Hardly on anyone's short list after the qualifiers, Mariusz Pudzianowski wasted no time making everyone believers once the finals started. Pudzianowski dominated the 2003 WSM contest in a manner that will have heads shaking in disbelief for quite some time. Zydrunas Savickas finished in second place and Vasyl Virastyuk in third place. The final placings were: 1) Pudzianowski 2) Savickas 3) Virastyuk 4) Samuelsson 5) Bergmanis 6) Dymek 7) Girard 8) Paulen 9) Karlsen and 10) Dolan. Be sure to watch the WSM TV show when it airs in December.

Mariusz Pudzianowski continued his winning ways at the 2003 WSM today, appearing to lock up the defense of his title. With one event left (tomorrow), total points are: Pudzianowski, 58; Savickas, 41; Samuelsson, 37; Virastyuk, 33; Dymek and Bergmanis (tied), 31; Girard, 28; Paulen, 27; Karlsen and Dolan (tied), 21.

Without the official points, there is still a shadow of uncertainty, but Mariusz Pudzianowski appears to have won the 2003 WSM title. Pudzianowski is said to have won both events today, leaving him with not only a near-sweep of all the events so far, but even more important, he appears to be incapable of losing the title tomorrow, which features one event: a farmer's walk. If the official points are released, this can be confirmed, but for now, if the rumors are true, Mariusz Pudzianowski is the WSM 2003 winner, even if he did it a day early!

Jessen Paulen got off to a great start at WSM today, winning the first event, the Hercules Hold, and Magnus Samuelsson followed up by winning the Atlas Stones, but the day's biggest winner was Mariusz Pudzianowski, who increased his overall lead. After four events, total points are: Pudzianowski: 38, Savickas: 28, Samuelsson: 27, Bergmanis: 23, Virastyuk: 22, Paulen: 22, Girard: 17, Karlsen: 16, Dymek: 15, Dolan: 13.

Defending champion Mariusz Pudzianowski leads after the first day of the WSM finals. Pudzianowski has 20 points, followed by Savickas, 18 points, Virastyuk, 16 points, Samuelssson and Bergmanis, both at 12 points, Karlsen, 9 points, Dymek and Dolan, both at 5 points, and Paulen, at 3 points.

The 52nd Annual World Wristwrestling Championships is scheduled for October 11th and 12th at the Speak Easy Inn & Casino in Reno, Nevada. This contest is the traditional Petaluma, California event moved to a new location (although arm wrestling - not wrist wrestling - tables and rules will be used), and this year it's being filmed for the documentary "Pulling John." And if you're northeast of Reno, be sure to hit Ronny G's in Hamilton, Ontario on October 18th for an wrestling contest that will include a stronghand hold after the pulling has stopped, plus a chance to mash the world famous Captains of Crush grippers. The stronghand hold event will be for time and the winner will get half the pot ($5 entry fee), so plan to show up and give it a try if you're in the area.

Group 1: Pudzianowski, 32; Dolan, 29; Baltus, 25; Pedan, 17; Rollinson, 17; Marunde, 2. Group 2: Savickas, 29; Samuelsson, 27; Minkwitz, 24; Pope, 22; Ellwood, 13; Ollesch, 3. Group 3: Bergmanis, 30; Dymek, 29.5; Pfister, 24.5; Broomfield, 17.5; Harms, 14; Ljungberg, 8.5. Group 4: Girard, 30; Virastyuk, 27; Kirit, 19; Blekaitis, 18; Williams, 17; Ross, 15. Group 5: Karlsen, 32; Paulen, 27; Philippi, 22; Gosling, 19; Muellner, 18; Horne, 1.

Mariusz Pudzianowski, Geoff Dolan, Zydrunas Savickas, Magnus Samuelsson, Raimunds Bergmanis, Jarek Dymek, Hugo Girard, Vasyl Virastyuk, Svend Karlsen, and Jessen Paulin made it to the WSM finals today. Mark Philippi and Phil Pfister still had a chance to make the finals today, but things just didn't work out. "For me it was just an inconsistent effort," said Mark Philippi. "I got in a hole and never climbed out."

There is only one day left in the qualifying round of the 2003 WSM contest, so things are coming down to the wire for everyone who wants to make it into the finals. Pudzianowski leads Group 1, with 21 points, followed by Dolan, at 19, and Baltus, at 17. Savickas leads Group 2, after 5 events, at 25 points, with Samuelsson on his heels, at 24; Minkwitz follows at 18, and Pope at 17. Bergmanis leads Group 3 (after four events), at 21 points, with Dymek at 18-1/2, and Pfister at 15-1/2. Girard leads Group 4 (after 4 events), with 20 points, with Virastyuk at 19. Group 5 (after 5 events) is led by Karlsen, at 27 points, followed by Paulin at 21, Gossling at 19 and Philippi at 18. Groups 1, 3, and 4 do the Log Lift tomorrow, and then all five groups do the Tire Flip.

Qinhuangdao, China - Hossein Reza Zadeh (IRI) broke his own world record in the snatch today with a lift of 213 kg at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. After opening with an effortless lift of 200 kg, Reza Zadeh called for a world record of 213 kg and made another easy lift. Passing on his third attempt in the snatch, and taking only one attempt in the clean and jerk, 250 kg, Reza Zadeh dominated the superheavyweight category. Earlier today, Tang Gonghong (CHN) won the women's +75 kg category with equal ease. Tang opened with 110 kg in the snatch, missed 122.5 on her second attempt, and then missed 125 kg on her third. In the clean and jerk, Tang opened with 145 kg, broke her own world record with a lift of 168 on her second attempt, and then called for 175 on her third attempt, but missed the clean. Mohsen Biranvand (IRI) won the men's 105-kg category with 170/200.

Qinhuangdao, China - Yuan Aijun continued China's winning ways at the Asian Weightlifting Championships today. Yuan handily won the men's 85-kg category via a 170-kg snatch and a 202.5 clean and jerk, although his victory wasn't secured until the last lift: Yuan had missed 202.5 twice in the clean and jerk, before making a clutch lift on his third attempt. In the women's 75-kg category, Sun Ruiping (CHN) smoked 110 kg and 115 kg in the snatch, before missing 120 kg on her third attempt (1.5 kg over her world record). As Yuan had done, Sun missed her first two jerks with 145 kg, but she wasn't as fortunate on her third attempt. Fighting valiantly to save the jerk, she dislocated her elbow, fell to a sitting position on the platform, and bar struck her on the upper back. With Sun out, the class was won by Lee Yeon-Hwa (KOR), via 100/132.5. The men's 94-kg category was a battle between Andrey Makarov (KAZ) and Kouroush Bagheri (IRI), with Makarov leading after the snatch, 175 to 170, plus he was the lighter man. Makarov finished with a 195-kg clean and jerk, and Bagheri took the 202.5 kg he needed to win on his second attempt and missed the jerk, but came back to make a strong success on his third attempt, for the victory.

Qinhuangdao, China - The Chinese weightlifting team did it again today, winning all three classes at the Asian Weightlifting Championships and setting six world records along the way. Liu Xia started things off for the host nation by winning the women's 63-kg category with a snatch of 110 kg and a world record clean and jerk of 137.5 kg. Liu also broke the world record in the total with both her second and third attempts in the clean and jerk. Liu Chunhong kept the ball rolling in the women's 69-kg class, with a world record snatch of 117.5 kg , and a world record clean and jerk of 148.5 kg, which also gave her a world record (265 kg) in the total. Despite missing his second and third attempts in the snatch, and then missing his opening jerk, Li Hongli was not to be left out, as he won the men's 77-kg category with 165/200.

IFSA USA president Jim Davis announced today that the Maximum Human Performance (MHP) Strongman Championships is set to take place at the GNC Show of Strength on November 7 - 9 in Atlanta. Davis said it promises to be the biggest strongman show in the US this year, and will host a field of ten top competitors: Americans Steve Kirit, Phil Pfister, Mark Philippi, Jesse Marunde and Don Pope will be joined by Hugo Girard, Zydrunas Savickas and Svend Karlsen. Magnus Samuelsson and Mariusz Pudzianowski have been invited, but haven't yet confirmed that they will compete. Davis said that the competitors will have all their expenses paid and will receive a $2,000 appearance fee in addition to competing for $15,000 in prize money. For full details, check the official IFSA USA website: www.x-tremestrongman.com .

Qinhuangdao, China - Chinese weightlifters were unbeatable again today, as Sun Caiyan won the women's 58-kg category, Shi Zhiyong won the men's 62-kg category, and Zhang Guozheng won the men's 69-kg category. Sun did 105/127.5, Shi did 152.5/170, and Zhang, after snatching 155 kg, broke Galabin Boevski's world record in the clean and jerk (196.5 kg) on his second attempt, with a lift of 197.5 kg.

Qinhuangdao, China - Getting things off to a roaring start at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, Li Zhou (CHN) broke the women's 48-kg category World/Junior World/Asian/Junior Asian records in both the snatch (93.5 kg) and the clean and jerk (116.5 kg) tonight. Her teammate, Li Xuejiu, won the 53-kg category with 92.5/115. Completing the Chinese team's perfect opening night, Wu Meijin won the men's 56-kg category with a snatch of 130.5 kg (for a new Asian record) and a clean and jerk of 160 kg. Wu cleaned 166 kg on his third attempt, but missed the jerk.

Qinhuangdao, China - At the Congress of the Asian Weightlifting Federation today, IWF president Dr. Tamas Ajan announced that IOC president Dr. Jacque Rogge has confirmed that he will attend the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Ajan also said that Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that he too will attend, if his political commitments permit. And as part of the continued fight for a clean sport, Dr. Ajan said that blood tests would be administered at the World Weightlifting Championships, noting that blood tests can detect the use of anabolic steroids six months prior to the test.

Qinhuangdao, China - At the Chinese National Weightlifting Championships last week, Ding Meinyuan set a new standard for anyone who wants to call herself the strongest woman in the world, as she snatched 135 kg and cleaned and jerked 172.5 kg! And serving notice that the Chinese weightlifting team now has a world-class men's superheavyweight as well, 23-year old Han Wen Liang did 197.5/250, becoming the first Chinese lifter to clean and jerk 250 kg. Neither Ding nor Han will compete at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, but both might be at this year's World Weightlifting Championships in Vancouver, Canada.

Qinhuangdao, China - Based on his recent lifts, expectations will be running high when the reigning World and Olympic champion Hossein Reza Zadeh (IRI) competes here in the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships. In training, about three weeks ago, Reza Zadeh cleaned and jerked 265 kg, and in a club meet, just over two weeks ago, he took two attempts in the snatch (200, 210) and one in the clean and jerk (260). Although these are huge numbers, the lifts were reported to be "very easy," so it is expected that if all goes well, Reza Zadeh will rewrite the record book next weekend.