Asked whether IFSA Strongman would welcome an invitation for its athletes to be included in the field at Fortissimus 2008, IFSA Managing Director Christian Fennell told IronMind®, "IFSA would be open to the concept."


Even though he's never won the World's Strongest Man contest, it's impossible to consider IFSA's Zydrunas Savickas anything less than one of the absolutely strongest strongmen in the world. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

The question was prompted by the fact that the schism in the strongman world - with IFSA on one side and the World's Strongest Man contest on the other - is only bridged in one contest, the Arnold, so the thought was that by opening the field to all top competitors, the strongman community would be served well, and it would also boost the status and value of Fortissimus 2008 itself.

Fennell also, correctly, pointed out that the earlier statement that the $50,000 prize list announced for Fortissimus 2008, rather than being the largest for a strongman contest held on Canadian soil, was overshadowed by the $150,000 prize list from the 2005 IFSA World Championships in Quebec.

Could this be an incentive for the $50,000 already announced to climb even higher?

Hardly shrinking from an open competition, Fennell said, "IFSA guys are always open to taking on all comers."