At this moment in time, Tyler Scott Obringer remains a relative unknown in strength sports. He’s got a limited competitive history and hasn’t been someone to step into the limelight just yet. Though with potential rising stars (or blazing comets), it’s sometimes hard to predict when precisely they’ll streak across the sky. Judging by his latest earth-shattering display of power in the gym, it might be time to keep tabs on Obringer’s various exploits in the year 2023.
On Jan. 29, 2023, Obringer shared a video on his Instagram where he manages to successfully lock out a 192.8-kilogram (425-pound) Axle Press. The athlete’s loaded barbell featured the sizable Apollon Wheels — named after Louis Uni, a.k.a. “Apollon the Mighty,” a man who was famous across the world for his ridiculous strength in the late-1800s. Obringer wore a lifting belt, wrist wraps, and elbow sleeves, and he utilized a thumbless “suicide grip” to complete this huge lift.
Obringer’s lift is not a traditional strongman movement, as many contests would more likely implement an Axle Clean and Press rather than a one-rep Axle Press on its own. That said, the sizable weight Obringer presses overhead is within screaming distance of some of the largest in history.
According to Strength Results, Obringer’s 425-pound Axle Press would be logged as the 16th-heaviest of all time if he had first completed a clean with his bar. Current Axle Press World Record holder Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou has the top mark with a 217-kilogram (478.4-pound) press from the 2021 Giants Live Strongman Classic. Former 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Eddie Hall (216 kilograms/476.2 pounds) and four-time WSM winner (2009-2010, 2012, 2014) Žydrūnas Savickas (215 kilograms/474 pounds) round out the top three heaviest official Axle Clean & Presses in history, respectively.
Athletes who would notably be just ahead of Obringer include two-time WSM runner-up (2018-2019) Mateusz Kieliszkowski (195 kilograms/429.9 pounds) and 2020 WSM champion Martins Licis (195 kilograms/429.9 pounds), whose lifts place them as part of a five-way tie for eighth all-time.
Per Strongman Archives, Obringer has just one strongman contest to his name at this point in time, the 2022 Official Strongman Games, where he finished in 10th place. According to Open Powerlifting, the athlete has also competed as a powerlifter in the past, perhaps most notably winning the 2019 Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF) Slingshot Record Breakers in the 110-plus kilogram weight class with wraps.
A recent Instagram post alludes to Obringer trying his hand at a Giants Live competition in 2023, though it doesn’t appear he has qualified for one yet. Should the competitor find himself throwing around weights alongside some established elite strongman in an official capacity, it might not be hard to see him thrive.
Featured image: @tylerscottobringer on Instagram
