On June 17, 2022, the Giants Live organization revealed that Georgian strongman Konstantine Janashia would be withdrawing from the 2022 Strongman Classic.
Fresh off a top-five finish at the 2022 World’s Strongest Man (WSM), Canada’s Maxime Boudreault will take his place on the 12-person roster. That competition will occur on July 9, 2022, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
At the time of this writing, Giants Live hasn’t said why Janashia withdrew from the contest. Nor has he disclosed a reason on his public platforms either.
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With Janashia’s withdrawal and Boudreault’s addition, here is where the current full lineup for the 2022 Strongman Classic stands for early July in London:
2022 Strongman Classic Roster
- Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine) — Defending Champion
- Evan Singleton (United States) — 2021 second place
- Chieck “Iron Biby” Sanou (Burkina Faso) — 2021 third place
- Paul Smith (United Kingdom)
- Ken McClelland (United States)
- Maxime Boudreault (Canada)
- Rob Kearney (United States)
- Andy Black (United Kingdom)
- Mark Felix (United Kingdom)
- Spenser Remick (United States)
- Adam Bishop (United Kingdom)
- Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
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According to Strongman Archives, the 31-year-old Janashia has competed as a professional strongman in some capacity since September 2011. Some of the more notable highlights of his career include six Georgia’s Strongest Man (GSM) championships (2009-2014), a second-place finish to Hafthor Björnsson during the 2018 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM), and a fourth-place result at the 2016 WSM.
While this year’s Strongman Classic is out of the picture for him, Janashia is still currently slated to compete at the 2022 Shaw Classic. That contest will take place at the Budweiser Events Center on August 13-14, 2022, in Loveland, CO.
Boudreault At a Glance
Boudreault’s inclusion in the 2022 Strongman Classic comes on the heels of a few solid performances in recent years. The year 2021 was of particular note for the Canadian strongman.
That competitive season saw Boudreault notch a third-place podium finish at the WSM to Oleksii Novikov (second) and Tom Stoltman (first) in May 2021. Later, in November 2021, Boudreault won the inaugural Magnús Ver Magnússon Strongman Classic in various locales across Iceland. The latter was the first victory of the athlete’s professional career.
As far as what Boudreault can expect to face at the Strongman Classic, here is the complete list of events at the contest:
2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic Events
- Dumbbell Medley
- The Pillars of Hercules
- Farmer’s Carry for Distance
- Axle Deadlift
- Castle Stones
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The Castle Stones — a variation of the strongman staple Atlas Stones — might be where Boudreault stakes a claim on a potential overall victory. The Canadian athlete captured a second-place finish in the Atlas Stones event during the 2022 WSM Final by slotting five stones onto their respective podiums in 28.04 seconds.
The 2022 Strongman Classic will mark Boudreault’s first appearance at the event. Only time will tell in seeing how he fares in London on July 9.
Featured image: @konstantine_janashia on Instagram
