Things don't always go according to plan, and Jesse Marunde is already eyeing next year's World's Strongest Man contest.

Coming into the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, Jesse Marunde was a heavy favorite: personable, energetic and talented, Marunde is the picture of the dynamic, crowd-pleasing strongman competitor, and most of the speculation about his performance this year centered around exactly where on the podium he would end up. And going through the qualifiers, the plot seemed to be unfolding as expected . . . until the last day.

Marunde said, "I reinjured my hamstring on the keg toss and every event it just kept getting worse."

By the end of the qualifiers, Jesse Marunde had slipped to third place in group two, which meant he was cut from the finals, an outcome few would have entertained.

As the highest-scoring third place finisher from the qualifying round, Jesse Marunde is the first alternate for the finals.

Making no bones about his disappointment, Marunde said, "I'm pretty down in the dumps," but showing his stuff, don't think this is where he stopped.

"I tried hard," Marunde said, "but the best men won. They deserve to advance, having beaten me fairly. I'm super motivated to get home and begin preparing for next year. I will be back bigger and better than ever. You can bet the farm on it."