UAE | Leisure
World's best begin challenge for the Strongest Man title
Competition catapults Abu Dhabi to elite sports hub status
- By Iman Sherif, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 13, 2012
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
- A karate demonstration during the opening ceremony of the World’s Strongest Man competition at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's quest to be among the world's sports capitals gained yet another success this year, by hosting a competition that has a global following — the World's Strongest Man.
Since its initiation in 1977, the competition has been held in many striking and beautiful locations, and now is being held for the first time in Abu Dhabi.
"This championship sets a lesson to Emirati youth about the concepts of challenge, perseverance and determination to succeed, and is a call for them to participate," Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, under whose patronage the championship is being held, told Gulf News.
The World's Strongest Man (WSM) is the premier competition that focuses on strength among athletes. For 34 years, the strongest men have competed in a series of events that test their physical strength and abilities.
This year, 25 contestants from 22 countries will compete to win the WSM title held only by 17 men in the history of this sport.
The three-day competition at Khalifa Park began yesterday. Tests of strength include lifting and moving heavy objects, including pulling trucks or aircraft.
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Contests
Each day will run different competitions. Only the top eight performers will compete tomorrow, the last day, to win a cash award, a trophy and the prestigious title of the World's Strongest Man.
The competition is being judged by four international judges and two judges from the Emirates Bodybuilding Federation. Farmers Walk: Competitors carried objects weighing 160 kilograms in each hand for a distance of 50 metres (setting them down after 25 metres and turning), and competed for the fastest time. Maximum time allowed was 75 seconds.
Log Lift: Competitors attempted to clean and press/jerk a 125 kilogram log overhead for as many times as possible. The most lifts won. Each athlete had 75 seconds time limit to complete as many lifts as possible.
Shield: Competitors picked up 150 kilogram shields from a platform and carried them as far as possible. The distance was measured when the shield was set down.
Tyre Flips: Contenders flipped tyres weighing 320 kilograms to pass a distance of 20 metres in the shortest time.
Ducks Walk Medley: Competitors carried weights of 220 kilogram for 15 metres, another 240 kilogram weight for 15 metres and a third 260 kilogram weight for 10 metres. The fastest athlete won.
Global participation
1. Tarmo Mitt (Estonia); 2. Mark Felix (UK); 3. Laurence Shahlaei (UK/Iran); 4. Josh Thigpen (USA); 5. Richard van der Linden (Holland); 6. Nicolai Hansen (Denmark); 7. Elbrus Nigmatullin (Kazakhstan); 8. Antanas Abrutis (Lithuania); 9. Aleksandr Lasyn (Ukraine); 10. Aleksandr Lapirev (Belarus); 11. Kevin Nee (USA); 12. Juanjo Diaz Garcia (Spain); 13. Sergey Trubicin (Uzbekistan); 14. Rolands Gulbis (Latvia); 15. Krzysztof Radzikowski (Poland); 16. Vusal Mardanov (Azerbaijan); 17. Adam Darasz (Hungary); 18. Vladimir Rizov (Bulgaria); 19. Mustafa Maleki (Iran); 20. Farzad Mouskhani (Iran); 21. Mika Jaakola (Finland); 22. Alexander Mancerov (Russia); 23. Marc Wells (Australia); 24. Gregor Stegnar (Slovenia); 25. Ricardo North (Brazil).
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