksii Novikov - 30.82 s
• Maxime Boudreault - 35.29 s
• Eythor Ingólfsson Melsted - 66.43 s
• Pavlo Nakonechnyy - 4 in 22.19 s
• Kevin Faires - 4 in 31.26 s
• Martins Licis - 3 in 13.67 s
• Rob Keaney - 3 in 15.43 s
• Bobby Thompson - 2 in 11.91 s

The Rogue Invitational followed strongman tradition, as the event ended with stones. Five Inver stones weighing 275 pounds, 300 pounds, 365 pounds, 400 pounds, and 420 pounds had to be lifted over a 50 inch high log in two minutes.

While Novikov kept a 3.5 point lead in the overall standings, Mitchell was in second place with 38 points. Licis and Hooper were tied for third place going into the final event.

Mitchell put up an incredible stone run, clearing all five stones in under 25 seconds. Hooper finished in second place, pushing past Licis in the final standings. Oleksii completed the course in 30.82 seconds to finish third. Having done enough to maintain his lead over Trey Mitchell, Oleksii took his third major event win of the year.

Licis, who won the event last year to win the Rogue Invitational, breezed past the first three stones. Going on to the fourth stone, he appeared to pull his pectoral muscles, grabbing at it and grimacing before calling it quits. The magnanimous strongman was applauded by the crowd, who stood up on their feet to express their appreciation.

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Oleksii Novikov Wins 2022 Rogue Invitational Title

With one victory in the Cyr Dumbbell ladder, two second-place finishes, two third-place finishes and one fourth-place finish, Oleksii Novikov proved once again that he's the best all-round athlete in strongman.

The Ukrainian has competed in eight international events this year and finished among top five in all of them. The Rogue Invitational is his third win of the year. He previously won the Giants Live Strongman Classic England and the Europe's Strongest Man.

Trey Mitchell, an athlete who prefers to keep to himself away from social media buzz and Instagram trends, proved that he's a potential candidate to win the 2023 World's Strongest Man competition.

Mitchell Hooper, a rookie strongman in only his first year as a professional, has shown that he's another name to look out for in the future. With two wins already, Hooper is mentored by strongman legend Laurence Shahlei.

Martins Licis, who has been plagued by injuries in the last two years, will need more time to recuperate and rehabilitate from his injuries. However, as he has had multiple injuries and nerve damage, strongman fans will appreciate his courage and determination to showcase an amazing performance.

The Rogue Invitational is live on the Rogue website or on their YouTube channel. Check out the links below to catch the events of the day.

Day 1 – Friday

Day 2 – Saturday

Day 3 – Sunday