Although the biggest Strongman competitions of the year have already concluded, the season is still extremely active. With many competitions taking place around the globe, one stood out over the past weekend, as the most thrilling action took place in Europe. Specifically, the 2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia took place in the city of Zrenjanin on May 20th.
The Strongman Champions League (SCL) features a lot of incredible athletes, but the competition in Serbia stood out due to Gavin Bilton. Also known as “The Bull”, Gavin is known as a major Strongman figure, but this was the first International win in his career so far.
Gavin Bilton did not have an easy job in Serbia, as he had some fierce rivals chasing him from the start. However, two event wins out of five were enough to take the top spot, as his performance resulted in 56 points overall.
Fatih Karaca finished in second place, but he even had a realistic chance to win the competition. Going into the final event, Fatih was in the lead, as he had 0.5 points more than Gavin Bilton. However, a disappointing eight place finish in the final event ruined Fatih’s chances of winning the show.
2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia Leaderboards
- Gavin Bilton — 56 points
- Fatih Karaca — 52.5 points
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 49 points
- Andrea Invernizzi — 46 points
- Peter Juhasz — 44.5 points
- Evans Nana — 37 points
- Nemanja Tasic — 36 points
- Dado Stroil — 35.5 points
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 34.5 points
- Jonathan Cotton — 23 points
- Hristo Muskov — 20 points
- Andy Black — 5 points
- Ervin Toots — 1 point
Related: Gavin Bilton Victorious At 2021 UK’s Strongest Man, Lucy Underdown Sets New World Record
Event One — Truck Pull
The Truck Pull was a fantastic way to start off the 2023 SCL Serbia, as athletes raced to pull the 15,000-kilogram truck as fast as possible. The Turkish representative, Fatih Karaca, was the quickest man to cross the given 25-meter distance, having performed the task in just 30.46 seconds. However, in an extraordinary set of circumstances, Kelvin de Ruiter finished in second, just 0.01 seconds behind Fatih.
- Fatih Karaca — 30.46 seconds
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 30.47 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 35.35 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 36.37 seconds
- Dado Stroil — 36.4 seconds
- Evans Nana — 36.56 seconds
- Hristo Muskov — 39.18 seconds
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 39.25 seconds
- Andy Black — 39.3 seconds
- Jonathan Cotton — 47.39 seconds
- Peter Juhasz — 54.87 seconds (Tied-11th)
- Nemanja Tasic — 54.87 seconds (Tied-11th)
- Ervin Toots — 57.81 seconds
Event Two — Farmer’s Walk
The 2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia continued with the iconic Farmer’s Walk event. It tasked the participants with lifting and carrying 150-kilogram implements for a length of 50 meters.
Peter Juhasz of Hungary displayed the best combination of grip strength and quick feet, as he completed the course in just 23.69 seconds. Fatih Karaca further solidified his impressive start with a second place finish, which he earned by crossing 50 meters in 26.25 seconds. Kelvin de Ruiter finished just behind Fatih, with a time 0.59 seconds slower than his.
- Peter Juhasz — 23.69 seconds
- Fatih Karaca — 26.25 seconds
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 26.84 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 30.84 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 33.53 seconds
- Evans Nana — 34.63 seconds
- Hristo Muskov — 48.4 seconds
- Dado Stroil — 47.1 meters
- Jonathan Cotton — 46.3 meters
- Nemanja Tasic — 42 meters
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 25 meters
- Andy Black — Withdrew
- Ervin Toots — Withdrew
Event Three — Viking Press
The third event of the 2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia was a true test of shoulder and upper body strength. The event tasked the athletes with performing as many overhead press repetitions as possible with 160 kilograms and a 60-second time cap.
Gavin Bilton stood out as the greatest overhead presser on the roster, beasting through 13 reps without much struggle. He was followed by Andrea Invernizzi who had 12 reps, and Peter Juhasz who had 11.
- Gavin Bilton — 13 reps
- Andrea Invernizzi — 12 reps
- Peter Juhasz — 11 reps
- Fatih Karaca — 10 reps (Tied-fourth)
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 10 reps (Tied-fourth)
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 9 reps
- Evans Nana — 6 reps
- Nemanja Tasic — 5 reps (Tied-eighth)
- Dado Stroil — 5 reps (Tied-eighth)
- Jonathan Cotton — 4 reps
- Hristo Muskov — 0 reps
Event Four — Hercules Hold
The Hercules Hold is known for being a test of grip and determination, which is why it was picked for the 2023 SCL Serbia. The goal was to hold the two pillars for as long as possible.
Being the most experienced in the group with regards to this event, Gavin Bilton easily outperformed the remainder of the competitors. His final time came out to 36.62 seconds, which is 8.31 seconds more than his closest rival, Fatih Karaca. Representing the host country, Serbian Nemanja Tasic placed third with just 0.22 seconds less than Fatih.
- Gavin Bilton — 36.62 seconds
- Fatih Karaca — 28.31 seconds
- Nemanja Tasic — 28.09 seconds
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 26.18 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 25.28 seconds
- Dado Stroil — 22.09 seconds
- Peter Juhasz — 18.87 seconds
- Jonathan Cotton — 14.03 seconds
- Evans Nana — 10.58 seconds
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 3.73 seconds
- Hristo Muskov — 1.62 seconds
Event Five — Super Yoke
For the final event of the 2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia, the athletes had to perform a Super Yoke. However, while the concept looked as usual, people were used instead of weights. So, four people sat on each Super Yoke and athletes had to carry them for a distance of 25 meters.
Once again boosted by the home crowd, Nemanja Tasic sprinted his way towards an event victory, finishing the Super Yoke in just 16.25 seconds. Jarkko Mehtälä was the next fastest to finish with a time of 17.03 seconds, while Peter Juhasz rounded up the top three with 18.26 seconds.
- Nemanja Tasic — 16.25 seconds
- Jarkko Mehtälä — 17.03 seconds
- Peter Juhasz — 18.26 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 19.51 seconds
- Evans Nana — 19.68 seconds
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 19.98 seconds
- Dado Stroil — 23.66 seconds
- Fatih Karaca — 24.59 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 28.68 seconds
- Jonathan Cotton — 42.87 seconds
- Hristo Muskov — 52.35 seconds
Related: Mitchell Hooper Breaks Tom Platz’s 1992 Legendary Squat Record With 24 Reps of 525 Lbs
While Gavin Bilton is 34-years-old and already a popular Strongman athlete, he has only been competing for four years. Therefore, it is understandable that he just recently claimed his first international victory at the 2023 Strongman Champions League Serbia. If everything falls into place, this could set off a chain reaction of success, opening the doors to countless victories for Gavin in the years to come.