Midlands Strongest Man u105

Last weekend, The Warehouse Gym, Leicester, kindly hosted one of the most exciting competitions of the year in their newly opened dedicated strongman facility known as The Monster's Playground. With a whole host of strongman goodies backed by three former 105 champion officials, the stage was set for a fantastic show for the Midlands audience.

An early crowd eager for the competition to get underway

The competition kicked off with a farmers walk; a 120kg implement in each hand to be carried 30m up and down the length of the gym. I'm not entirely sure who was more energetic, the athletes or the super crowd cheering the competitors on, but it was definitely a good effort by both parties! The high standards were set right from the get-go, with Luke Skippon and John Hamson flying out of the blocks with near 20s times. The scores were tight, that was until Valdas Kazakevicius, the lightest competitor of the day, stepped up with 15 second run that blew the nearest competitor's 18s time out of the water. An absolute Phenomenal run put the young 96kg strongman in first place, with John Rudgard and Daz Clarke taking the runner up spots.

 

Luke Skippon and John Hamson beginning the 120kg farmers walk

The next event was one to separate the men from the boys: A 111kg big wheel axle, floor to overhead for as many repetitions as possible in the given time limit. With even one rep (like mine!) getting a huge roar of applause and encouragement, you can imagine how they felt about the likes of seven! Valdas, John Hamson and Daz Clarke smashed out their joint winning reps to the crowd's delight. Daz even managed an 8th, but with so much effort and enthusiasm used, the rep was disallowed when he dropped the weight from overhead. Unfortunately, due to the rules imposed by the head referees, he couldn't claim that vital win due to this unlucky mistake. The tension and drama were building at the venue, and the crowd could feel it too!

Jason Holgate manhandling the 111kg axle press

Next up was hands down one of the hardest, most uncomfortable and downright painful events in all of strongman; The Conan's Circle. The lads did well, pushing out up to 4 revolutions with confidence. Evidently lifting a 220kg implement is hard in itself, but resting it on your lungs and walking around in circles takes it to a whole new level. ...Well at least someone should have told Luke Skippon that, as he practically ran through this event, pushing out a near five full repetitions in the time some took to do a single! This was definitely a highlight of the entire day, and the volume of the crowd certainly agreed. Luke took the win with style, with Valdas, even while taking 'only ' second, was definitely pulling away from the pack. The pocket rocket was certainly making a name for himself at the midlands qualifier.

A focused and determined Rich Minney on the 220kg Conan's Circle.

After a quick break and BBQ generously provided by the venue, the fourth event was underway. A Volkswagon Polo complete with 90kg of concrete in the boot was to be deadlifted for repetitions  Yes, that's right, a car isn't heavy enough for these lads so they added bricks. Some valiant performances were displayed, personal bests were shattered and the crowd loved the anguish on the faces of the athletes. The resident powerlifters were clearly loving this event, but the experienced strongmen were hot on their tails. A whopping 19 reps from John Hamson,17 from both Daz and Valdas and a huge 16 from Dane Taylor took the top 4 spots with authority.

John Rudgard cranking out that final rep on the car deadlift

Next up was the appropriately named 'heinous carry and load' consisting of a 70kg sandbag, 80kg barrel, 110kg chain link and 135kg iron cylinder, all to be loaded over the Conan's bar. Everyone made quick work of the well-rehearsed sandbag and the barrel, but the real trouble came with the two not-so-normal implements. Eventually, it all came down to two things; who could load the first three quickest and who, if anyone, could eventually topple the solid iron cylinder. John Rudgard gave us our first taste of the latter, belting out all four objects in just over 20 seconds; Faster than most with just the three loads! The athletes to follow utilised some of the technique seen by John's run, albeit a little slower, granting some massive points to the current leader. However, it was of course Valdas who pipped him just out of the top spot by a single second, giving him yet another solid win.

Daz Clarke, one of the few men on the day to actually load the mammoth iron cylinder

The final event was a strongman classic although with a twist reminiscent of last year’s World's Strongest Man competion: Some really high platforms! The difficulty is raised substantially when the lighter stone, needing near overhead pressing, requires the same amount of effort as the final stone to a lower platform. This took many of the athletes by surprise leaving a handful to only load the first stone before wearing themselves out. With the final 6 to go however, things certainly got interesting. John Rudgard loaded the massive final 140kg stone in 73s, only to have Richard Minney, who had placed consistently in the top 5 for every event, blow it away in nearly half the time! The last 4 competitors including Daz, John, Luke and Valdas couldn't top Rich's fantastic effort, granting him the win in the final event! Daz and Valdas followed by mere seconds, but the competition was over.

Valdas Kazakevicius wins The Midlands Strongest Man u105!

A victorious smile

And with a fantastic showing from Daz and Rich in the final event, they both also qualify for Englands Strongest Man u105!

The final three with competition organiser Jay Pateman, receiving their unique tankard trophies!

A dominating performance from Valdas gives him a well-deserved win with Daz and Rich battling out for 2nd and 3rd respectively. Only 1-2 points separated the top 5, with Luke Skippon and John Hamson barely missing the qualifying cut. They should be proud however, along with the rest of the athletes who put on a fantastic show for the incredibly vibrant and enthusiastic audience down at The Warehouse Gym. The day was a huge success and the atmosphere was terrific from both the competitors and spectators.

A special thanks goes out to Jason Talbot and Jay Pateman for organising such a wonderfully smoothly ran competition. Also a big thanks to Ben Kelsey and Adam Bishop for refereeing the gruelling events and a final mention to the scorers, loaders and helpers on the day for which none of this could have been possible without the time and effort provided.

Many thanks to Martin Boyce of Photies.co.uk for supplying the outstanding photographs you see above.

Article by Paul Fong