2006 World’s Strongest Man Phil Pfister reportedly posted the fastest time on the Atlas Stones, and is on his way to the finals.

So are 5-time World’s Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski, not to mention Zydrunas Savickas, Brian Shaw, Laurence Shahlaei, Travis Ortmayer, Derek Poundstone, Louis-Philippe Jean, Terry Hollands and Dave Ostlund.

Much has been said of Brian Shaw’s very strong showing and the relentless power of Zydrunas Savickas, but today added more exclamation points as Pfister capped off his qualifiers with yet another win (netting victories in five of the six events) in the group where Mariusz Pudzianowski was shut out.  Derek Poundstone came in as a big favorite for top honors, but he wasn’t able to load the final stone today - adding another dimension to pre-contest bets.  And Travis Ortmayer, all but written off as dead and buried, well, his obituary was a little premature.

It’s onward and upward now, so stay tuned for the finals of the 2009 World’s Strongest Man contest: Continue to follow the highlights each day on the official World’s Strongest Man website as well as on the IronMind News and the IronMind Twitter account.