Chuck Vinci, the last American weightlifter to win an Olympic gold medal until Tara Nott did it in Sydney, will be presenting awards at the Arnold Classic next month. Vinci is a member of the very elite club of weightlifters who have won two Olympic gold medals (1956 and 1960), and was known for his very impressive physique as well as for his fabulous lifting. Hosted by the Columbus (Ohio) Weightlifting Club, this is the first time weightlifting will be featured at the Arnold Classic, and it promises to be a great event.

The First Annual Arnold Olympic Weightlifting Championships will be held at the Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center on February 28th and March 1st. The meet directors, Mark Cannella and Megan Tornstrom, will kick things off on February 28th with a Men's and Women's National-Caliber Invitational, which includes fifty top American lifters from around the country. The next day is packed with events, including The USA Team Challenge, featuring US Olympic hopefuls, a special club East Coast Versus West Coast Championship, an awards ceremony for the 1980 US Olympic Weightlifting Team, and some very special photo opportunities. Full details are available at: www.columbusweightlifting.com .

Douglas Edmunds, Ph.D. announced that IFSA would begin a drug testing program this year to help safeguard the health of its strongman competitors. Edmunds explained that the IFSA drug testing program would use a two-pronged approach, which would require strongman competitors to have a thorough annual physical and that the new IFSA athlete contract, in addition to requiring athlete loyalty, would encompass the athlete's responsibilities in terms of health and safety, as well as his or her acceptance of the IFSA drug testing program once implemented. Edmunds said that the physical would be required starting in April and that IOC accredited laboratories would be used for the drug testing program.

Mariusz Pudzianowski, 2002 World's Strongest Man winner, won the IFSA Hawaiian Grand Prix today. Pudzianowski finished with 68 points, followed by Raimunds Bergmanis with 66-1/2 points. Zydrunas Savickas was third with 62-1/2 points, followed by Hugo Girard at 60-1/2 points. Girard started the day with a new world record in the IronMind Apollon's Axle, lifting 385 pounds from the ground to arm's length overhead. This was also the first event in the 2003 IFSA Super Series, which will determine the overall 2003 IFSA world champion.

Hugo Girard (Canada) wasted no time establishing himself in yesterday's IFSA Hawaiian Grand Prix, establishing a world record in the first event. This was the final contest in the 2002 IFSA Super Series and the events were very heavy. Things kicked off with a Farmer's Walk using 385-pound cylinders in each hand. Girard smoked the 25-meter course in 21.39 seconds, which IFSA head Douglas Edmunds, Ph.D. subsequently declared, "an inaugural IFSA world record," for this weight, over this distance, and with no drops. Just how fast was Hugo? Second place in the event went to Jaroslav Dymek (Poland), who covered the course in 50.57 seconds.

Hugo Girard of Canada won the IFSA Hawaiian Grand Prix today in decisive style. The Hawaiian Grand Prix win also made Girard the IFSA 2002 Super Series world champion. Final points for the top five places in the Hawaiian Grand Prix were: Girard 74-1/2, Savickas 69, Pudzianowski 65, Bergmanis 61, Karlsen 57. Top three places for the IFSA 2002 Super Series were: Girard 17, Karlsen 13, Savickas 9.

The weightlifters scheduled to compete in the Titan Games have just been announced, as top American lifters compete against an international field in an exciting multi-sport event. Jody Wilhite, Carissa Gordon, Danica Rue, Cheryl Haworth, Oscar Chaplin III, Robert Murphy, Pete Kelley and Shane Hamman will represent the US. International lifters scheduled to compete are: Julio Luna (Venezuela); Carmenza Delgado and Eryln Mena (Columbia); Boris Burov and Alexandra Escobar (Ecuador); Ernesto Quiroga Aldama (Cuba); Aniko Ajkai, Sandor Dioszegi, Henrietta Raki, Gyorgy Ehrlich, Serenc Gyurkovics, Viktoria Varga and Viktor Vatai from Hungary. The Titan Games, which are hosted by the US Olympic Committee, will feature boxing, fencing, judo, karate, the shot put, taekwondo and wrestling, as well as weightlifting, and will be held in the Event Center at San Jose State University, in San Jose, California, February 13th though the 15th, with weightlifting on the 14th and the 15th. Four events will run simultaneously, so there should be no dull moments at the first ever Titan Games.

Artie Drechsler, president of the Association of the Oldtime Barbell and Strongmen, has announced plans for this year's AOBS dinner, so mark your calenders now. "We intend to go forward and hold the 20th Dinner that Vic had already begun to plan for," Drechsler said, "and to carry on his newsletter. The dinner will be held on June 28th, at the Marriot Hotel in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, the site of the past two dinners." Drechsler added, "It is a given that our honoree will be Vic Boff. We will use this dinner to remember his accomplishments, as well as the history of the organization. But because carrying on was so important to Vic, we will do that in the way he intended for the glorious 20th Dinner."

Rather than changing from the IronMind Apollon's Axle to a conventional bar to make the event less grip oriented, the grip is being changed from a double overhand to a conventional deadlift grip. In keeping with making this a test of overall strength, the weight was also changed from 450 pounds to 600 pounds. The official rules for the Mondo Dead Lift with the IronMind Apollon Axle state: "Athletes will lift a 600+ pound axle with fixed wheels from the ground in a conventional dead lift style for as many repetitions as possible in 90 seconds. Athlete must wait for referee's down signal before dropping the axle back to the ground under control. Each lift must be from dead stop, no bouncing allowed. If an athlete fails to complete ONE rep, he may ask for time-out (30 seconds), and then use his remaining time to do as many reps as possible on a lighter axle (500lb). ALTERNATIVELY, an athlete may go directly to the lighter axle and do as many repetitions as possible on it. One rep on the Heavy Axle outscores any number of reps on the Lighter Axle. Athlete with the most complete repetitions on the Heavy Axle wins. No grip aids other than chalk (magnesium) allowed. Belt, knee wraps and single ply lifting suit allowed."

An event change has just been announced for the IFSA Hawaiian Gran Prix, to be held January 19th in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Mondo deadlift for reps will now use a conventional bar, instead of an IronMind Apollon's Axle, in order to make it less of a grip-oriented event and more of an overall test of strength. The IronMind Apollon's Axle, which is two-inches in diameter, is being used for the overhead lift which kicks off the Hawaiian Gran Prix, so an athlete's ability to hang onto the bar is already required for success in that lift.

Live in Northern California or Southern Oregon and want to learn the basics for coaching the snatch and the clean and jerk? Take the USAW Club Coach course being offered February 8th and 9th at Humboldt State University. Humboldt State University strength coach Drew Petersen and Team Sacramento head coach Bill Kutzer are putting on this weekend course, which will give you a great chance to learn the basics. For more information and to sign up, please email Bill Kutzer at kutzerb@csus.edu and take advantage of this opportunity to learn the essentials for coaching the classic lifts.