Good evening blog
readers, my name's Paul and today I was given the opportunity to
report on England's Strongest Man U105. This was actually my first
ever attended competition so as you can imagine I was pretty psyched
to watch how these guys battled out for that prestigious title. For
months, 60 men have been whittled down to just 13. Today was a battle
of the best, and what a show I was in for!
The competition
began promptly within minutes of the stated start time and first up
was the circus dumbbell medley. 51, 57, 67, 78 and 105kg dumbbells
were to be lifted and dropped consecutively in a controlled manner to
award points. Practically everyone made short work of the first
three, but it was the big 78 that caused problems for a lot of the
competitors. Ben Kelsey, Darren Clarke and George Winston
successfully managed the lift on their first attempt, with Sebastian
Iwaniak and Damien Turner requiring further attempts. With just
single seconds separating the top 3, it was already proving a close
competition as Ben Kelsey took the win on time. However, with only
five competitors completing just the 4th dumbbell, ESM2012
was indeed going to test every fabric of strength within these
incredible athletes.
Next up was the
deceptively low big-wheel deadlift. The challenge: 300kg for reps
(from what looked to be around 12 inches) within a 75 second time
limit. With the majority of the competitors setting a very
respectable 1-3 rep standard, Ben Kelsey stepped up to the platform
and ripped out 13 huge reps. The crowd went wild, and the competition
saw it's first glimpse of a potential dominating force. Many more
tried, with the rep count climbing between the 5-8 range now, but
still Ben looked unstoppable. As Sebastian Iwaniak approached the
bar, he calmly asked what he needed for the win, and as the judge
replied with 14, he confidently looked down to the bar and ripped it
upwards. In very controlled and technical manner, the crowd watched
as he built his way up to ten big reps but eventually ran out of
time. He looked good for more, but Ben's speed snatched him the
victory for a second event win.
As the tractor pull was
being measured, I couldn't help but notice the giant block of
concrete stuck to the back of it. So as if a 1.5 ton tractor wasn't
enough, the great big pile of concrete tipped it to a whopping 2
tons. And it was pulled on grass, which I can only imagine being a
real pain in the arse for trying to gain that initial intertia and
continuous momentum started. Alas, every competitor completed the
pull in half the time limit, suggesting that these guys really meant
business. Jonathon Mills flew ahead by over two and a half seconds,
robbing Ben of his third win leaving him in second place. A variety
of different pulling methods were used; Some used the legs, the arms,
even their back! It was a wonderful sight for someone who's got an
upcoming arm-over-arm in a novice comp soon...
Next up was the sandbag
loading, which definitely looked like the hardest event of the day.
As James Clayton approached the sandbags, he seemed almost guaranteed
to load it, but from the spectator’s view, there was a problem. As
they were using the side of the stone loading platform, there was a
6” bar around 3” inwards on the platform that the competitors
also had to clear. This caused so many problems, especially for the
shorter athletes, and proved the downfall for over a third of the
competitors. Even worse was when the athletes tried to compensate for
this bar by literally flinging it over, only to have it roll off the
edge! It turned out to be a very technically challenging event, but a
superb performance by Darren Clarke and Daniel Cave gave them the top
two spots as the only competitors to load all four. Considering these
bags were 10kg over bodyweight and essentially required shouldering,
the crowd definitely appreciated all of the athlete's efforts and
cheered everyone on, regardless of placing.
The penultimate event
of the competition was the keg toss, and once again Ben Kelsey
claimed the win after a dominative run. Followed closely by
Sebastian, they were the only two competitors who managed the 6th
and final keg. At 18kg and needing a height of over 14 feet, a lot of
competitors found it challenging, but that didn't stop them trying! A
valiant effort from Darren Clarke, Damian Turner and George Winston
saw them repeatedly try it after a blisteringly fast first five, but
to no such luck. Unfortunately, most athletes found themselves
running 15m and back after stray kegs went under or around the bar,
perhaps unexpectedly testing their cardio and stamina as well as
their explosive power!
And of course, the
perfect final event to any strongman competition, the atlas stones.
Just a quick note to mention how cool the loading platform was, as it
was 3-4 logs laid down allowing the stones to sit in between them,
very intuitive! (Well, I'd never seen one before anyway...). At a
starting weight of 117kg, these stones were not for the faint
hearted. Still, everyone managed at least two (135kg) and over half
the competitors managed three! (160kg). Once again, when the crowd
noticed how tough these guys found it, they really backed every
little attempt there was. With the 4th and final stone,
most competitors managed to lap it, and some even came close to
loading it, but it all came down to Sebastian, Darren and Ben. Seb
made the first three look easy, and loaded the 4th with
confidence too, finishing in a very fast time of 35 seconds. Next,
Darren was up, and while the first three went up very quickly, the
4th just wouldn't budge. As both Ben's and the
competition's final turn came around, he rose to the occasion, the
crowd screaming and shouting, and the 175kg stone was loaded with
authority.
Ben Kelsey wins
England's Strongest Man U105kg!
A dominative
performance grants Ben a well earned victory, with Darren Clarke and
Sebastian Iwaniak following closely behind in second and third,
respectively. A huge congratulations to not only our top 3, but also
the top 6 who've now qualified for Britain's Strongest Man U105, and
of course to the rest of the roster who put on an absolute belter of
a show too. And not just only them, but also the officials,
organisers and volunteers who allowed for a impeccably organised and
well run competition on the day. I'm afraid to admit it but I
actually missed a few good photos from writing notes, only to look up
and find that a new athlete had already started! (Almost TOO
organised!).
Like I said, this was
my first competition and these phenomenal guys have made it an
awesome day out. Depending on the organisation and smoothness of
other shows, they may have indefinitely ruined all future comps for
me with such high standards too! A magnificent field of athletes,
officials and organisational team definitely made this a day to
remember.
