Ali Moradi, president of the Iranian Weightlifting Federation, told IronMind today that his country's star lifter, Hossein Rezazadeh, is training hard for the upcoming Asian Games.


For Hossein Rezazadeh, this 246-kg clean and jerk at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships was quite modest. Weightlifting fans would love to see Rezazadeh do about 20 kg more than this at the Asian Games later this year. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The Iranian Weightlifting Federation and the entire weightlifting world were rocked when nine Iranian lifters tested positive in September, during a random, out-of-competition test. The Iranian team wasted no time addressing the situation publicly and today Moradi said that with nine of his country's top weightlifters suspended, "this is really very bad." Moradi emphasizes that this was a negative development not just for his country's team, but for the whole sport.

Hossein Rezazadeh, who holds all three weightlifting world records in the superheavyweight class, was one of the Iranian lifters who tested negative, and he alone represented Iran at the recent World Weightlifting Championships. Rezazadeh will also be competing in Doha at the upcoming Asian Games, Moradi confirmed, but was cautious when asked whether Rezazadeh was likely to be re-writing the record book.

"Hossein is working very, very hard," said Moradi, "but his world records are a very high standard."

In Las Vegas for a trade show where his sponsor Thule is exhibiting, Magnus Samuelsson told IronMind today that while it was frustrating to be injured this year, the hope and intention is to get healthy and return in 2007 to make his twelfth appearance in the World's Strongest Man contest.


If he's healthy, it's safe to bet on a top finish by Magnus Samulesson at the 2007 World's Strongest Man contest. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Besides having won World's Strongest Man contest, Magnus Samuelsson is known for having the world's strongest arms - which includes what is widely regarded as some of the absolutely strongest hands on the planet. Not everyone knows, though, that Samuelsson has a 1977 Firebird and one of the fringe benefit of this trade show is that he can keep his eye open for a special manifold he'd like for his car.

Reflecting on 2006, Samuelsson said, "It was a very strange year; it was my best year ever in terms of business and I had never been stronger in the gym. I was bigger and stronger than ever," which says something when you're about two meters tall and your body weight can go over the 150-kg mark.

Magnus Samuelsson seemed set for a banner year in competition and he was seen as a realistic candidate to win this year's World's Strongest Man contest . . . if he could stay healthy. As things turned out, though, the man known to many as simply "the Big Swede," had to withdraw from all three strongman contests he entered this year: the WSMSS Mohegan Sun Grand Prix, the WSMSS Moscow Grand Prix, and the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest.

Although the problem originates in his back, the scary thing, Samuelsson said, is that his right leg went numb, and in an effort to correct the problem, he is considering surgery - Samuelsson said if he needs to go this route, he prefers to have this done before Christmas and then be back in gym a few weeks later, working toward his goal of not just making it to his twelfth World's Strongest Man contest, but winning it or at least finishing on the podium.

Top 105-kg strongman competitor and the most famous Finnish driver in IronMind circles, Jyrki Rantanen said that he plans to compete next year, as does fellow Finn and 2000 World's Strongest Man winner Janne Virtanen.

Jyrki said, "I'm fine...working a lot with our business projects. I have been training only once a week in the gym and two times week in a kickboxing gym to work out flexibility and cardio. Also, my asthma problems are gone thanks to a new doctor and medicines. I have dropped my weight from 115 kg to 109 and plan to [hit a] �normal weight' around 104 - 105 kg and then next year (maybe!) I do one try in the lightweight class."

Janne is also doing well, Jyrki said. "His leg is healing and because of the good performance in the WSM-qualification he will compete one more year." Jyrki said that Janne's plan is for "not many comps, only aiming for the WSM, and in Finland he probably won't compete at all. His plan was to retire after 2006 (and the way I see it he was planning to to retire as a champ), but the calf was thinking differently."

"The leg is quite ok now and he's soon able to start training with that calf, too. There was no surgery, but six weeks total rest (in scanning they saw, that there was a big tear, but still chance for full recovery without surgery). Of course, in the meanwhile Janne have been working his upper body like a maniac... ."

IronMind was asked to help identify strongmen who might like to be on a major, prime time gameshow.

Here's your chance to go Hollywood, be treated like a star, be viewed by an enormous television audience and possibly win thousands of dollars to boot.

If you are interested, please write a us a few lines bragging about yourself and telling us why this show can't live (as well) without you, send them to sales@ironmind.com, and we will pass along the details for everyone who seems qualified. Taping is in Southern California and it will be in late November or early December.

Organized by Odd Haugen, so you know it will be heavy, the All American Pro Strongman Challenge at the 2007 FitExpo could be nicknamed Medley Madness.

The action begins with three events which will serve as the qualifying round if necessary: farmer's walk (150 kg per hand), super yoke (400 kg) and truck pull. If there are more than a dozen competitors, only the top twelve after these three events will advance, Haugen told IronMind.

After that, let the medleys begin because deadlifts, power events, farmer's walk and overhead lifts will all be contested in a medley style. The deadlift medley for example comprises a giant fishing pole (600 pounds), Apollon's Axle (650 pounds), barbell (705 pounds) and barrels with side handles (800 pounds). To cap things off, nine Atlas stones (ranging from 225 to 450 pounds) will make up the final event.

The 2007 FitExpo runs February 16 - 18 in Pasadena, California.

Hjalti Arnason told IronMind that the European version (PAL) of the Jon Pal documentary DVD is almost completed and the US market version (NTSC) will be following shortly.


The Jon Pal documentary poster captures the drama of both the subject and the film. Courtesy of Halti Arnason.

"Champions come and go, but a Legend never dies," Arnason said of his subject, the revered strongman Jon Pal Sigmarsson. Hjalti Arnason and one of Iceland's most honored filmmakers, Steingrimur Thordarson, made a major splash at the documentary's September 7th premiere in Reykjavik, which was attended by Icelandic president Olafur Ragnar Grimmson and guests coming from as far as California and Europe. The film has since broken all Icelandic box office records for a documentary and even more telling, it has moved audiences to laughter and to tears as it walks through the life of the man who made such a mark on so many people.

"We think it's the oldest continually operating weightlifting contest in the country," Jim Schmitz said, "and all of our top lifters have won it."


Shown lifting at the 1991 World Weightlifting Championships, Mario Martinez (USA) won the Golden West and also got a silver medal at the Olympics . . . Who will be the next? Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

"Mario Martinez, Bruce Wilhelm, Tom Gough . . . everyone but Tommy Kono who went on the Olympic level from here won this contest," Schmitz said. And with all that history behind it, plan on this year's 43rd edition to be another great one.

Lift, load, cheer or do all three - the 43rd Golden West Open is November 5th at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco and for full details, please check http://www.lifttilyadie.com/PWA/06GWOFlyer.htm.

The Austrian agency Sports TV Group has contracted with IFSA Strongman to sell the television rights for the 2006 IFSA World Championships, European Championships, Pan American Championships and World Open.

According to a press release, under the terms of this agreement, Sports TV is the exclusive representative of IFSA's TV rights for these IFSA title events, and it is replacing Octagon CSI, which had represented IFSA in this capacity last year.

Magnus Ver Magnusson, who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the upcoming IFSA World Championships, had mentioned some intriguing potential settings for this contest, and while he is best known as one of the world's most recognizable and accomplished strongmen, Magnus Ver has been increasingly active as a contest organizer in recent years, so expect to see his broad experience reflected in these shows. IFSA's signature Jamie Reeves designed stainless steel equipment is also expected to be highly visible, especially since it is almost taken as a given that Zydrunas Savickas will destroy the world record for IFSA log lift.

Mario Kochwalter, TV and Marketing Director of the United Strongman Series announced, "Our plan is stop the United Strongman Series as a brand after 2006 and continue to cooperate with IFSA Strongman in 2007."

The 2007 series with have "even more events and a new series formula, consequently a bigger package of highest quality television products available for international sales."

"We have years of accumulated experience and success in marketing the strongman sport, and there is an incredible interest in high quality strongman programming," Kochwalter said. "Combining our leadership and experience in strongman TV production and distribution out of the United Strongman Series 2005 and 2006, with IFSA Strongman's indisputable leadership position in the strongman sport itself, we will continue to grow the sport significantly."

Stoyan Todorchev won the World Strongman Cup contest in Vienna, beating Vasyl Virastyuk and a number of other top competitors.


(left to right) Here are the top three from the World Strongman Cup contest in Vienna: Vasyl Virastyck (second), Stoyan Todorchev (first) and Ervin Katona (third). Photo courtesy of World Strongman Cup.

Claiming the title at the sixth stage of the 2006 World Strongman Cup in Vienna this weekend, Bulgaria's Stoyan Todorchev added an impressive notch to his belt. Here are the final places and points:

1.Stoyan Todorchev � Bulgaria� 57.5
2.Vasyl Virastyuk � Ukraine�� 57
3.Ervin Katona � Serbia� 56
4.Antanas Abrutis � Lithuania �45
5.Tarmo Mitt � Estonia� 43.5
6. Slawomir Toczek � Poland �42.5
7. Elbrus Nigmatullin � Russia �37.5
8. Sebastian Wenta � Poland �36
9. Florian Trimpl � Germany� 25
10. Raivis Vidzis � Latvia� 24.5
11. Marshall White � USA�� 22.5
12. Martin Torker � Austria� 12
13. Ralf Ber � Austria �8

It's a familiar story: anyone who outlifts you is taking something you're not, or they are taking more of it.


Shane Hamman (USA) ripping a 197.5-kg snatch at the 2002 World Weightlifting Championships (Warsaw, Poland). Shane holds the US superheavyweight records in the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the total; plus he holds the IPF superheavyweight world record in the squat . . . each of these lifts was done under the strictest conditions in the field. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Right.

But how much can people lift without taking banned substances? One very famous superheavyweight told IronMind that he felt a 200-kg snatch and a 250-kg clean and jerk were the limit for clean lifts - numbers that he had hit while lifting clean, which can be taken as both proof that they can be done without doping and that someone else could come along and do more.

How much can you lift clean? It's simple: It depends on how strong you are.

With IFSA just announcing its 2006 World Championships, IronMind sought a comment from the High Council as a potentially valuable way to gain perspective on this news.

While the High Council couldn't resist some playful comments, it quickly settled down to addressing the serious business of strongman.

"The High Council is very happy for IFSA, and we are very pleased that all their struggles are bearing fruit . . . It would have been sad if all their athletes had nothing to compete for."

Continuing, the comments assumed the visionary perspective for which the High Council is known: "We hope that in the future, IFSA athletes will have the chance to compete for the real governing body of strongman." Asked to clarify who or what is the real governing body of strongman, IronMind was told, "It is where everybody competes wherever they want to . . . the High Council has spoken."

Vienna, Austria is hosting the next stop in the World Strongman Cup.

Along with local favorite Ralf Ber, the lineup includes Tarmo Mitt, Slawomir Toczek, Sebastian Wenta and Raivis Vidzis - fresh from the World's Strongest Man contest. Other competitors are Elbrus Nigmatullin, Marshall White, Antanas Abrutis , Stoyan Todorchev, Ervin Katona and Vasyl Virastyuk.

For weeks, the rumor had been that IFSA was going to hold its 2006 World Championships in Iceland in November, but until some loose ends were tied up, no announcement would be made; and in the meantime, some people simply assumed the contest was never going to happen.


Magnus Ver Magnusson, who is the primary organizer and promoter behind the upcoming IFSA Strongman World Championships, relaxes in Reykjavik, site of the upcoming competition. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Today, it became official - in four weeks, IFSA will hold it's joint qualifiers and finals for its 2006 World Championships.

IFSA Strongman had hit the point this year where many thought the self-described "world governing body of the Strongman sport" would, in fact, not hold a world championships in 2006, with so little time remaining. In fact, Magnus Ver Magnusson told IronMind that a company had been working for some time to organize the event, but it had not produced anything of consequence so he stepped in, lining up potential deals, scheduling meetings and so forth and that as a result, in a series of three visits to Iceland, Dr. Douglas Edmunds was able to close the deals required to pull off this contest. As far as the prize money goes, Magnus Ver told IronMind, " I don't know yet, but it's not going to be less that TWI paid."

This is the structure of the contest: Three groups of eight competitors will participate in the qualifiers and from this round, three or four (to be determined) competitors will go on to the finals. To avoid possible disputes related to things such as different competitors having different amounts of time to rest between the qualifiers and the finals, Magnus Ver said that the qualifiers will be run in one day. The entire event is scheduled to be held in Reykjavik November 18 - 25 and from these contests, ten television programs will be made, said Magnus Ver, with global distribution reaching 350 million households - a TV package that was enhanced by IFSA's cooperative agreement with United Strongman Series, he said.

Alcan is sponsoring the qualifiers, Magnus Ver said, and Toyota is sponsoring the finals.

National federations were given athlete allotments, Magnus Ver said, adding, "Iceland will have a competitor in each of the heats . . . I think Dione [Wessels, IFSA-USA president] was given three."

Asked about events, Magnus Ver said that they haven't been finalized yet; and when asked about attempts on the the IFSA world records, he said that he could guarantee that an attempt would be made to break the IFSA world record in the log press.

Saying that "the city of Reykjavik is behind this," Magnus Ver said "this is the biggest thing in strongman ever in Iceland."

It's got a big name, but it could also be your ticket to the 2007 World's Strongest Man contest.


Odd Haugen, shown running a strongman seminar at the 2005 FitExpo, has some interesting plans for 2007. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Set for the 2007 FitExpo, Odd Haugen said that he is organizing a contest that will be called the All-American Strongman Challenge, and, get this, the top six finishers will be guaranteed invitations to the a World's Strongest Man Super Series event. Thus, if all goes according to plan, this contest could put the right guys within two hops of the 2007 World's Strongest Man contest.

Additional details will be announced as they become available, but Haugen told IronMind that the prize money will be in the neighborhood of US$10,000 and, as anyone familiar with one of his contests could have guessed, it will feature "a lot of heavy stuff."

The FitExpo is scheduled for February 16 - 18, in Pasadena, California.

Hugo Girard told IronMind that in a couple more weeks, he will be stepping up his training, getting ready to return to strongman competition next year.


Wonder why Hugo Girard can press just about anything that isn't nailed down? Look at his delts. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Girard, who has already returned from two major injuries, will be doing it again in 2007, and as part of his preparation, the Canadian strongman superstar said, "I have been working on conditioning, to give my body a rest." While still hard, Girard's training has not focussed on heavy weight, but instead, it has emphasized a lot of reps, a lot of sets and very short rest in between sets. Thus, Girard might do five sets of ten reps in the bench press, inclines and flyes, with no more than one and a half minutes of rest in between sets.

"I am also working a lot on my grip," Girard said, explaining that the he wants his grip strength to be more than equal to the task when he returns to strongman competition. Although not a grip specialist, Girard has closed a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper in the past, and with a little specialized training, the expectation is that he will return to that exceptional level of grip strength.

Lest his fans think that all this conditioning work has turned Hugo into a mere stick figure, fear not: the mighty Quebecer said that he is presently tipping the scale at about 307.

The 2006 Super Series Arnold Classic Strongman Contest is being aired on Eurosport tonight.


He made a huge splash at the Arnold and now he's the winner of the 2006 World's Strongest Man contest. Catch Phil Pfister and the Super Series Arnold Classic Strongman Contest on Eurosport tonight.

Broadcast time is 7:30 pm in the UK and 8:30 pm CET.

Even if you don't have a TV, you've got to be enjoying the fact that the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man winner - Phil Pfister - is making the talk show rounds, and his next appearance will be on the Megan Mullally Show.


Going Hollywood . . . Phil Pfister will be on the Megan Mullally Show on Monday - check local listings for the time in your area. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Phil's down in Los Angeles today, where the show will be taped, and it will be shown on Monday, October 16th, so be sure to catch it.

As for the champ, himself, Phil told IronMind that he is already thinking about next year. "I am starting to get some traction now," Pfister said. "I think I have a lot of room for getting stronger."

When you're the IPF superheavyweight world champion, you naturally command a certain respect and when your last name in Gillingham, that boosts your credibility another notch or two.


Brad Gillingham pulls, for him, a routine 375-kg deadlift, on his second attempt at the IPF World Masters Championships last weekend. Photo courtesy of Brad Gillingham.

So imagine this, not only do you win the IPF Masters World Championships, posting a total that gets numero uno ranking in the IPF Open class so far this year, but then you really drop the bomb: "My strongest days are still ahead," Brad Gillingham told IronMind.

The 40-year old Gillingham pointed to two key factors in terms of both his phenomenal results this year and the bold prediction he made.

First, Gillingham explained, he has been injury free this year. Gillingham noted that he been slowed down by a series of injuries the last couple of years, but not in 2006. "I have had a great year of training," Gillingham said, "and have kept the injury bug away." The second part of the equation, said Gillingham, involves drugs: "If you do it without the drugs, you just keep getting stronger." This has been the key to his long, productive career, Gillingham said, and it is the opposite of the flash in the pan syndrome experienced by people who take a different path.

Brad Gillingham's performance in winning the IPF World Masters Championships this weekend is a continuation of his assault on the IPF Masters record book: When he began this year, the IPF Master superheavyweight world record in the total was 1012.5 kg and this weekend, Brad Gillingham pushed it to 1047.5 kg - a whopping 35-kg gain.

Looking for a new way to develop fitness for any task?

John Brookfield, who developed the Battling Ropes system, said that the forum on his web site is a terrific place for people to share ideas and information about training for functional strength and fitness - and, yes, if you want to talk about grip strength, you are welcome to do that as well. You can find a link for the Masters of Velocity forum on the Battling Ropes homepage: http://www.powerropes.com/

Steve Mosely, CSCS, who works closely with John Brookfield on the Battling Ropes system, is presenting at the NSCA George State Fall Clinic this coming Saturday, where he will be explaining how this unique conditioning system works.

Leave it to Steve Jeck to highlight how good comes from bad in the muscle world.

Think you coast to gains or that the pain is for nothing? Read on by following the From the Quarry link on the IronMind homepage or click here:

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

Santo Domingo - It's still a foregone conclusion that Hossein Rezazadeh (Iran) rules the superheavies, but there was some more big news in the +105 kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships today: Dong Feng, from China.


Even if not quite up to his world-record level, Hossein Rezazadeh makes child's play of things like this 202-kg snatch. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

If you're so jaded that snatches under 200 kg don't merit much attention, this class could have been a snoozer - Velichko Cholakov (Bulgaria) bombing with 185 and Viktors Scerbatihs (Latvia) opening at 192?! Rezazadeh making 202 for the gold medal, but missing 206? On the other hand, how about this guy Dong Feng? If you were wondering who to watch in the run-up to Beijing, put this guy's name on your list because he tried to break the world record in the snatch, with 198, but missed.

In the clean and jerk, things were equally as unimpressive in terms of the numbers, with Rezazadeh winning with a mere 246, but once again, guess who called for a junior world record? Dong Feng had a solid success with 245 kg on his second attempt, and just to show that he hadn't hit the bottom of his tank, he called for 251 on his third attempt, going for the junior world in the jerk and in the total, but he pulled a hamstring as he was launching the bar on its way.


Sure, Dong Feng broke the junior world record with this 245-kg clean and jerk, but more than that, he marked himself as a guy to watch in the run-up to Beijing. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Santo Domingo - Especially in the these days of supersized contest, sorting out the groups is an imperfect process and once again, a gold and two silver medals came from group B.


Marcin Dolin celebrates his victory - he missed it twice, but came back to clean and jerk 222 kg to win the 105-kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships today. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

It was drawing close to midnight when the 105-kg B session ended last night, but when it did Dmitry Lapikov (Russia) had reeled three good snatches to end up with an impressive 194, a lift that certainly seemed very worthy of a medal. Coupled with his 220-kg clean and jerk, Lapikov, it appeared, might end up having a major role in the medal ceremony following today's A-session. And that's just how things turned out.

World record holder Marcin Dolega (Poland) seemed to be the lifter in the A-session capable of overtaking Lapikov in the snatch, but when he missed his opener, 193 kg, things didn't look so rosy, even though he came back to make a nice success with it on his second attempt. Going for broke on his third attempt, he attacked his own world record, calling for 200 kg, but it was too much for him today.

Once the clean and jerks really got underway, Lapikov's mark in the total was starting to to look better and better, and finally it came down to only Marcin Dolega and Dmitry Klokov (Russia) having shots at overtaking him. Dolega missed the jerk on 222 and then the jerk, so when he came out for his third attempt, it seemed like an easy-money bet that he'd fail, but he didn't, bumping Lapikov down to silver in the jerk and total. Klokov, who had been a bit of mystery as people had been speculating if he was lifting in A-session or B-session or whether he was even here. Klokov is a real screamer, literally, and at last year's world championships someone trying to describe him said to this reporter, "you know, the one who looks and yells like a caveman." He had opened with 218, and twice, Klokov called for the 227 he needed and twice he got it to arms' length overhead - his third attempt lookedlike he might hold on, but the jerk came crashing down.


Lifting in sauna-like conditions, Dmitry Lapikov made this gold medal 194-kg snatch look like a no-sweat effort. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Santo Domingo - Forget any lines you know about masters of their craft or even old age and treachery, because Ilya Ilin's (Kazakhstan) victory in the 94-kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships today was a triumph for youth.


94-kg winner Ilya Ilin and 233 kg meet up at the World Weightlifting Championships. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Alice Cooper knew it: Being 18 is special and tonight Ilya Ilin repeated as a senior world champion, even though he is only 18.

This class was expected to please no matter what the final outcome because along with the defending Olympic champion (Milen Dobrev, Bulgaria), it included the world record holder in the clean and jerk (Szymon Kolecki, Poland), and the reigning junior and senior world champion (Ilya Ilin). From the start, things did not go well for Milen Dobrev, though - a couple of days ago, he had told IronMind that he still had knee and back problems, and unfortunately, the snatch was not kind to him, as he bombed out with 170 kg. The snatch did Syzmon Kolecki no favors either, as he went to one knee trying to save his opener (173), came back to make it and then missed 176. Ilin made 170 and 175, before missing 177, so with these numbers, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the gold and silver medal in the snatch went to two Russian B-session lifters (Roman Konstantinov and Mukhama Sozaev, respectively).

In this class especially, and even more so with Dobrev out, the final results seemed likely to come down to the clean and jerk, and both Ilin and Kolecki are real long ball hitters. Kolecki opened with 214, rushed the jerk, sent it forward and the bar quickly crashed down - at this point, Kolecki would have seemed to have lost the chance to beat Ilin, who came out and smoked 217 on his opener, for first place position in the jerk and the total, but things were not quite over yet.

Kolecki went to 219 on his second attempt, looking for the gold in the jerk and the silver in the total, but he could stand up with the weight. On his third attempt, he struggled up and punched the jerk overhead, roaring in great satisfaction as he held the bar overhead.

He already had the gold medal in the total, but Ilya Ilin was eyeing a big target and he called for 233 kg, in a bid to break Kolecki's world record in the clean and jerk. Twice he got under it, but twice he could stand up with it up.

Want to bet how long that will last?

Santo Domingo - Nobody else in the 85-kg category could snatch 173, 174 or 175 kg, but Andrei Rybakou (Belarus) opened with 180, for a good lift, and then he set his sights on breaking his own world record by taking a shot at 187, only to miss it, closely, twice at the World Weightlifting Championships today.


Andrei Rybakou about to explode on his third attempt snatch: a 187-kg attempt to break his own world record. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

We might call him the world's best master, as 36-year old Aslambek Ediev (Russia) got the bronze medal in the clean and jerk with his third attempt 201, and that was a nice complement to his bronze in the snatch (172) and silver in the total.

203 proved to be a pivotal weight, as Roman Khamatchin (Russia) and Andrei Rybakou both made it on their second attempts - both would go on to try a lot more on their third attempts, but the 203 was good enough to give Khamatchin the silver in the jerk and it gave Rybakou two more golds to add to the one he had already won. Six attempts followed, including Rybakou taking a shot at 210 and Khamatchin taking one at 211, but none succeeded - Khamatchin gave 211 a good ride and had the bar to arms' length overhead, but couldn't fix it.

Maybe you didn't read the June issue of MILO, but no matter, because now you know why we put him on the cover and told you what he just might do this year: Phil Pfister came through like a trooper and he did it - he won the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest and now, guess who is going to be on the David Letterman Show?


He won the Car Walk, along with a total of five of the seven events in finals of the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, not to mention the overall title, and tomorrow night 2006 WSM winner Phil Pfister will be flipping a car on the David Letterman Show. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Phil's going to be flipping a car on tomorrow's David Letterman Show: October 5 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, so be sure to tune in for it. Phil might also be on Live with Regis on Friday morning, October 6, and we have a feeling that this is just the beginning for Mr. Pfister.

Santo Domingo - Weightlifting without Taner Safir (Turkey) isn't quite the same, so it was nice to see him back in competition tonight, where although not perfect, he won the men's 77-kg title at the World Championships.


Taner Sagir ran through three good snatches, ending up with this 166-kg lift as he won the men's 77-kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships this afternoon in Santo Domingo. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Oleg Perepechenov (Russia) always rips the bar up with no problem - it's just that sometimes it comes down almost as fast, and that's how things went for him tonight in the snatch . . . there was smoke coming off his three attempts with 160, but each came back to earth with a bang, so that left Li Hongli (China), Ara Khachatryan (Armenia) and Taner Sagir to sort out the medals. Both Sagir and Khachatryan hit all their lifts, with Sagir ending up with 166 and Khachatryan finishing with 165. Li Hongli, always a top snatcher, hit 163 and 167, before missing 170, sending it up and over his head.

Li Hongli's lead going into the clean and jerk shouldn't have been cause for alarm in the Turkish camp because he routinely easily cleans whatever weight he is taking, and then either shakes like a leaf on the jerk, or just misses it.

Tonight, he shook like a leaf but hung on for a good lift with 192, but 197 was too much on his second and third attempts. Sagir wasn't having the easiest time either, though, as he missed the jerk on his 195-kg opener, came back to make it on his second attempt, and as it turned out it was all he needed, and all he took, to win the gold medal in the total.

Another guy who did well on just two attempts in the clean and jerk was Perepechenov, who took 190 and 198, with the latter being good for the gold in the jerk, and it was a very easy lift, but then, he holds the world record at 210 kg. Khachatryan, who seems very tall for this class is a power jerker, but on his third attempt, 197 drove him into a full squat; he held the bar overhead, but could not stand up with it.

Qui Hongmei (China) won the women's 58-kg category; after having snatched 107, she tried a 135-kg clean and jerk on her third attempt, which would have been good for a new world record in the total, but she missed the jerk.

Santo Domingo - Qui Hongxia (China) attempted a world record in the snatch on her third attempt in the women's 53-kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships today, but missed it - same setup in the clean and jerk, and this time, she got it.


53-kg Qui Hongxia (China) put away 128 kg at the World Weightlifting Championships today, for a new women's world record in the clean and jerk. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The other big news from this class is that Yuderqui Contreras (Dominican Republic) was a chasing a medal and there was never any doubt of just who the large, very vocal crowd was there to support. In the end, all Contreras needed to hold onto her medal position was for Raema Lisa Rumbewas (Indonesia) to bomb, and she came close - missing the jerk twice on 115 and taking it to the edge of the platform on her third, for a two-to-one decision as she appeared to lose control of the bar.

Santo Domingo - Just when it looked as if the Chinese sweep would going to extend through another class, the French Weightlifting Federation served up a surprise dish, in the form of Vencelas Dabaya.


Vencelas Debaya (France) turned the weightlifting world upside down tonight, so why shouldn't he follow suit? Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

If you weren't at the 2006 Europeans, Vencelas Dabaya (France) might not have been on your radar, but after his performance here today in the men's 69-kg category, that won't happen again.

Shi Zhiyong (China) had to be the favorite going into this class, but after opening with 145 in the snatch, for a good lift, he missed 150 on his second - he just couldn't get under it - but came back to make it on his third attempt. Mete Binay (Turkey), who was going for the gold medal in the snatch, missed 151 on his second and third attempts - not high enough on his second, and close but no cigar on his third.

This left Shi out front, but not by much, and the snatch is his better lift. Importantly, Debaya, who has a very strong clean and jerk was only four kilos behind Shi and one behind Binay.

Armen Ghazaryan (Armenia), who had bombed in the snatch, was hunting for a medal in the clean and jerk, and he opened with 170, followed by a very nice 178 on his second attempt - he's a squat jerker, so Shi wasn't the only top guy in this class who didn't split. Shi, who had opened with 172, had made an easy 177 in the meantime. Debaya, who had opened with a very nice 178, made a very strong lift with 182 kg on his second attempt - good enough for first place in the jerk and in the total. Shi took 182, trying to leapfrog Debaya, but he couldn't stand up with the weight. Ghazaryan had one shot left and he went for the gold in the jerk, but even though he cleaned the weight, he never really tried to jerk it.

There were two attempts left, and one of them belonged to Demir Demirev (Bulgaria) - looking for a big hit, he took 186, aiming for the gold medal in the jerk and the total, but all he did was a pull.

Dabaya had the silver in the snatch, the gold in the jerk and in the total, and he was the 500th world champion in weightlifting, but why quit now? On his third attempt, the last in the class, he stuck 186.


Vencelas Dabaya meets 186 kg - this was just frosting on the cake because he'd already won the gold medal in the clean and jerk (and the total) in the 69-kg class at the World Weightlifting Championships today. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

It was GNC Grip Gauntlet time at the Mr. Olympia contest this weekend and ace grip guy Wade Gillingham, who runs and is the grandmaster of this leading grip event, filed this report for IronMind.

"This past weekend the GNC Booth at the two day Mr. Olympia expo saw Darryl Lattimore and Cassius Ware add their names to the select list of athletes that have completed all three elements of the GNC Grip Gauntlet in it's "light" format.� A new IronMind Captains of Crush No. 2 gripper, a Rolling Thunder with 187 pounds total weight, and the infamous 50 pound Blob, made up the Grip Gauntlet.� The number of competitors was estimated to be 700-1000.� Ten other athletes completed two of the three challenges, including the legendary arm wrestler John Brzenk, who toyed with the Rolling Thunder and No. 2 CoC gripper before being stopped by the Blob.� Previous Grip Gauntlet winner, Duke Holtzclaw, stopped by on both days to hoist the blob and walk through the other two challenges with extreme confidence."

Santo Domingo - If the men can't do it, the women will: Yang Lian (China) broke all three world records in the women's 48-kg category today at the World Weightlifting Championships.


She had plenty to smile about: Yang Lian (China) broke all the world records in the women's 48-kg category today. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The silver medal in the snatch went to Wiratthaworn Aree (Thailand), who made 85 kg; when Aree finished, there were three attempts left, and they all belonged to Yang Lian (China). Yang sailed through 90, 95 and then 98 for a new world record.


Yang Lian cranks on 98 kg in the snatch, on her way to her first world record of the night. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

In the clean and jerk, Yang opened with 110 and on her second attempt, she called for 116, which would be good for a new world record in the total. For her third attempt, Yang took 119 and knocked it out of the park, which gave her the world record in the clean and jerk, as well as another one in the total. Not a bad day, huh?

Santo Domingo - Talk about lift and run: Israel Rubio (Venezuela) lifted in the B-session of men's 62-kg category and by the time the A-session was done snatching, his 133-kg was good for the bronze medal, but he was already on his way home.


Qui Le hits the bottom with 140 at the World Weightlifting Championships today (Santo Domingo). Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Based on openers, it looked like one-two for the Chinese lifters, but Zhang Ping didn't have the horsepower today to get 138 up and locked out, although he came the closest on his third attempt. His teammate Qiu Le nailed 138 on his opener, didn't get 140 high enough on his second attempt, but then he stuck it on his third attempt. Oscar Figueroa (Columbia), who was very popular with the crowd, had made very nice lifts with 132 and 137, and with the last attempt of the class, he took 141 in a bid for the gold medal in the snatch - it just wasn't there today, though.

If the snatches were off the world record level, the gap was even more apparent in the clean and jerks. Zhang continued down the path he had followed in the snatch, missing all three clean and jerks, but he received a nice ovation and he handled his zero-for-six day with admirable grace. When everyone else was done, Qui took his first clean and jerk, 168 kg, and made a nice lift. When he jumped 10 kg on his second attempt, suddenly it appeared that the class would produce a high-level lift, but he missed the jerk, and when he took the same weight on his third attempt, he cleaned the weight, but then dumped the bar.