Krzysztof Radzikowski Claims SCL Crown

With the holidays just around the corner, ten athletes left their homes with snow and cold, winter winds to converge upon Antalya/Kemer, Turkey where warmer temperatures and ocean side views awaited them. The time had come for the final stage of the MHP Strongman Champions League and the crowning of the world champion to close out the 2015 season.After 15 brutal competitions world-wide, Radzikowski had a comfortable lead of 29 points. He had his sights set on his second SCL Championship. Danis Zagaris, however, planned to make him fight for it. With the final worth double points, anything could happen. The competition started on Saturday with two events, the front hold and 95 kg dumbbell for reps. With a competition debuting for the first time in Turkey, the crowd was motivated and excited to see these giants at work. Bjorn Solvang took an impressive first place with 51.17 seconds. Alex Moonen took second with 48.53 sec and Krzysztof Radzikowski had 47.64 seconds.

The second event was the 95 kg dumbbell for reps. True to form, Matjaz Belsak came in first with an impressive 10 reps. Radzikowski took second with nine reps and JF Caron and Marius Lalas tied for third with 8 reps.There were a few surprises after day one with Radzikowski holding a slight lead over Alex Moonen. Moonen was performing well while Danis Zagaris and JF Caron were down in the pack holding the 6th and 7th place positions.

Day two began with sunny skies, warm temperatures and a truck pull on the agenda. Some may recall last year’s dramatic bus pull in Malaysia where the 2014 World Champion, Martin Wildauer, snapped his Achilles, but still went on to win the overall championship. Fortunately, this year was smooth sailing. Krzysztof took first with a fast 25.26 sec with Matjaz Belsak finishing a little over a second later with 26.62 sec. and JF Caron making some waves with 27.23 sec.

The fourth event was the shot put with a 14.5 kg ball. This was a completely new event for most athletes. Many had no idea how well they would perform with this discipline. The SCL had this event two years ago in SCL Portugal where Vytautas Lalas was the winner. The weight is double the size of a normal shot put which is 7.26 kg.

“The shot put was 100% different than what we train,” stated Radzikowski. At the highest level of the strongman sport athletes have analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors. With a new event Krzysztof explained,” We don’t know who’s good or who will win.”
But Krzysztof won this event in a new world record with 8.62 meters, just ahead of Dainis with JF Caron placing third. Well done by Krzysztof who set another world record this year. Despite a chest injury on the bus pull, Stojan Tordochev continued to fight performing the shot put with his left hand.

The final event that would determine the new world champion was a loading race on the beach with two 120kg sacks and a 130kg natural stone. Due to Stojan’s injury, he could not complete the loading race, leaving Adin Arnaut to complete the tough course on his own. After he completed it was head to head battles. The excitement was building and it was an all out battle. Danis edged out Alex Moonen in their heat leaving Matjaz Belsak and Krzysztof Radzikowski in the last heat. It was a tough matchup with both athletes struggling with the stone. Surprisingly Belsak had to face the consequences of some errors costing him a podium place. The final results of this event left JF Caron in first with 21.76 seconds, Danis Zagaris in second with 24.87 and Marius Lalas in third with 30.08 seconds.

As the sun began to set behind the mountains, we had a world champion before us. Krzysztof Radzikowski won both the 15th stage in Antalya and became the 2015 World Champion.

The Antalya stage ended with Krzysztof taking first, Danis Zagaris in second, and an impressive performance by Alex Moonen to take third.The final world championship overall placing 2015 was:

1. Krzysztof Radzikowski
2. Dainis Zagaris
3. JF Caron

Dainis Zagaris had the only chance to catch Radzikowski and become world champion. When asked if he was disappointed with the result, he shrugged and said, “I’m happy because I was disappointed after the first day.” And with a huge laugh he pointed at Krzysztof and continued, “and this a**hole is strong.” With a huge laugh between them, this was the perfect example of camaraderie of competition in the strongman sport.

Krzysztof was thrilled to be the World Champion for the second time. His last win was in 2013 and he placed 2nd last year after battling injuries. Even in this year’s finals he competed injured. After tearing his bicep in SCL Romania, he continued to compete and has surgery scheduled later this week.

“I will have surgery on my bicep this Thursday,” he stated. He described how his doctors are using a new technique to provide fast recovery and he expects to be back to normal training again in three to four weeks. Radzikowski has no plans to slow down with SCL Norway in January and World’s Strongest Man on the horizon. He also has some plans to compete in powerlifting competitions this year. Of course, he plans to retain his SCL title for 2016 too.

In the beautiful resort town of Kemer, Turkey, the mayor of the town, Mr. Musatf Gul, and Mr. Alper Kam, from Armas hotels, welcomed these ten strongest men with open arms and warm hospitality. After 15 stages and a season that started back in January, so came the close of the 2015 season with a picturesque setting of mountains on one side and beaches on the other. The teasing, the laughs and the good times were done for the year. As the athletes headed home, it was well wishes and holiday greetings. “See you next year.”

Marcel Mostert, SCL director, was thrilled with the outcome of the finals. “We only have a short break with SCL Norway / World Strongest Viking taking place at the end of January 2016. Stay tuned, 2016 is preparing to be another impressive season of strongman with the biggest league in the world.”

SCL TURKEY Final Results:

1. Krzysztof Radzikowski 42 pts
2. Dainis Zagaris 35.5 pts
3. Alex Moonen 34 pts
4. JF Caron 33.5 pts
5. Matjaz Belsak 32 pts
6. Marius Lalas 30.5 pts
7. Bjorn Solvang 23.5 pts
8. Andreas Altmann 21 pts
9. Adin Arnaut 10.5 pts
10. Stojan Todorchev 10 pts

by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. | ©2015 IronMind