Strongman Contest

One of my coworkers is a strongman competitor. You may have seen this kind of competition on ESPN. Recently, there was a 'Record Breakers' under-105kg strongman event in Hamina, Finland, so I went to see it in person and to cheer on my coworker, Risto.

It was a 2-day competition, and I was there only on the first day. I saw four different events: the medley (sack carry + farmer's walk + tire flip), the log lift, the farmer's walk, and the truck pull. The tire flip and truck pull were certainly the most spectator-friendly events, as you could get a good feel for how heavy the object was. The other thing worth noting is that though the 'World's Strongest Man' events on TV always have very brightly colored weights and other visual aids, this was held in a sandy lot, with industrial-looking equipment. The shiny red truck was the only exception.

Anyway, I was witness to 3 new world records in the farmer's walk, which was cool. Here is Sergei (the overall winner) making his world record:


Here is Risto in the sack carry part of the medley:


I was sad to miss the Atlas Stones (my favorite event to watch), but here they are ready for Saturday's competition (plus the car for the dead lift on the right):