Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou Withdraws from 2023 World’s Strongest Man, Kristján Jón Haraldsson in as Substitute
Sanou stepped out of the competition earlier than taking part in even one occasion.
Earlier than the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) even started, Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou withdrew the primary morning of strongman’s largest competitors. On the time of this writing, there isn’t any official rationalization for the athlete’s early withdrawal. Iceland’s Kristján Jón Haraldsson changed Sanou on the 2023 WSM roster, although he was not beforehand counted as an official reserve in case of a competitor’s withdrawal or harm. It’s the reigning Iceland’s Strongest Man (ISM) champion’s debut within the WSM.
Although the 2023 WSM would’ve been his first look within the flagship strongman competitors, Sanou is just not new to the strongman scene. Sanou was the third-place finisher on the 2021 Giants Reside Strongman Traditional. Sanou has beforehand needed to withdraw from the 2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic (because of travel-related points).
The athlete from Burkina Faso has a well-established repute for being proficient in overhead lifts. Sanou possesses each the present Axle Press World Report of 217 kilograms (477.4 kilos) and the Log Lift World Report of 229 kilograms (504.8 kilos).
Sanou formally joins Ukraine’s Pavlo Nakonechnyy and Canada’s Maxime Boudreault on the record of 2023 WSM withdrawals within the early goings, with Sanou being the primary withdrawal as of the competition’s begin time. Boudreault withdrew due to a shin injury in February, which additionally knocked him out of the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC). In the meantime, Nakonechnyy probably bowed out due to issues from a deadlift-related ailment suffered during the 2023 (ASC) in March. The Ukrainian competitor didn’t take part within the early-April 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) due to stated harm, hoping to recuperate in time to compete on the WSM.
Listed here are the up to date Qualifying Spherical teams for the 2023 WSM:
2023 World’s Strongest Man Qualifying Spherical Teams
There are 5 teams of six athletes within the 2023 WSM, which shall be parsed all the way down to 10 rivals for the weekend’s Ultimate.
Group 1
- Konstantine Janashia
- Pavlo Kordiyaka
- Pa O’Dwyer
- Tom Stoltman
- Bobby Thompson
- Eddie Williams
Group 2
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson
- Gavin Bilton
- Fadi El Masri
- Thomas Evans
- Oleksii Novikov
- Luke Stoltman
Group 3
- Graham Hicks
- Mitchell Hooper
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski
- Mathew Ragg
- Spenser Remick
- Aivars Smaukstelis
Group 4
- Adam Bishop
- Kevin Faires
- Rauno Heinla
- Gabriel Rhéaume
- Jaco Schoonwinkel
- Brian Shaw
Group 5
- Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf
- Mark Felix
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted
- Trey Mitchell
- Evan Singleton
- Paul Smith
Haraldsson will take Sanou’s place in Group 2 of the Qualifying Spherical, becoming a member of former WSM champion (2020) Oleksii Novikov — the probably headliner of that blend.
At solely 24 years previous, Haraldsson may nonetheless be a relative unknown within the worldwide strongman scene. That’s not the case for the defending ISM champion in his native Iceland, who has began to dominate in varied home contests. In Haraldsson’s solely different worldwide strongman aggressive appearances, he completed in fourth place in the course of the 2021 Magnus Magnús Ver Magnússon Traditional (MVMC). He adopted that efficiency with an Eleventh-place end result on the 2022 MVMC.
The comparatively younger Icelandic athlete will undoubtedly look to enhance that rap sheet on the 2023 WSM. Placing himself on the map now may portend Haraldsson changing into the following potential nice Icelandic strongman, following within the footsteps of the legendary Magnús Ver Magnússon and Hafthor Björnsson.
Keep tuned to Breaking Muscle for live updates of the 2023 WSM leaderboard and every other breaking information that information in in the course of the large contest in Myrtle Seashore, SC.
Featured picture: @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram
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