Two Ties at the Top in First Ever Arnold UK
2021-10-03 by Éloi Fournier
After narrowly edging out Mateusz Kielizkowski in Dubai two weeks ago, Oleksii Novikov lost by the finest of margins at the inaugural Arnold Sports Festival UK.
Evan Singleton and Oleksii Novikov both finished on 42 points overall, but Singleton was given the win as he was the quickest on the Atlas Stones. The American did not win an event on Sunday, but he was in the top 4 in every discipline.
Novikov, meanwhile, won three individual events as he dominated the Frame Carry, the Deadlift and the Dumbbell Press, but he fell short on the Atlas Stones. The Ukrainian could not lift the second boulder in one fluid motion, which cost him valuable time. Novikov would have needed to be 0.95 seconds faster for the competition win.
Behind the leaders, Trey Mitchell and Jean-François Caron also tied, with 36.5 points each. Mitchell was credited with 3rd place because he was 1.19 seconds faster than Caron in the Atlas Stones. Mitchell, who won the Shaw Classic in August, has had a breakthrough year in 2021, while Caron has brilliantly recovered from the injury he sustained at World's Strongest Man.
55-year-old Mark Felix finished 5th after winning his signature event, the Hercules Hold. Behind him, Scotland's Andy Black took 6th after blitzing the Atlas Stones.
Three athletes dropped out injured: Pa O'Dwyer, Luke Stoltman and Tom Stoltman. All three of them will look to heal their wounds for the next Giants Live contest, Britain's Strongest Man, which takes place on October 23.