Hooper was understandably beaming at the end of the prestigious Strongman event, especially as he was presented with the winner’s trophy by Arnold Schwarzenegger as his family looked on proudly. The big man, who won the World’s Strongest Man in 2023, had to take some time off in 2025 due to nasty injuries, but has undoubtedly returned with a string of victories. In the end, the man from Midhurst, Ontario, crushed his goal in Columbus, albeit in a close-run game, after amassing 36 points, just enough to beat his closest rival, Austin Andrade, who scored 35.
Mitchell Hooper’s most impressive lifts at the 2026 Arnold Classic Strongman
The two-day competition kicked off on Friday, March 6 and saw some great performances from Hooper, who deadlifted the elephant bar for 981 pounds (445 kg) and also tied with Lucas Hatton in the Cyr Bell overhead press challenge, lifting a whopping 300 pounds (136 kg) to do so. Hooper, who eat 7,0000 calories a day to exercise for events like this, explained via YouTube that “This weekend pushed me to my limits in some brutal events against an incredible field, but the work paid off.”
Notable by their absence, however, were Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson and Tom Stoltman, who had withdrawn from the competition beforehand. There will undoubtedly be unfinished business to be taken care of when these competitors are reunited in the same tournament, perhaps at the 2026 World’s Strongest Man event. Still, it would be Mitchell Hooper’s night again at the Arnold, and with four consecutive Classic Strongman titles to his name, “The Moose” has proven he is the man to beat.
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