Rogue Invitational 2026 - Post-Event Thoughts
First off, I am extremely thankful for the quality stream that Rogue puts on for this event. By the time I had finished work on Friday, there were already individual videos on YouTube for each event, so I was able to catch up as quickly as I could and with minimal hassle. I didn't even have to dig through the full day stream.
Strongman
My initial pre-event thoughts had some hits and misses. Martins Licis, while nowhere near his prime, looked far better than I expected. Tom Stoltman didn't even show up — and I mean literally, not figuratively. I must have missed news of his withdrawal from the event.
Mitch Hooper looked good, but far from dominant on the first day. He's not known as the best deadlifter, but he looked like he was straining in the first event. The absence of his trademarked speed on the yoke was a sign something was amiss, and his log pressing form was genuinely awful. He did eventually complete the grip medley, but his pace was slow enough to cost him significant points. I said he'd either dominate or withdraw with an injury and I think he met me in the middle — I have to assume his back injuries are still a big impediment. ("But he had stem cells!" you might say, and you'd be a mark for completely unproven medical science performed by sketchy clinics.)
Trey Mitchell is a guy I always tend to overlook. I feel like he's sort of cursed, as he'll have one bad event in an otherwise stellar showing and all I will remember is "grip issues" or something like that — completely eliding the fact he's one of the best overhead pressers on the planet. Despite this, I am always happy to see him do well; if anyone deserves a major competition win like the Rogue Invitational or the Arnold, it's Trey Mitchell. I'm always a sucker for a story like this.
Thomas Evans is a newer competitor who keeps impressing me. His only glaring issue seems to be conditioning; he passed out on the Conan's wheel (which is more common than you may think) and was brutally winded in the grip medley. That said, his raw, static strength is off the charts. Strict pressing a 363 pound log is hard to believe, even when you see someone actually doing it — and multiple times in a row!
Ondrej Fojtu and Rayno Nel were both very impressive. I've seen very little of the former and the latter's best showings have been at World's Strongest Man, which renders them almost completely inaccessible. For two guys who don't have the cartoonish physiques I tend to associate with strongman, these men are unbelievably strong. I have seen a lot of criticism of Nel, that WSM is a "faster" event and that he's "not that strong," both of which are ludicrous assertions — even moreso after this performance. At 24 years old, Fojtu's potential is practically limitless, I wrote him off in a shameful number of events and happily ate my words.
Strongwoman
The women's side went mostly how I expected, with Innez Carrasquillo asserting her dominance after a rough showing in the first event, the deadlift ladder. After that she put up an absurd 24 reps on the viking press and won 4 consecutive events to establish a comfortable lead. The yoke into log event was won in similarly dominating fashion. I wouldn't say it was an upset that she lost, as it was by a margin on 9 seconds lifting a 300 pound stone. It was still an amazing showing and Inez still remains a heavy favourite to win any show she enters.
Congratulations to Angelica Jardine on winning the show. Strongman / strongwoman rewards a variety of athletes, it's not just about raw, brute strength and size. Jardine's also a lot more nimble than you'd expect, given her size and this showed with her consistent placing near the top in each event — capped off with a dominant win in the final stone loading. Her battle with Carrasquillo was so fun to watch; there was a single point between 1st and 2nd place and then 10 points between 2nd and 3rd.
Seeing as the deadlift is my favourite event in any strength sport, I've got a huge soft spot for Lucy Underdown. She absolutely crushed the deadlift ladder, putting in 10 reps at 540 pounds on the heaviest bar. She's also come a long way from just being a deadlift specialist, making considerable improvements to her overhead pressing — which tends to be a weakness of long-limbed lifters like Lucy. As long as she keeps improving at this rate, Underdown is going to be a threat to win any event she enters. Taking 3rd place at the Rogue is no small feat.
Andrea Thompson made a much better showing than I expected, perhaps I read too much into the injuries she had recently recovered from. Two-day events with this kind of weight are gruelling but Thompson remained competitive throughout despite being the oldest athlete in the lineup.
Katie Blunden showed a lot of heart while also illustrating the gap between winning something like the Arnold Classic pro / amateur event and the top of the pro circuit. I'm sure she'll benefit from the experience and make a better showing next year. You can tell the potential is there, it's just a matter of accumulating more experience and training time.
Jackie Oszevsky and Jennifer Lyle did well, with the latter really improving over time. Honestly, everyone was fun to watch and I'm encouraged by the strongwomen every time I watch them compete.
PUBLISHED: 2026-10-23