SCL Norway Lineup Announced
2021-07-09 by Éloi Fournier
After a 10-month hiatus, Strongman Champions League is ready to resume its activities. The SCL is going back to Fefor Høifjellshotell in Vinstra, Norway, to continue its 2020-2021 season.
Current SCL leader Sean O'Hagan will compete in the Norwegian stage, but his closest pursuer, Aivars Šmaukstelis, will take part in the Giants Live Strongman Classic instead. Other leading SCL contenders such as Ervin Toots, Kelvin de Ruiter and Dennis Kohlruss will look to challenge O'Hagan, who was the winner in Norway last year.
The host country will be well represented in this contest, but Norway's Strongest Man title winner Ole Martin Kristiansen will not be there. Instead, the men who finished second, third and fourth in the 2020 Norway's Strongest Man contest will compete. It will be an SCL debut for Henrik Hildeskor, who had stopped competing for multiple years before his impressive showing on the Norwegian scene in 2020. Stefan Sekej is used to international competitions, and he will look to improve on his best result, a 9th place finish in 2019 SCL Norway. Håkon Heitmann Kollerød will also get his first taste of the Strongman Champions League.
Veteran strongman Dainis Zageris will be a threat, as always. The Latvian has 12 SCL wins to his name over his career, and a victory in Norway would tie him for 3rd place in SCL victories with Ervin Katona. Zageris most recently won the 2020 SCL Finland competition ahead of Aivars Šmaukstelis and Ervin Toots.
The 2021 SCL Norway competition is the 4th stage of the 2020-2021 Strongman Champions League season. The SCL decided to hold one season over two years because of the many cancellations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine SCL competitions will be held this year, with the World Finals possibly taking place in late November.