Today was the first day of the qualifying round at the 2006 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest in Sanya, China, and while it was hot for everyone, some guys had a better day than others.

Some groups had two events today while others had one, and with world travelers commenting on how extremely hot it is at the competition site, the weather could well end up playing a part in this year's contest - any way you slice it, World's Strongest Man requires good stamina and survival skills, so this year's heat seems perfectly suited to the situation.

Although these are unofficial, here are the top standings at the end of the first day of qualifiers.

Mariusz Pudzianowski leads group one, followed by a three-way tie for second place: Arild Haugen, Don Pope and Mohammad Gharei. Jesse Marunde is the leader in group two, with Terry Hollands in second place. Group three is led by Janne Virtanen, with Darren Sadler in second place. Tarmo Mitt is the leader in group four, with Dominic Filiou and Boris Haraldsson tied for second place. In group five, Sebastian Wenta is in first place, and Slawomir Toczek is in second place.

The events are said to be extremely well-designed and the contest is reported to be off to a silky-smooth start; the local hosts are winning continual praise for their efforts in supporting what is being described as an exceptional World's Strongest Man contest.