On October 17, 2015, sanctioned strongman shows have returned to Idaho after a very long hiatus. The Idaho Strongman Challenge was the first of many more to come and help unify strength athletes throughout the state. It was a fantastic day and a great reminder of the good times competing with friends, laughing and simply enjoying the day.
The events were very specifically chosen with novice competitors in mind, which coincidentally was also the largest class of competitors. The target was to choose events that were not too outrageous and represent more traditional strongman events. The events of the day included: log press, truck pull, max 18” DL, stone load for reps and the Captains of Crush Silver Bullet Hold. My favorite personal plight is that strongman needs more events that actually test grip strength, not foot speed. The Silver Bullet was something new, previously untested in a strongman competition and challenging for those who neglect grip training as part of their typical strongman training.
Highlights of the day included:
HW Competitor Chase Wiley stepping up and owning the Silver Bullet event with an impressive time of 27.44 seconds. While disappointed with himself and previous training success, this was an impressive showing. Chase will be competing at the Odd Haugen Strength Classic in LA with some lofty goals for this event.
The HW men stepping up to a challenge and loading the 350 stone for reps. Phill Zeek was able to load the stone for four reps and take the event win on it.
The competitors who traveled to compete. It was so nice meeting some of the different faces of strength in Idaho and begin the process of reunifying strongman throughout The Gem State and build more local competitions and options for competitors.
The novice competitors who always bring such joy, optomisim and passion for the events, competing and serving as a reminder of why most of us started competing in strongman to begin with.
The novice competitors who showed up without many expectations but were willing to put their egos to the side, learn some things and have fun along the way. They were all a fun and impressive group to watch and I look forward to seeing many of these faces again!
The winners for the day were: Zack Pickering with a solid win for the Novice Men, Cody Sinclair for Lightweight Men and Phil Zeek, Heavy Weight Men. Idaho will be represented well at United States Strongman Nationals in 2016 and we look forward to hosting another competition in the spring to qualify more competitors.