Excellent analysis. Summed it up nicely. I notice Jerry tends to bleed a lot from the nose/face when doing heavy deadlifts - heavy for me being around half [if that] of the 1,000+ pounds that is heavy for Jerry. Too bad about stones not being his strength, as I don't see strongmen so close to 40 improving considerably from that point on...maintaining their strength, sure. But making massive improvements, I think is unlike.
You're right about Mateusz not likely reaching his full potential. But for a kid who currently holds the single-armed dumbbell record of 330-lb and hit that record at age 25 [!], it's safe to say that Mateusz is one of the strongest human beings to have ever lived, even if he retired tomorrow, only months after turning 27 [and with a brand new baby son, maybe he will retire from the sport earlier than normal]. I think family life has affected Brian Shaw's performance too, along with natural aging.
With Mateusz, how many men in history can say they were stronger than him overall at their very strongest, from a strongman-events perspective? I would be shocked if even 10 men could legitimately claim that. Shoot, I'd be hard-pressed to list six.
There is also the difference between winning and Arnold Strongman Pro contest versus a World's Strongest Man contest - WSM has always been a bit more tilted towards cardio/stamina [in strongman terms] compared to the Arnold Pro, which is massively heavy weights for shorter distances. But for Novikov to hit a partial deadlift of 1,185-lb at this contest [!] goes to show that he will probably be a contender for the Arnold as well.
Martins Licis only just turned 30 in September, but he's still over half a decade older than Novikov...I wonder if it's possible that Novikov will burn out, being so strong so soon. I wondered the same thing about Eric Lilliebridge too, who was squatting over a grand at 24, and who has a powerlifting total of 2,458-lb [I think with belt and knee wraps only, and of course chalk...but don't quote me on that, as each organization is so different as far as rules go]. That's in the 308-lb class, and if that's not the all-time world record, it must be pretty darn close.
Rich Gaspari was definitely an example [bodybuilding-related] of a competitor who peaked at an extremely young age, and then even by 30 [if not 25-26] was already starting to decline.
The candle that shines twice as bright burns half as long, as they say!
Thanks for the updates...I'm still blown away by Novikov's dominant win here given his [1] age, [2] height/weight, and [3] the fact that it wasn't really even close. Impressive stuff. I had barely known about him prior to this contest. Shoot - five years ago the dude was still a teenager, lol.
Jon Pall Sigmarsson was another strongman who burned bright and fast. Dead at 33.
I love watching him in the old strongman replays.
