Trying to get a prediction for upcoming Highland Game World Championships out of Jim "Big Chief" McGoldrick isn't a piece of cake, but one thing is certain, the Chief is expecting a huge performance from defending World Champion Ryan Vierra.


Ryan Vierra will be taking a shot at turning a big stick in downtown San Francisco tomorrow, as he gets ready to defend his Highland Games World Champion title this weekend in Pleasanton, California. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

"Ryan is always hard to beat if he's in decent shape," said McGoldrick. "He's hard to beat even if he's injured," he added.

McGoldrick, who retired as a five-time Highland Games World Champion, said that regardless of the final results, though, it's going to be a great weekend and he's looking forward to being there and seeing the action in person.

His toughness as a competitor will come in handy because Ryan Vierra is expected to be pushed hard in Pleasanton, California this weekend, as the Caledonian Club of San Francisco presents the 141st Scottish Highland Gathering at Games at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

Helping to spark interest in this huge event, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the Justin Herman Plaza at the foot of Market Street in downtown San Francisco, Ryan Vierra will attempt to turn a caber - something that "has not been attempted since the Caledonian Club of San Francisco's first gathering and games in 1867," said Floyd Busby.

Adding to the international field of this year's competition, Athletic Director Steve Conway said that the Ukraine's Kyrylo Chuprynin is due to arrive today, "after a long effort to get his visa." The six-foot three-inches tall 294-pound two-time Olympian in the discus is in his third year as a Highland Games competitor and whenever he shows up, look for dizzying throws in the standing weight over the bar.

As he is coming down the homestretch with his Jon Pall Sigmarsson movie, Hjalti Arnason described the situation as being "just like a Tom Cruise movie."


Turning his talents toward filmmaking, Hjalti Arnason already has a number of successes to his credit and his movie on Jon Pall Sigmarsson will premiere in Reykjavik next week. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

When he was a top powerlifter and strongman competitor, Hjalti Arnason's nickname was Ursus, and bears worldwide probably felt honored by the comparison. Now, Arnason has turned his attention to filmmaking and he has already won praise from an international director who passes out compliments about as often as snow falls in Doha.

Explaining that he is busy working on trailers and tending to other last minute details, Arnason said that he cannot walk around Reykjavik without being surrounded by people asking about the film. "It's just like a Tom Cruise move," Arnason said.

The premiere of the Jon Pall Sigmarsson film is in Reykjavik next week and it will be attended by the fortunate few who will be coming from as far away as the United Kingdom and the United States - the movie that Hjalti Arnason created on the life of Jon Pall Sigmarsson, the superstar strongman, is already proving to be magnetic.

Rumors are swirling about multiple positive drug tests emerging from the 2006 Europeans Weightlifting Championships, but at this point they are only rumors.

The IWF Secretariat told IronMind that there are pending cases, but because they are still in process, no statements can be made as this would be a violation of the testing protocol.

�s part of its anti-doping policy, the IWF makes public such information as suspended competitors, countries tested, lifters tested, and so forth, and once the required steps are taken for the cases in question, the IWF said, the relevant information will be presented.

Always one to understand the larger situation, Marc Huster told IronMind that while many people have urged him to return to competition, he has no plans for a comeback.


Flying Huster: The man who, explaining his soaring leaps, once told Randall Strossen, "Maybe I should have been a kangaroo," celebrates his world record clean and jerk set at the 1996 Olympic Games. If you want to read more on Marc Huster, please see the article in MILO Volume 5 - Number 1 (June 1997). Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Fondly known as "Super Huster," this dynamic German lifter provided some of the most memorable moments in weightlifting during the 1990s as he battled Pyrros Dimas, and whether he won or lost on the platform, Marc Huster always demonstrated an understanding that went well beyond what to call for on his next attempt.

Huster said that people have urged him to return to competition because his best numbers are still huge - as an 85-kg lifter he snatched 177.5 at the 2000 Olympics and cleaned and jerked 215 kg at the 1999 European Championships - but Huster, who retired after the 2001 World Weightlifting Championships, once again shows his wisdom. "They forget that I am five years older now," Huster said, and while he does pulls, deadlifts and squats once a week, along with playing a little football (soccer), Marc is quite content with the next chapter of his life, which sees him working as a television commentator and presenter - a job that seems well suited to the personable weightlifter who charmed audiences as effectively as he overcame gravity when he was top competitor.




Minutes before locking horns with Pyrros Dimas at the 1996 Olympics, Marc Huster (right) horses around with German National Coach Frank Mantek. Huster got behind Dimas in the snatch, but proving his mettle, he came back to add a world record in the clean in jerk to the silver medal he brought home from Atlanta. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Tires win car races and in strongman they can crush the unwary, which is why Marcel Mostert said the tire flip was cancelled in the IFSA Lithuania Grand Prix.


See it tomorrow night on Eurosport: Zydrunas Savickas does a world record 205-kg on the log lift at the IFSA Dutch Grand Prix. Photo courtesy of Marcel Mostert.

Stressing his concern for athlete safety, Mostert told IronMind that it was pouring rain for the last two events in the IFSA Lithuanian Grand Prix so he and Ilkka Kinnunen, who were refereeing, called off the tire - despite some protests. "It was a question of safety," Mostert said, explaining that in the rain, there was no grip - for either the hands or the feet - imperiling the competitors.

Compounding the problem, Mostert said that a lot of promoters go too heavy in the tire, and while it is fine for the top competitors, the weakest guys in the competition are endangered by this practice. Mostert said, "We never have problems with the top guys . . . it's the guys who will come in 10th or 12th place."

To make the event safer, Mostert said that when he runs a nationals, where the bottom of the field is likely to be very inexperienced and very weak compared to the top competitors, he uses a spotter on either side of the tire and if he senses that a competitor is in danger of getting injured, Mostert will stop the event for that guy - giving a TKO, as it were.

Looking to the future, Mostert said that the IFSA Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia has been rescheduled for November 17 - 19, and for all strongman fans in Europe who want to see Zydrunas Savickas's 205-kg world record in the log lift, tune in to Eurosport tomorrow night, at 20:45 European time.

With the premiere of the Jon Pall movie drawing near, English-speaking fans in the US are already asking if they will have to take a crash course in Icelandic before the film is released worldwide.


The Jon Pall Sigmarsson movie, produced by Hjalti Arnason, will premiere in Reykjavik on September 7 and predictions are that the strongman world will never again be the same. Movie poster courtesy of Hjalti Arnason.

"It's 70 percent in English," producer Hjalti Arnason told IronMind, "and the remaining 30 percent has English subtitles," so it is ok if you don't speak Icelandic and you won't have to wade through endless subtitles, either.

Arnason, an Icelander with a formidable record in powerlifting and strongman who has turned his attention to documentaries in recent years, brings a rare combination of knowledge and passion to this project - the result is certain to be unlike anything ever seen or done in the world of strongman.

This weekend, the Europa IFBB Super Show in Arlington, Texas will feature a pro-am armwrestling challenge put on by the US Armwrestling Association - the same organization that puts on many of the other top tournaments you read about in MILO.


The deadly right forearm of arm wrestling legend John Brzenk, who reportedly will be pulling in Texas this weekend. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Denise Wattles, US Armwrestling Executive Director, said that Texas tournaments have always produced a lot of powerful pullers, and she expects the pro-am tournament this weekend to be the beginning of even bigger things in the Lone Star State. In addition to John Brzenk, other top guns expected to do battle include Ray Hendricks, Mike McGraw and Tom Nelson.

Michael Hadland has just been certified on the IronMind Red Nail, proving his mastery of this benchmark short bend.

In the 1993 IronMind catalog, we wrote, "Right in there with such classic feats of strength as cleaning and jerking 300 pounds and tearing a deck of card in half is the ability to bend a 60-penny nail." That was how we introduced our Bag of Nails, explaining that hitherto there was no standardization in terms of the difficulty of this and related feats of strength. As the king of the hill in the short bending world, the IronMind Red Nail came to stand as the target for all aspiring world class short benders, and for years, only the great John Brookfield could total it, which he did in a classic style.

Michael Hadland's success puts him in with a terrific group of worthies who have bent this beast and this is where you can see the official list:

Red Nail Roster

Congratulations, Michael - way to go!

Stefan Solvi Petersson finished off the East Shore Giant - East Coast Giant competitions with another win.


Rock on: Magnus Ver Magnusson, on his way to sharing the overhead rock lift victory with Berend Veneberg and Flemming Rasmussen at the 1997 European Strong Men Classic in Hardenburg, Holland. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo. If you are interested in the full contest report, please see MILO Volume 5 - Number 2 (September 1997).

Set up as two contests staged in a series of small towns on the East Coast of Iceland, the East Shore Giant contest began on Thursday and ran for two days, with six events spread over four different towns. The East Coast Giant contest began yesterday, also had six events spread over four different towns, and it concluded today.

He said it was to round out the field, but we couldn't help but wonder if Magnus Ver Magnusson, who promoted these contests, joined the action just to show that even if he only trains once or twice a week, he's still no slouch when it comes to strongman. The four-time World's Strongest Man winner finished second overall in the East Coast Giant contest, and he won three events - one of which was the overhead stone lift. "It's my favorite overhead lift," he said, and it's an event that he has won in major strongman contests when he was in his prime as a competitor.

George Odmundsson was third place.

Stefan Solvi Petersson won Iceland's East Shore Giant strongman contest.

This was a two-day competition featuring a hand-over-hand pull, keg throw, log lift and tire flip on the first day, and a truck pull and a deadlift for reps on the second day. Second place went to Juha-Pekka Aitala, and third place was Georg Odmundsson.

Athletic Director Steve Conway is looking for a close battles and huge throws at the Highland Games World Championships in Pleasanton, California over the Labor Day weekend.


Bert Sorin, who will debut in Pleasanton as a top contender in the Amateur A class, demonstrates the caber training attachment for the Hurricane, a unique machine developed by Sorinex. Richard Sorin describes the Hurricane as being a link between free weights and machines, and Bert Sorin swears by its effectiveness for boosting his Highland Games performance. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Steve Conway thinks that the very close battle for the top spots at the Fergus Games last weekend in Canada will be resumed in California - defending world champion Ryan Vierra held off the hard-charging Sean Betz, Dave Brown and Harrison Bailey in Fergus, and he can be expected to dig in at Pleasanton, fighting to hang on to his crown.

Conway is looking for a lot of action in the weight over the bar (weight for height), as he expects Ukrainian Kyrylo Chuprynin to put pressure on Matt Sandford's field record for the standing style (traditional style), so watch for an over-18-foot throw. Sunday will include the weight over the bar with a spin and Conway expects to see that record go by the wayside as well - world record holder Dave Brown will be there, along with top performers Harrison Bailey and Ryan Vierra.

Look for plenty of action in the other classes too, with the Amateur A's featuring Steve Dering, Mike Pockoski and Bert Sorin; Conway is predicting a great battle between Andrea Thornton and Mindy Lincoln in the women's class, as well.

Yoto Yotov is 37 years old and he recently won the Bulgarian National Weightlifting Championships - most guys would be ecstatic to have done this, so why isn't Yotov?


Here is Yoto Yotov as a young lifter, shown in the training hall at the 1990 Goodwill Games. Lifting for the powerhouse Bulgarian weightlifting team, Yotov was a silver medalist at the 1992 and the 1996 Olympics, and he collected piles of medals in European and World Weightlifting Championships. Yotov won the 76-kg class at the 1997 Worlds, where he snatched 165 kg and cleaned and jerked 202.5 kg. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Competing as a 94-kg lifter, Yotov snatched 152 and cleaned and jerked 190 kg for the title, he told IronMind, but he dismissed the win, saying "This is nothing." And while those lifts would win national titles, or be close to it, in most countries, in the heyday of Bulgarian weightlifting, you would expect the winner to have snatched about what Yotov cleaned and jerked.

"This is a big problem," Yotov said. Never had this happened in Bulgaria in 30 years."

The source of this outcome, Yotov explained, is the changing economic conditions: twenty years ago, if a young man had talent and became a weightlifter, he got "good food, sleep, everything," but now, there is nothing unless he somehow becomes a champion, and then he gets some additional money.

These days, Yotov laments, there are "not so many training," and the quality level, he said, has also declined as even among the relatively few who are still drawn to weightlifting, many are "not so strong." Facing these limitations, but still wanting to field a team, Yotov explains that the coaches do not have a lot of options.

A couple of decades ago, said Yotov, the coaches might have had 50 lifters and from them, they would select a 10-man team, but now, they might have five lifters and are trying to produce an eight-man team. What they have to work with, Yotov says, is "only this."

With their 2006 season just completed, WSMSS Tour Director Jesper Albanson said, "It's been a fantastic year," citing the athletes, locations and TV productions that have resulted from the contests.

Not stopping here, though, Albanson said, "We are already deep into our planning for next year. 2007 is looking good, but we are not content to rest on our laurels. We want to remain humble and we know that we have to keep the focus and work hard because we want to remain the number one tour in strongman."

WSMSS combined the Super Series tour concept with the ultimate brand name and by far the most prestigious event in strongman, TWI's World's Strongest Man contest. In its inaugural year, WSMSS kicked off the 2006 tour with a contest at the Arnold, followed by the its second consecutive appearance at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino, before moving to Moscow and culminating in today's contest in Poland. Top finishers at each WSMSS competition qualified for the 2006 MET-Rx WSM contest, winning the most-coveted invitation in strongman.

Jesper Albanson praised each stop in the 2006 tour and said, "We are very happy to have had four fantastic events in four fantastic locations."

If we told you that Mariusz Pudzianowski just won the WSMSS Poland Grand Prix, you might not be surprised, but did you expect an all-Poland sweep of the top four places?

Defending World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski did it again and adding to his victory, Mariusz's countrymen kept in tight formation around the champion strongman as Jarek Dymek took second place, Sebastian Wenta was third and Slawomir Toczek came in fourth place. By virtue of their places in this competition, Dymek, Wenta and Toczek have now qualified for the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, which is next month.

WSMSS Tour Director Jesper Albanson was quick to compliment Jouko Ahola and Svend Karlsen for doing a tremendous job and he said the crowd of 3,500 Polish fans "cheered and went totally ballistic for four straight hours," in this final leg of the 2006 WSMSS circuit.

One hypothesis has it that the 2006 IFSA World Championships will be in Finland in late September.


Ukrainian powerhouse Vasyl Virastyuk might not get the ink of Zydrunas Savickas or Mikhail Koklyaev, but make not mistake about him: Virastyuk is a force to be reckoned with in strongman and IFSA's Douglas Edmunds ranks him third, following Savickas and Koklyaev. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Although it describes itself as "the world governing body of the Strongman sport," that doesn't mean IFSA has announced if, when or where its 2006 World Championships will be held, and neither a phone call nor an email to IFSA Managing Director Christian Fennell about this have produced a response. Meanwhile, IFSA founder Douglas Edmunds would not say anything specific, but he did say that an announcement would be made and that's when the matter would be settled. What appears to be the case is that IFSA is still awaiting confirmation of details regarding its proposed Worlds so, quite reasonably, nothing official has yet been released because nothing is certain yet.

With the clock clicking, though, and with the IFSA stable containing at least three very strong strongmen - Zydrunas Savickas, Mikhail Koklyaev, and Vasyl Virastyuk - interest is mounting in just what, if anything, IFSA will unveil.

Although it's all speculation at this point, late September sounds plausible, as IFSA - ever since its relationship with World's Strongest Man was severed - appears to be positioning its top competition directly against the World's Strongest Man contest, unquestionably the best-known strongman contest by a vast margin. As for Finland, that too could be plausible, with that country's deep roots not just in strongman generally, but specifically in the type of strongman events that have become IFSA's calling card: heavy, heavier and heaviest.

Stay tuned.

The USA Weightlifting National Championships begin today in Shreveport and this marks the beginning of the countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games.


If you lift weights, think you're strong and want to go to the Olympics, weightlifting is your sport: Here, Tara Nott and Shane Hamman, both from the US, relax as they get interviewed at the 2004 Olympics. Tara Nott won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and while Shane Hamman might not have medaled, he's a two-time Olympian, he holds all the American superheavyweight records in the sport, and if you're still wondering about just how strong he was, Shane still holds the IPF superheavyweight world record in the squat. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Over the next three days, the top American weightlifters will be battling it out at Louisiana State University, aiming to make the US team going to the World Weightlifting Championships later this year. Based on performances at the 2006 and 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, the US will qualify for a designated number of slots in weightlifting at the 2008 Olympics, so this contest is the beginning of the journey to Beijing.

And talking about the future, on August 18 - 19 USA Weightlifting will host the Pan American Sub 15 Weightlifting Championships at the US Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado, featuring the top young weightlifters from the Pan American nations.

"Every great man strongman has to come to Scotland," Douglas Edmunds told IronMind.


If it's not nailed to the ground, Benedikt Magnusson can probably deadlift it. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

As an indication of his point, Dr. Edmunds mentioned that Mikael Koklyaev, Benedikt Magnusson and Kyrylo Chuprynin were all there at the moment.

Koklyaev has lit up the strongman world since Edmunds first spotted him, and his seminar in Glasgow, Scotland earlier this week - in which he cleaned and jerked 240 kg, deadlifted 400 kg, muscle snatched 150 kg and front squatted 260 kg for a triple- has caused a near tidal wave of praise. The 23-year Magnusson, yet another great Icelander, is a huge deadlifter who is also ready to make his mark in strongman, and when he talks about doing a 450-kg deadlift, you believe he will do it. Kyrylo Chuprynin is poised to debut at Pleasanton in the Highland Games World Championships in a few weeks and Pleasanton's Athletic Director, Steve Conway, says "Kyrylo is probably the first Ukrainian athlete in the Highland Games. He is a two-time Olympian in the discus."

Hammering his point home, Edmunds said, "I can't think of a World's Strongest Man winner who hasn't been here."

Edmunds prides himself on spotting talent in strongman and he said he was in Russia when he first heard about Koklyaev, a weightlifter. Edmunds got Koklyaev started in strongman and he said, "I have never seen anyone make such rapid progress in one year."

Edmunds said that he always favored Olympic lifters for strongman and one of the things that has been interesting to him is that Koklyaev says that strongman helps his lifts - a different twist on the idea that weightlifting helps performance in strongman.

Particularly as Koklyaev spends more time in Scotland, winning at least an occasional bottle of whiskey from Edmunds in one friendly wager or another, the two have become close, and Edmunds likes to compare their friendship to the one he had with the late Jon Pal Sigmarsson, a legendary figure in strongman.

This weekend is the final stop in 2006 World's Strongest Man Super Series, the Poland Grand Prix, and this is the last chance for top strongmen to use this qualification vehicle as way to reach the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest.


Phil Pfister, shown at the 2006 Arnold, is considered a favorite for a top place at this year's MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, and this weekend he has a chance to qualify for that premier strongman contest. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

WSMSS founder Ulf Bengtsson told IronMind, "We are very happy to come to Poland, the home turf of Mariusz Pudzianowski." Expecting a big crowd to support their idol, Bengtsson added, "We are very excited that Phil Pfister will be there and we expect a great performance from him. Phil is there to qualify for World's Strongest Man."

Counting the upcoming Poland Grand Prix, Bengtsson said this year's WSMSS has included 38 different athletes, with the top performers qualifying for World's Strongest Man; but not content to rest on his laurels, Bengtsson added, "We are already planning for next year."

Hjalti Arnason, producer of the keenly awaited Jon Pal documentary, has some more good news related to this film project that is going to rock the strongman world.

"I wanted to tell you that we did screen the Jon Pal Movie last Friday," Arnason said. "It is not the final version, but 95 percent finished. The movie is going to the studio next week for the sound mix. It was great to see three years of work in 90 minutes."

Incidentally, Arnason isn't alone in his satisfaction with how this project has gone, as he told IronMind, "The specialist from the co-production company, SENA, also liked it and we were not asked to change a single thing."

All of us who have seen clips from the movie have been extremely impressed with what Hjalti Arnason has created, and the full fledged movie is just going to be that much more powerful. "The 15 people who saw it [the screening] were laughing and crying," Arnason said. "It was unbelievable to see it on the big screen."

It's his twelfth time winning the Germany's Strongest Man contest - maybe the contest should be renamed the Heinz Ollesch Grand Prix.


Think he's kidding about the length of his strongman career? Here's a shot of Heinz wrestling with the No. 5 McGlashen Stone at the 1994 European Musclepower Championships (Callander, Scotland). If you want to read the full contest report, get a copy of the October 1994 issue of MILO (Vol. 2 - No. 3). Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Here are the final places in the 2006 Germany's Strongest Man contest:

1. Heinz Ollesch
2. Florian Trimpl
3. Knut Handke
4. Guido Biastoch
5. Timo Neumeyer
6. Robert Heinrich -105 Kg
7. Tobias Ide
8. Bj�rn Pscherer
9. Daniel Wildt -105 Kg
10. Oliver Eichele -105 Kg

Here's to your next dozen, Heinz!

Andrus Murumets just won the IFSA Tornio Grand Prix, setting a world record in the farmer's walk as part of his first-place performance.

Contest promoter Ilkka Kinnunen said, "The competition was big success," with "over 6000 people and very nice and hot weather."

There were eight events spread over two days, with a 160-kg farmer's walk kicking things off. Murumets covered the 50-meter course in 50.62 Kinnunen said, for a new world record time of 50.62 seconds.

A log lift for maximum weight, a 320-kg deadlift for reps and a Hercules hold (180-kg in each hand) completed the first day's events. Day two had a 420-kg yoke for 25 meters, a 182-kg Shield walk for distance, a 520-kg Tire Flip (five turns), and the the Atlas Stones (120, 140, 160, 170 and 180 kg).

Final places and points were:

1. ANDRUS MURUMETS (ESTONIA) 77 points
2. ROBERT SCHEPANSKI (POLAND) 65
3. STEVE MCDONALD (USA) 53.5
4. JANI ILLIKAINEN (FINLAND) 53
5. AGRIS KAZELNIKS (LATVIA) 49
6. J. ANDERSON (SWEDEN) 36.5
7. BERND KIRSCHBAUMER (AUSTRIA) 33
8. MIKA HILTUNEN (FINLAND) 28.5
9. DANIEL WIKLUND (SWEDEN) 27
10. MIKA MATTILA (FINLAND) 17.5

It all started in Sacramento - Tommy Kono's hometown - and tomorrow, Tommy will be attending the inaugural Tommy Kono - Iron Dragon Open at Sacramento High School.


Whether lifting with one arm or two, striking a pose or breaking a world record, it was just another day in the office for Tommy Kono, who could - and did - do it all in the iron game. Photo courtesy of Tommy Kono.

Put together by Don Weideman and Paul Doherty, the 2006 Tommy Kono - Iron Dragon Open begins with an unsanctioned high school session, before the USAW women, masters and men dive in, and PWA president Butch Curry says that you can get your USAW card at the meet if you don't already have on.

Please check the official PWA announcement for contest details:

http://www.lifttilyadie.com/PWA/06TKOFlyer.htm

Glenn "Who's Your Daddy" Ross said, "training and strength are going through the roof."


Glenn Ross, when healthy, is expected to spank the Circus Dumbbell - whatever it's loaded to. Randall J. Strosssen, Ph.D. photo.

"I'm like a new machine that's been let free to roam the city," Ross added.

Coming back from injuries, it's been a rebulding process for him this year, but it sounds as if Ross is ready to draw back the curtain. "I plan to compete in the UK Strongest Man event in three weeks," he said, so the strongman world will have a chance to see the mighty Glenn Ross hit the streets running . . . well, lifting.

It's official: here are the events for the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, which is coming up next month.

This is the official list of events for this year's qualifier and final, and the groupings cannot be released until the start list of athletes has been confirmed.

Cannon Ball / Sledge Medley
Keg Toss
Car Dead lift for reps
Car Walk
Overhead Lift with Stones
Loading - Barrels
Farmers Walk / Cannon Ball Carry
Fingal Fingers
Farmers Walk
Vehicle Pull
Power Stairs
Deadlift - Cars
Atlas Stones

Longtime World's Strongest Man fans will be excited to see the return of such great events as the car walk and overhead stone lift, along with such classics as the Atlas stones and a vehicle pull.

For more details on these events, and other developments related to the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, check the official website:

http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/wsm/index.html

Fergus, Ontario is home to one of the world's premier Scottish Festivals and Highland Games, and 2006 will continue this tradition.


Canadian champion Greg Hadley is part of the top-flight field of Heavy Events competitors you'll see at Fergus. Randall J. Strosssen, Ph.D. photo.

The professionals include most of the world's top Highland Games competitors: Stephen Aitken, Harrison Bailey, Joel Thiessen, Ryan Vierra, Sean Betz, Christopher Wand, Dirk Bishop and Greg Hadley. There are also masters, women and amateur classes, and in addition to the Heavy Events, there is something for everyone at Fergus.


Josee Morneau, who has also competed in arm wrestling and the World's Strongest Woman contest, will be in the field at Fergus again this year. Randall J. Strosssen, Ph.D. photo.

The Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games run August 11 - 13 and for details, please check their official website:

http://www.fergusscottishfestival.com/

No bluff, no bluster - just a great grip and the heart to put it to the test: Laine Snook destroyed the world record in the Rolling Thunder today at Pullum Sports in Luton, England.


It's official: Laine Snook destroyed the Rolling Thunder World Record today at Pullum Sports, with a new mark of 274.2 pounds. Photo courtesy of Laine Snook.

About a week ago, Snook exceeded the Rolling Thunder world record under very credible conditions, so his chances of officially breaking it appeared excellent. With little time until Laine Snook was to undergo a medical procedure that would severely limit his training for a while, IronMind and Pullum Sports worked together to arrange a Rolling Thunder contest on very short notice - open to all, but it offered the promise of a new world record on this benchmark feat of grip strength.

Laine Snook left no doubt about either what he has lifted in training or what he is capable of doing officially because after pulling a record-breaking 268.8 pounds today, Laine followed with a huge lift of 274.2 pounds, good for another new world record.

Congratulations Laine, and many thanks to Pullum Sports for helping to make this possible.

Our man of pen and stone, the mighty Steve Jeck, has been working in his unique quarry.


Steve Jeck (left) and Richard Sorin (right) with Richard's millstone (did Goliath lose a button?) at the grip reunion held at Sorinex last month. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Wonder what to expect from your lifting? Wonder why most people talk more than they train?

For those interested in taking a less commonly-travelled road, one with different risks and rewards, stop by and see what Steve "Inver Stone" Jeck has offered up "From The Quarry." Follow the link from the IronMind homepage or click here:

http://www.ironmind.com/ironcms/export/IronMind/Main/fromthequarry.html