The 2016 APL Armlifting World Championships (St. Petersburg, Russia) was a breakthrough grip contest on a number of counts and setting the stage for what was to follow, four men—Maxim Popov, Sergey Shevshenko, Sergey Bogotopov, Alexander Kirillov—certified on the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge, proving themselves on this universal standard of all-around grip strength.

The Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge is based on the demonstrated mastery of three well-known, longstanding tests of grip strength, listed below, along with the required performance:

• Captains of Crush grippers: the No. 2 must be closed
• IronMind Hub: 20 kg must be lifted
• Rolling Thunder: 90 kg must be lifted

Congratulations, gentlemen: your names have been added to the official Crushed-to-Dust! certification list.

And special thanks to Dimitriy Sukovarov for refereeing all the official attempts to certify on the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge.




Dimitriy Suhovarov, who both organized and competed in the 2016 APL Armlifting World Championships, demonstrates that the Rolling Thunder handle is legal, and then he opened the attempts to certify on the IronMind Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge, a quick, fun way to demonstrate that one has superior, all-around grip strength. IronMind® | ©Randall J. Strossen photo




Maxim Popov (26 years old, 186 cm tall, 131 kg) powered through the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge, which includes a 20-kg lift on the IronMind Hub. IronMind® | ©Randall J. Strossen photo



42-year old Sergey Shevshenko (188 cm tall, 87 kg) proved his all-around superior grip strength by certifying on the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge and is shown closing the No. 2 Captains of Crush gripper. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen photo



CoC3 ’15 Sergey Bogotopov (37 years old, 118 kg) added to his grip strength laurels by officially completing the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge, one phase of which is lifting 90 kg on the Rolling Thunder. IronMind® | ©Randall J. Strossen photo





Alexander Kirillov (43 years old, 124 kg) is such a force in steel bending that he has been nicknamed The Bending Machine, but when it comes to lower arm and grip strength, he’s no one-trick pony as proven by his success on the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge. IronMind® | ©Randall J. Strossen photo



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