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Ultimate Strongman Championships - Brisbane

Old Bull

By Old Bull
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big MAC Senior member

big MAC

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I know this is ridiculously long, but here's my write up. Some of you may appreciate it.

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I thought I better get onto a write up of this show cause many people have asked for one. Not being alot of footage around at present, this will have to do. What I'll do is describe the comp, noteworthy performances over the 3 days and then have a word on each athlete. In between that I'll share on my performance, but I don't think that deserves it's own write-up. As a warning, this is going to be long (nearly 3000 words), but hey, some people like this stuff.

The field included:

Zydrunas Savikas "Big Z" - Lithuania - "2009 Worlds Strongest Man"

Andy Vincent - USA - "2009 Olympia Strongest Man Champion"

Van Hatfield - USA - 2nd - "2009 Olympia Strongest Man"

Rauno Heinla - Estonia - Estonias Strongest Man

Travis Ortmayer - USA - 3rd Worlds Strongest man 2008

Nick Hansen - New Zealand - New Zealands Strongest man 2008

Alan "The Monster" Kliese - Australia - OZ Strongman Pro Champ

Eben LeRoux - Australia - Runner up Australias Strongest Man

Jono MacFarlane - New Zealands Strongest Man 2007

Rauno was the smallest at 5'10 and around 115kg/253lbs. He never said anything about weighing 107 as some reported, he was 120kg only a few weeks before the show. Big Z came in at 6'3 178kg/392lbs. So the average size of the athletes would be in the 6'3/145kg region.

Ages ranged from 22 (myself) to 38 (Van) with just about everyone in the 29-32 bracket.

The event and accommodation were at the Sleeman Sports Centre in Brisbane, Queensland. Only the truck pull was held 45 minutes away on the Gold Coast.

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Day 1

The athletes were taken by bus to Dreamworld theme park outside the Gold Coast. At midday the temperature was around 35C/95, but no one was concerned as the pull was only 20 tonnes for 20metres, and it was expected to be a fast pull. Unfortunately it appears that the truck was tested in one direction, but was switched around after 3 television news crews showed up. Dreamworld requested that the pull be done with their big rides in the background for publicity. There was concern that the truck would then have to be pulled over a manhole cover and a divot in the road, but we began anyway.

This turned out to be one of the hardest truck pulls ever according to some athletes. Those that made it out of the first divot were eventually stopped by the second. Thus, distances ranged from 2m to 4.8m of the 20m course. 6th through 8 were separated by just 3cm, with myself disappointed to lose 2 points due to such a small gap. Andy Vincent took out the win, Zydrunas in 2nd and Travis 3rd.

Following the truck pull we got the VIP treatment. Lunch in the boardroom and then a tour of Australia's equivalent to Disneyland. We got to go first on every ride that basically Travis wanted to do, ie.. anything fast. There should be some hilarious pictures surfacing over time of 9 big guys trying to squeeze into rides. Strongman favourite was the 'Tower of Terror', which blasts you up to the top of a halfpipe, then sends you down backwards.

We then went to Waterworld theme park and got the same treatment. Getting taken straight to the front of rides which had 90 minute waiting limits annoyed some people in the park, but no one was about to argue with 9 shirtless strongmen. Running jokes mostly centred around who would wind up on the 'bear-blogs' first. Andy Vincent kept up his winning ways by taking out the hydroslide speed challenge, with myself in a close second.

Probably the funniest moment was trying to get the guys into 4-man rafts to go down a hydroslide. Zydrunas practically deformed the thing on his own, so we were only allowed to pair up otherwise, "someone will die and that won't be very good for us."

All in all this was an epic day and we were all looking forward to the remaining 8 events, despite being cooked like lobsters in the Aussie sun.

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big MAC Senior member

big MAC

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Day 2

Saturday began with the OZ Strongman amateur nationals at the Sleeman. Five events later Jason Bishara took out the under 90kg class, Ryan Phillips the 105's and Marc Wells the heavyweights. These guys completed a Queensland clean sweep. Then there was the CAPO (untested) deadlift nationals. Strongman Warrick Brant took out the raw title with a lift of 340kg/749lbs, missing 350kg due to grip failure. Derek Boyer went down to Melbourne and lifted an equipped 370kg/815lbs to take out that title, apparently narrowly missing 380kg.

Then it was time for the USC. The venue had around 3-400 spectators each night, they were however vocal and got behind all the athletes. It was a fantastic atmosphere, with a dark theatre, stage lights and smoke. 4 Events were done each night in under 2 hours, so it was a big adrenaline rush.

Farmers Walk: 155kg/341lbs for 30m/100ft with a turn. These were difficult implements, and every athlete with the possible exception of Van Hatfield, got pulled sideways by the turn. Zydrunas came out firing and won in around 15 seconds if my memory serves me right. I was quite happy to finish this in 28 seconds.

Dumbell clean and press for reps: 83kg/183lbs Inch replica. A few athletes were worried that this dumbell would be hard to press, as it had a greater than normal tendency to slip off the shoulders. 4 Reps was the early mark until Andy came out and hit I believe 7. Dumbell is one of Travis' favourite events and he dominated it for 10 reps in 75 seconds. However, Big Z was still to come and he strict pressed it for 11 reps with time to spare. I hope this video finds it's way online, as it was mind-boggling. I was in 6th at this point and buzzing.

Deadlift for reps: 320kg/705lbs from +-15"/mid shin. We used the Appollons axle set up with a powerlifting bar here, with the athletes standing on matting. I will stress that this height was only slightly more than a regular deadlift, and in my opinion 2 or more inches lower than the 17" partial height that I'd trained at. Nick Hansen from New Zealand put in a great performance here with 8 reps. Andy Vincent struggled in this event doing from memory 5 reps, and all but dropping out of the Big Z-Travis race for the lead. Van then took the lead, only to be beaten by Travis who got an impressive 13 reps. After doing only a single with 320kg to warm up, Zydrunas came out and smashed 14 reps with 30 seconds still left on the clock. I have little doubt that he could have done in the high teens if required. While hitching up the 1st rep my back went, and I hobbled off the stage without a point. Due to time constraints I only got to do 180 and 270kg lifts to warm up, which may have contributed to the injury. All I knew was that I would try to finish the show and that 2010 would be the year I get a decent deadlift.

Conans Wheel: This was either 320 or 340kg, in a chain suspended basket. I went first after coming last in the deadlift. Decided I'd just go out and give it a good go and that the event wouldn't be too hard on the back. Getting a solid pick and starting slowly due to the chain, I eventually put it down at 39m, just short of 2 full revolutions. Being one of those events where people know what they have to do to win, I fully expected to be easily beaten here. Much to my surprise, I watched as guys I expected to beat me like Andy, Nick and Van came short of this mark, Allan finally beating it by going 41m. Then out came Rauno from Estonia and he blitzed the event, going over the 50m/165ft mark. Travis managed to just get in front of Rauno, with Big Z I think doing the same to Travis. That kind of competitiveness is inspiring!

At this point, Zydrunas led Travis by 3 points, with Andy in 3rd. The competition developed 4 main battles. Z vs Travis for 1st; Andy, Van and Allan for 3-5th; and Rauno, Nick, myself and Eben for 6-9th.

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Day 3

Yoke: 430kg/950lbs for 15 metres. This was made slightly heavier after the distance was decreased. After being really cautious in warm-ups, I was happy to finish the course in 18 seconds with 2 drops. Allan aka the Monster blew through this in 8.5 seconds to take a big lead, with Travis in that ballpark too. Along came Z and smashed the course in 7.75 seconds, for yet another win.

Log medley: 120kg/265lbs, 140/308, 160/352, 180/352, 200/440.

Everyone knew the 200kg log was there for Z if he wanted to play. The field was basically divided into those who could get the 140kg log as quickly as possible, and those who got the 160. I did the first 2 in a fast time, and was disappointed that I couldn't hit the 160kg as my press was feeling good. Andy Vincent did 3 beautiful clean and powerjerks to take the lead. Then Van managed to clean the 180kg 4th log, but couldn't get it overhead. Travis unfortunately was struggling with shoulder pain and only managed 2 logs (albeit in the fastest time) which effectively ended his race with Zydrunas. Then Big Z came out and clinically pressed all 4 logs, with little to no leg drive. The power in his shoulder is simply astounding. The crowd encouraged him into going for the 200kg log, but he was called for time.

Powerstairs: 160/352, 175/385, 200/440 18' implements up 5x18" stairs.

These proved to be a good challenge, with longer implements and stairs than usual in this event. I did 1 stair to get a point to protect my back. Nick Hansen took the early lead with a time of 40 seconds, before Rauno came out and using the Pudzianowski 'bunny-hop' technique lowered that down to 30 seconds. This held the lead until Zydrunas lowered it by half a second. Anyone who says this man lacks conditioning due to his size doesn't know what they're talking about. Travis I think somehow squeezed into the half second between Z and Rauno.

Stones: 130kg/286lbs, 140/308, 160/352lbs, 173kg/380, 180/396, 215/473lbs. Heights ranged from 1.6m down to 900mm.

The last event of the show and we went reverse order from our overall placing, rather than our placing in the previous event. Nick and Eben's performances in the powerstairs meant that I now had to actually do this event to hold 7th place, and beat them. Both found the non-spherical 4th 380lb stone to be too much of a hurdle. I came out and did the 1st 3 stones in a time that I knew would be fast enough to beat them and hold 7th, but decided to go for the 4th stone incase. After an easy lap, my back started to seize and I just decided to try load it and hope it was high enough. Next thing I know, I blacked out with the stone still in my arms. My body went limp and I landed on the 5th stone, which turned my body sideways. The 380lb stone came down on my knee, but as my body was turning, it bounced off to the side and didn't bottom out my knee. Not knowing really what had happened I got up and tried again. The video footage of this was scary, I had no clue it looked so bad. Whew...

Andy Vincent came agonising close to loading the 473lb 6th stone, same with the Monster. Van then managed to load to take the lead. Travis was getting warmed up backstage and enlisted me as an honourary Team USA member to help him with his tacky. It was awesome watching him say to himself, "This is my event. King of Stones." repeatedly. He blitzed the run in a time around 34seconds. Big Z came out having already won the show, and motored through the first 5 stones in a quicker time than Travis. However, he was unable to load the 6th stone, giving Travis the event win.

Final placings:

1. Zydrunas Savickas

2. Travis Ortmayer

3. Van Hatfield

4. Andy Vincent

5. Allan Kliese

6. Rauno Heinla

7. Jono Macfarlane

8. Nick Hansen

9. Eben Le Roux

Many thanks to Chris Andrews for promoting this show in conjunction with Mark Ryan. The fans that came out were fantastic and made it a special event. Dione Wessels of the American Strongman Corporation was a fantastic judge and there is never a dull moment with her around. Many thanks to MAX's supplements for being the main sponsor of the event.

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big MAC Senior member

big MAC

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A word on the competitors...

Zydrunas Savickas - When some of the best strongmen in the world call you the strongest man in history, I'd take that claim seriously. I've often said in a sporting context that "You cannot become what you are in awe of." I've never been completely in awe of someone in this sport, but that all changed with Z. Rumours that he's retiring soon are not true, he says he wants to keep going for as long as he wants. His training is a secret, and while we all talked of the benefits of good training partners, Z trains on his own. He says that when other strongmen try train with him, they copy him and can't keep up. His best log press in training is the often reported 220kg/484lbs. He also said that perhaps in 2 years he would like to go back to powerlifting and do IPF worlds, with the goal of winning and breaking the squat world record. I wish him well.

Travis Ortmayer- Travis has always been one of my favourite strongmen. He inspired me to compete with much greater intensity for my next show. The man has huge self-belief and did fantastically despite not having the ideal build up after Worlds and with the birth of his son, Mikhail.

Van Hatfield- Van is without a doubt, the man. It was an honour to share the field with him and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with him. He played the crowd perfectly and is the best example I've seen of being entertaining and performing to a high level. I also want traps like his... lol.

Andy Vincent- It's crazy that Andy's done only a handful of shows and he's already this good. He will only benefit from more experience and with a bit of work on his deadlift I have no doubt he's going to be a WSM finalist. We're quite similar strongmen (except he's obviously stronger) and he's a good guy to look up to. USA!

Allan Kliese- Allan's a Monster. Afterwards he was a bit disappointed as it was obvious he'd have preferred to have come 3rd or 4th. At the rate of progress he's making he will get to the top of the sport before long. Already he proved he's one of the best yoke walkers in the world. It is my own opinion, and it's shared by others, that if anyone from this part of the world gets an invite to Worlds Strongest man next year, it should be Allan.

Rauno Heinla- at only 27 years old, Rauno is already really experienced. He never gives up and his performances on the conans wheel, deadlift and powerstairs showed that he had what it took to hang with the best. If he can gain 10kg he will be even more dangerous. By the way, he went to the after comp drinks, had an hour sleep, caught a plane to Sydney and went straight to do a 10hr manual labour shift on the Monday. Crazy Estonian.

Jono Macfarlane- this feels pretentious. I think this comp proved to me that I have what it takes to hang at this level, but I need more experience and a bigger deadlift first. I look forward to the next 2-3 years.

Nick Hansen- Nick is simply strong and he proved that he has the world class back and hamstring strength. He finished 5th in a number of events and 1-upped me in that he actually took part in NZ Strongest man the week before, and dominated.

Eben Le Roux- Eben I know was disappointed with how things went. He came 2nd this year at Australia's strongest man, losing I think by only 1 point to Derek Boyer. I expect that he'll gain 10kg for next season and hopefully sort out his shoulder issues.

That was ridiculously long, but I hope some will appreciate it. Looking forward to the 2010 strongman year!

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big MAC Senior member

big MAC

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:clap: I did!!! Thanks for taking the time to post, you did well in a tough comp! I've been waiting for one of you to post something 8) Any pix or vids to share? :pray:

I didn't take pics, just have Zydrunas doing log medley which I will get up soon. Arguably the most impressive performance of the show. Nick and Nate have the pics.

I do have a few pics, will try get them up. Only got this one now! All of us at Waterworld, minus Eben.

L-R: Nick, Van, Travis, Rauno, Zydrunas, Me, Allan, Andy. Eben is the guy in the truck pull with the shaved head.

post-754-14166820269498_thumb.jpg

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