Group 1 The first event of the day , the carry and drag, saw the athletes carrying a 100 kg anchor 10 metres to a 200 kg chain; once there they had to hook the two together and drag them to the finish line, a further, agonising, ten metres away. After patiently waiting for the event to start the on looking audience were rewarded with some impressive action as Mick Holding and Mark Felix went head to head. Holding took first place by half a second with Felix, after a shaky start catching fast. Neither athlete would see their times bettered throughout the day. In the afternoon their rivalry continued, this time in the Overhead Log Press. Felix claimed third place with 11 reps and added extra excitement by slipping and collapsing over the advertising boards. Holding took second place with 12 reps. But it was another Englishman, Jimmy Marku, who stole the show, producing an inspired performance in forcing out an impressive 14 reps in the allotted 75 seconds .
Group 2
Group 2 was dominated by England's Terry Hollands.
The giant from Dartford in Kent completed the Duck Walk and Anchor / Chain Medley in an outstanding time of 15.63 seconds; an incredible achievement and by far the fastest Medley time of the day. The Minehead crowd were suitably impressed with the power of Hollands, who wagged his finger with delight as he crossed the line. Hollands used all the experience gained in the final of last year's World's Strongest Man as he dominated the second event of the day, the Overhead Log Press, with 11 reps, 3 more than Andy Cairney and Paul Carter in joint second place. With 4 events remaining it seems that the other men in the group must make do with a battle for the runners-up qualifying spot.
Group 3 
Group 3 today threw up a great competition between Mark Westaby and Chris Innes, but it was Westaby who seized maximum points from the day's two events.
Their battle in the "Safe Lift" was one of the highlights of day 1. Fans were rewarded for their patience with the unpredictable seaside weather, as both Innes and Westaby produced consistent and well balanced lifts side by side . It was almost as if the success of one forced the other to punish their body more and more cruelly. The first day fittingly ended here with Westaby and Innes producing 26 reps between them ; Westaby with an incredibly impressive 15. Group 4 Group 4 were the last to go in the Duck Walk/Anchor and Chain Medley, and it was by far the most impressive race of the morning with every competitor completing the course. Darren Sadler came from behind to clinch first place, with Francis Kirby a close second. Louis Maclean, Jay Hughes and Paul Wood however all deserve a mention for finishing the course and all within 3 seconds of each other. In the afternoon it was Darren Sadler again who came out on top with 11 reps in the Safe Lift. He was closely followed by Paul Wood with 10 reps who was unlucky to finish 5th in the Medley, but showed great character in picking up 4 points this time around. This meant that Saddler topped the group overnight with maximum points, but the other 4 athletes could not be separated; all tied in second place with 5 points each. It will be interesting to see which athletes qualify from this very close group. |
