I think this is where it will naturally head anyway. When I started strongman, all the newbies were powerlifters who could move a bit with the occassional rugby player.
It felt like there were lots of max effort events.
Nowadays, I see 5 crossfitters start up for every powerlifter.
Over time, this will naturally skew the events. I think it’s happening already as I haven’t seen a local show do an insanely heavy yoke, I saw a loading medley involving tires (as in carry and load a car tire - 30kg?), I saw a barbell clean and press/jerk and I’ve seen a couple of light max distance events which used to be rare (at least where I live).
I do find that shows tend to vary by region. I have lots of heavy yoke shows nearby me, but haven’t seen a heavy dead in a long time. In CA, lots of good deads and light yokes. But yeah, whole lotta crossflow between crossfit and strongman.
I think a return to lighter shows would honestly be a good thing for the sport. More athletes looking like Mariusz and Poundstone would draw more of an eye.
They televise it it every year in the UK and play it over 6 days from Boxing day to New years.
Each day is one heat until the final, so 6 events over an hour. Admittedly there is a lot more talking and adverts than lifting but its not bad TV, I make sure to watch every year.
Does anyone else feel sorry for Hafthor? 3 times second place, 1 point away this year, 1/2 a point last year, not sure how close the other time. Always the bridesmaid
They televise a very heavily edited version of it every year, right, but not the whole thing. We get it stateside as well. Used to be around the same time, but this year was pretty close to the end of the actual competition.
For Thor, he’s still young. I see a lot left in the future for him.
Id like to see him win it. In previous years I predicted him finishing bridesmaid because of his Hollywood distractions, so would love to see a serious year rewarded with a Win.
He was happy with his total number of reps until Eddie went and did more. Then he protested and complained. When the judges reviewed his reps they said up to 3 looked questionable.
Eddie could have lost that event and still won the contest.
If halfthor sticks with it I think he’ll get strong just as Shaw passes his prime. He could win multiple with that frame.
I just watched the final last night - awe-inspiring stuff. That 700lb squat for reps was disgusting. Hafthor is definitely my favourite, but I think Eddie deserved the win. Big Z’s facial expressions just crack me up haha.
I also watched the Netflix documentary “Born Strong” which showed a few clips I’d seen in other programmes, but is definitely worth a watch. It follows Eddie Hall, Brian Shaw, Hafthor and Big Z in the run up to the 2016 Arnold Classic.
I hope Eddie does retire now. It’s crazy to think that he is only 29, and he acknowledges in the documentary that he doesn’t think he’ll live another 10 years at his current weight.
Eddie seems like a great bloke, he’s got a sense of humour too. Robert Oberst is probably my favourite strongman right now, not for his ability (which is still insane), but his personality. Even if it’s just the persona he projects, the guy is awesome.
Met him at my third competition, along with Nick Best. Both of them super great dudes. Oberst actually filmed my attempt at stones so that my wife could cheer me on, and he yelled some coaching at me when my stone sleeves fell apart. Also gave me some props for my Punisher tat, haha.
Fun story: my wife was standing next to him and didn’t even realize it. And not like, she didn’t realize it was Rob Oberst; she didn’t realize she was standing next to a human. She assumed she was next to a wall, since it was a 6’8 400lb mound of flesh. When Rob walked away, she panicked, because she thought the “wall” she was standing next to was crumbling.
I keep coming back to this in my head but these events seem hand picked for Hall.
The only event that height would matter was the Atlas stones (Hall 4th) and 3 static strength events (which Hall won all 3). 2 of those Dead and Squat Hall has a distinct advantage being shorter.
A loaded carry instead of one of those static strength’s and Hall probably isnt winning.
I don’t like Hafthor. Juggling shooting for film and TV while training for world competitions doesn’t make him a harder worker than the other guys imo. Maybe if he put more focus on competition, he’d have won?
I noticed he also wasn’t holding up his trophy on the podium like Hall and Shaw were. Like, really?Just seems like a big ungrateful child carried by genetics.
