Slawomir Toczeck getting two grips with the Car Deadlift (World's Strongest Man™, IMG Media Ltd.)
Among the ten athletes to qualify for the World's Strongest Man Final was the overwhelming favourite, Mariusz Pudzianowski of Poland. With another victory here in China, Mariusz would become the third four-time champion in the history of the World's Strongest Man, joining Jon-Pall Sigmarsson and Magnus ver Magnusson. Phil Pfister of the United States is a man that struggled at times during the qualifying round but could certainly be a factor in the final. Sebastian Wenta of Poland, Estonia's Tarmo Mitt, and Don Pope of the United States were a few of the other contenders.
With three hardcore challenges on the first day of the competition, there was no easing into the ultimate test in strength athletics. The three events for the day were the Power Stairs, the Deadlift, and the Overhead Lift.
Ravis Vidzis fighting through the pain in the Power Stairs (World's Strongest Man™, IMG Media Ltd.)
There were two heats of five in the Power Stairs. The first heat consisted of Jarek Dymek, Mark Felix, Tarmo Mitt, Raivis Vidzis, and Sebastian Wenta. Tarmo Mitt climbed the 23 stairs in a time of 34.19 to win heatone. Vidzis and Wenta were among the athletes that had their hands shredded by the 507 pound weight.
The second heat featured Terry Hollands, Phil Pfister, Don Pope, Mariusz Pudzianowski, and Slawek Toczek. Not so surprisingly, it was Mariusz Pudzianowski winning the event in a time of 26.33, relegating Mitt to the number two position.
Don Pope and Mark Felix finished third and fourth respectively.
Mariusz Pudzianowski fighting for one more rep (World's Strongest Man™, IMG Media Ltd.)
The Deadlift has always been one of the truest measures of strength, and this year it would be no different. The athletes were required to lift a pair of cars weighing a total of 728 pounds, an increase from the 661 pounds in the qualifying round. There was a tie at the top of the leaderboard with Mark Felix and Mariusz Pudzianowski each completing 17 repetitions. 13 reps put Jarek Dymek in third place. Terry Hollands, Raivis Vidzis, and Phil Pfister shared third with 12 repetitions.
Then it was on to the Overhead Lift, an event that proved to be very imposing in the qualifying round. Altered slightly for the Final, the fours stones checked in at 227, 247, 275, and 294 pounds. Once again the oddly-shaped stones presented difficulty to the best strongmen in the world. The only man who was able to successfully lift all four stones was Phil Pfister. Six men lifted two stones, but it was Mariusz Pudzianowski doing it in the fastest time to pick up second place.
Terry Hollands completes the Power Stairs course (World's Strongest Man™, IMG Media Ltd.)
(For full results from each day, please check the results section.)
