In the first of IFSA's four competitions this weekend - two qualifiers and two finals - Svend "Viking Power" Karlsen took top honors last night, winning the IFSA World Open qualifier in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Here are the official results for the top ten from that contest:

1. Svend "Viking Power" Karlsen (Norway), 46.5 points
2. Mikhail "Misha" Koklyaev (Russia), 42.0 points
3. Vidas Blekaitis (Lithuania), 40.5 points
4. Robert Szczepanski (Poland), 40.0 points
5. Vilius Petrauskas (Lithuania), 35.5 points
6. Jarno Hams (Holland), 34.5 points
7. Igor Pedan (Russia), 32.5 points
8. Reza Gharaei (Iran), 30.0 Points
9. Jan "The Giant" Krehacek (Slovakia), 27.5 points
10. Etiene Smit (South-Africa), 26.0 points

IFSA CEO Jussi Laurimaa sees this weekend as a huge opportunity for expanding strongman, saying that, "among Brazil's 178 million sports-crazy inhabitants, one is bound to find not only a potential big strongman fan base, but also some new talent for the sport overall."

Next up on the IFSA dance card this weekend is the Pan American Championships qualifier.