IFSA USA/ASC president Dione Wessels just gave IronMind® more information on the IFSA USA vs. The World contest.

"It is in Pennsylvania on June 30th and July 1st," Wessels said. Derek Poundstone, Van Hatfield Nick Best and Travis Ortmayer will represent the US, Wessels said, with Walt Gogola listed as an alternate. Zydrunas Savickas, Andrus Murumets, Vasyl Virastyuk and Robert Schepanski will represent the World team," said Wessels.

IFSA-USA/ASC president Dione Wessels that Derek Poundstone's lead was so big at this weekend's ASC National Championships that he didn't even have to do the last two events, and now the stage is set for him to compete in bigger IFSA contests. 

"Derek won with a 30-point difference between himself and second place," Wessels said, adding, "Chad Coy said it had been 10 years since an American nationals was dominated [like this]."

Don't think that Derek is going to be resting on his laurels, though, because Wessels said that he is "now preparing to compete against athletes such as Zydrunas [Savickas], Vasyl [Virastyuk], and Andrus [Murumets] in the IFSA USA vs. the World," an IFSA contest that has not yet been formally announced.

Magnus Ver Magnusson told IronMind® that when he first saw Derek Poundstone, last year, "He was a bit of a newcomer, and he was having some problems with injuries. If he can stay healthy," Magnus Ver said, "I thought he could become really good."

Later last year, though, things got really tough for Poundstone.

"Even though Derek qualified for the IFSA World's last year, three weeks prior to the competition, he had to pull out due to a herniated disc in which he was told that he would never be able to lift heavy again. So for him to come back and win the National Championships, is amazing in itself," Wessels said.

For Magnus Ver, the big picture is clear: "There are a bunch of American guys at the top now who are really good." Talking about being competitive in a big contest, Magnus Ver said, "Travis Ortmayer, Derek Poundstone, Van Hatfield, Steve MacDonald . . . any of these guys can grab it. It comes down to the events and who doesn't make any mistakes and, sometimes, who is the hungriest."

Congratulations to Finland's Teemu Pohjola who has just been certified for officially closing the No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper.

Quick to thank "Kimmo Kokko, Sakari Selkinaho and all the people at Rautakoura" for their support, Teemu says that he is a grip specialist and his next goal is to close the No. 3.5 Captains of Crush® Gripper.

Congratulations, Teemu - IronMind® is proud to recognize your accomplishment and your name has been added to the official roster, certifying that you have officially closed the No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper. 

Arild Haugen won a closely-fought battle at Norway's Strongest Man contest yesterday - going in to the last event, he led Odd Haugen by one point and Espen Aune was one point behind Odd.

"The competition was great and the equipment was excellent," Odd Haugen said after a contest that could easily have ended up with the Haugens going one-two. Espen Aune finshed second, Odd Haugen was third and Richard Skog was fourth.

World's Strongest Man winner Svend Karlsen, who promoted the contest along with his wife, Lene Karlsen, said, "It was was a very close race between four guys. Arild was expected to have an easy time, but after three events, he was in fourth place. Arild showed himself by standing up and winning."

"We had 48 people working for us on this contest," Svend told IronMind®, "but this was very stressful and I am more tired than I ever was as a competitor."

The top three competitors from this contest qualified for the Viking Power Challenge in July, Karlsen said, and the top four competitors from that contest will directly qualify for the World's Strongest Man contest, Odd Haugen told IronMind®.

It was a long day with a very close finish - Sebastian Wenta (Poland) edged out Gregor Edmunds (Scotland) by one-half point for the victory at the Gododdin Challenge today at Blair Castle in Scotland, and Kyrylo Chuprynin (Ukraine) was third.

"It was very good, a tough competition," Wenta said. "I am very happy to win."

Hjalti Arnason was on hand to watch the contest and he said it was pretty exciting and that he assumed that this made-for-TV event would result in excellent shows.

Mike Zolkiewicz, the top-placing American, finished fourth and he was very enthusiastic about the Highlander concept, a blend of traditional Highland Games and strongman events, saying that the contest "had great balance and it tested athletic ability beyond just a Highland Games or a strongman contest."

Backed by Event Scotland, this contest is the brainchild of Dr. Douglas Edmunds, the godfather of strongman and a longtime, staunch supporter of the Highland Games.

Benedikt Magnusson, the huge deadlifter, won the IFSA Iceland's Strongest Man contest today in Reykjavik.

Organized by four-time World's Strongest Man winner Magnus Ver Magnusson, the contest was led by Stefan Solvi Petursson until he pulled or tore his biceps on the third event, Magnus Ver told IronMind®.

Petursson won the first two events - Conan's Wheel and the Block Lift Medley - but ran into trouble on the third event, the Tire Flip, when he caught the bounce wrong, Magnus Ver said, loading up the force on his arm and leading to the injury that forced him to retire from the contest.

Georg Ogmundsson finished second (three points behind Benedikt Magnusson), and Petur Bruno was third.

Finland - the home of heavy strongman contests and many top strongman competitors - has already produced 20 competitors for the Finland's Strongest Man contest, Ilkka Kinnunen told IronMind® today.


Juha Rasanen on a truck pull - looks like it was raining, but Finnish strongman contests are not for the faint of heart. IronMind® | Photo courtesy of Ilkka Kinnunen.
 

This contest is set for Turku on June 8 - 9, and the men's qualifying round will have three events - Farmer's Walk, Log Lift for maximum weight and Deadlift for reps - and then the top eight competitors will go on to a three-event final round: Car Walk, Loading and Wheelbarrow.

The women's side already has 11 competitors signed up, Kinnunen said, and it will follow the same pattern as the men: the qualifying events are Farmer's Walk, Hercules Hold and Log Lift for reps, and then the top eight women will advance to the finals, where their events will be Car Pull with harness and rope, Loading and Wheelbarrow.

Organized by Suomen Vahvin Miesry, Illka Nummisto and Markku Suonenvirta are the prime movers behind the contest, Kinnunen said. Nummisto, Suonenvirta and Kinnunen will referee the contest.

Things have been busy over at WSMSS and Managing Director Jesper Albansson took a moment to run through some of the latest developments for IronMind®.


WSMSS Managing Director Jesper Albansson (left) does some pre-contest prep work with the archetypal strongman, Bill Kazmaier. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

Explaining that there had been an interest in upgrading their official website for some time, Albansson told IronMind® that the results of their efforts in this area are now starting to appear. "We are still implementing new features to the main site; however it is looking more like what we want it to. We are very pleased with the new design of our Grand Prix sites and the first out . . . the Muscle Beach GP site."

And for all the fans who want to be there in person, Albansson had some more good news: "One of the key features is that you are now able to buy your Super Series tickets directly from the Super Series Grand Prix sites," streamlining the process, so it's easier for you to see the world's top strongmen live.

Things are on the move over at World's Strongest Man Super Series, so keep your eye on the official WSMSS site for more developments.

He won the World's Strongest Man contest four times, and now he's turned his attention to promoting contests: Magnus Ver Magnusson - star of a Coors Light commercial - is organizing the IFSA Iceland's Strongest Man contest this weekend.

If you will be in Reykjavik on Saturday, you can catch this contest at the Smaralind Mall at 2:00 pm and admission is free.
Benedikt Magnusson - of mega-deadlift fame - and the other man that Magnus Ver calls his "secret weapon," Stefan Solvi Petursson, are among the competitors, and Magnus Ver Magnusson is the referee.

This will be the second year of this contest and it is not to be confused with the original Iceland's Strongest Man contest (won Jon Pall Sigmarsson, Magnus Ver Magnusson, Hjalti Arnason, Torvi Olafsson, etc.), which is scheduled for June 15 - 17.

If you're a strongman fan, and want a taste of what the World's Strongest Man contest is like - and think a day spent beachside in beautiful Southern California doesn't sound too painful - plan to be at Muscle Beach on June 16.


Karl Gillingham won at the FitExpo earlier this year, so he's on a roll in Southern California - see Karl along with fellow Minnesotan Dave Ostlund and a pile of other top professional strongmen in Venice, California on June 16. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

Here it is, the official lineup for the WSMSS Venice Beach Grand Prix:

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Jesse Marunde
3. Kevin Nee
4. Mark Philippi
5. Derek Boyer
6. Sam MacMahon
7. Karl Gillingham
8. Dave Ostlund
9. Brian Siders
10. Brian Turner
11. Tarmo Mitt
12. Odd Haugen
13. Corey St. Clair

Mariusz Pudzianowski is a three-time World's Strongest Man winner and Jesse Marunde was the runner-up in 2005, and if you look over the start list, you'll run out out of fingers before you're done counting World's Strongest Man appearances among the competitors. There is very limited seating for this contest, but if you act quickly, you might still be able to get one; full details are on the official WSMSS website.

He has been called the pope of weightlifting and people at the center of the sport literally travel halfway around the planet to seek his advice - now, Ivan Abadjiev is in Northern California, thanks to Alexander Krychev, and what is coming next just might stop the weightlifting world in its tracks.


He came to Atlanta to help Naim Suleymanoglu win his third Olympic gold medal in weightlifting and now Ivan Abadjiev is in California, on a mission to help restore US weightlifting performances. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

Most people would count themselves as very strong if they could deadlift three times their bodyweight, but for Ivan Abadjiev a mark of success in weightlifting is a triple-bodyweight clean and jerk . . . something his top lifters have done.

Saying that it is unacceptable that "the most powerful and developed country in the world does not have competitors in the A session of the World Weightlifting Championships," Alexander Krychev told IronMind® that he brought Ivan Abadjiev to California to help restore the US's position in international weightlifting.

Addressing the recent woes of weightlifting in the US, Krychev said, "We need to improve all of this," as he recounted the glory days of US weightlifting in the 1950s, and he specifically named Tommy Kono and Paul Anderson as examples of past American superstars in the weightlifting world.

To trigger this revival of US weightlifting fortunes, Krychev said he plans to open a weightlifting academy, "like the tennis academies in Florida, to give American weightlifters the opportunity to prepare under the guidance of Ivan Abadjiev."

He recently turned 29 and while the theory is that he is in his prime years as a weightlifter, Hossein Rezazadeh (Iran) told IronMind® that he has a very simple way of evaluating how he is doing.


Hossein Rezazadeh sits down to his birthday cake, celebrating his 29th birthday in Tehran. IronMind® | Mohammad Babaei photo.
 

"If I win my third gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing," Rezazadeh said, "then that will be my greatest year."

For the last several years, there has been little competitive pressure on Rezazadeh as he has dominated the sport and had a relatively easy time with victories since he placed third at the 1999 World Weightlifting Championships.

The next year, at the Sydney Olympics, Rezazadeh won the gold medal and he has been on a victory roll ever since: After sitting out the Worlds in 2001, he returned to competition and has since won each of the four World Championships, two Asian Games and one additional Olympics since then.

But, things seem to be shaping up for a showdown in Beijing as the Chinese Weightlifting Association appears to be capable of fielding more than one top super heavyweight by the time of the 2008 Olympics - a development that two-time Olympic Champion Andrei Chemerkin (Russia) first predicted for Randall Strossen several years ago.


He won the gold medal with his first clean and jerk (250 kg) in Athens, but on his third attempt, Hossein Rezazadeh punched up this 263.5 kg clean and jerk for a new world record. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Thanks to Theo Burggraff sharing the top results from this weekend's Munsterland Grip Challenge, where Chad Woodall took top honors.

Woodall, along with Scott George, made the trip with help from the Diesel Crew, in a great show of support within the international grip community. Woodall set a new world record in the two-hands pinch grip, and Burggraaff, who was second place overall, broke the world record in V-bar lift.

She's searching the web for the best weather report she can find for next weekend, Lene Karlsen told IronMind®, but this is a Viking Power production, so no matter what might fall from the sky, the Norsemen will still have their way at the Norway's Strongest Man contest next Saturday.


"This picture is what the Viking will give out to the kids and other bigger kids if interested this season!," Lene Karlsen told IronMind®. IronMind® | Courtesy of Viking Power productions.

Odd Haugen is in Norway for this contest, and on Thursday Odd will team up with Svend Karlsen on the Good Morning Norway TV show to promote the contest. In the meantime, Odd said that his tune-up training is going well . . . hitting workouts with "two of my competitors that are members of my old club KK67 in Trondheim." And if you think big guys don't cross train, Odd added the he is "also doing a lot of yard work which will hopefully prepare me for a great performance on Saturday, if it doesn't wear me out."

Northern California's Hassle Free Barbell Club - a powerhouse in school age weightlifting - held a fundraiser last night, and guess who was in town and was part of the festivities?


Tommy Kono enjoys a joke at the fundraising dinner for Hassle Free Barbell Club last night. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Hassle Free Barbell Club (named after a trucking and moving company that sponsors it) reflects Kevin and Paul Doherty's focus on helping "at risk inner city high school kids," and some of their lifters, from Lincoln High School in San Francisco and Sacramento High School in the Golden State's capitol, are on their way to the the school age Pans Ams in St. Louis this summer, and the purpose of this dinner - which featured really good Italian food - was to help support this trip.


Pacific Weightlifting Association Vice President Don Weideman designed this commemorative card for last night's dinner at Palermo Ristorante Italiano in Elk Grove, California. IronMind® |

"David Horne sealed his 10th British Grip Title yesterday by squeezing out the win by three points over Steve Gardener," Beyond Strong's Nick McKinless told IronMind®.

"In the novice category Duncan Williams took the honors," reported McKinless.

The ASC/IFSA USA National Championships will be held Memorial Day weekend, as part of the Food Lion 600 Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina.


Jon Andersen might look like a bodybuilder, but don't be fooled because he's a top ASC/IFSA USA strongman competitor. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo..

ASC/IFSA USA president Dione Wessels said that the contest will include some of "America's top strongmen including former champion Van Hatfield, defending champion Steve MacDonald, plus top contenders Chad Coy, Brian Shaw, Travis Ortmayer, Derek Poundstone, Jon Andersen, and Nick Best." In addition to the ASC championship title itself, the contest is also a qualifier: "The top six athletes will advance to the IFSA World Championships to be held later this year," said Wessels.

What else would you expect from an Odd Haugen contest - it's got to be heavy.


Odd Haugen was quick to recognize the strength-challenging aspects of IronMind®'s Apollon's Axle™ and he has been using it in his strongman contests for years, in a variety of events. In 2003, for example, at the Hawaiian Grand Prix, in addition to using it on the overhead lift, the Apollon's Axle™ was used for the deadlift - Mariusz Pudzianowski competed on that event then, and you can see him do the same thing again at Muscle Beach next month. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Here's the first glimpse of the events for the WSMSS Muscle Beach Grand Prix, and since you already know this isn't going to be a foot race, you won't be surprised to hear that a Deadlift Medley will be one of the featured tests of strength . . . begin with a 250- kg/550-pound Fishing Pole Deadlift, and if you hoist it, you can go on to the 300-kg/660-pound Apollon's Axle™ Deadlift; success at that stage earns you the right to deadlift 320 kg/705 pounds on a standard powerlifting bar . . . and if you've passed all the preliminary tests, here's the final exam: Now, you can run (maybe) because you'll grab a 400-kg/880-pound frame and carry it 10 meters for time.

And guess what's coming out of retirement? The Tombstone . . . this 410-pound stone that Odd got for his birthday a few years ago will be returning to action and it might be the source of some nightmares because it's going to be used for a front carry, chugging up and down a 20-meter course for time. But before you can show everyone how fast you can move while bear hugging the Tombstone, Odd says, "You've got to be strong enough to pick it up off the ground," meaning that this event will be run in the style of the original Husafell Stone Carry.

It's on June 16 in Venice, California . . . the WSMSS Muscle Beach Grand Prix.

Schaumburg, Illinois - Continuing his record-breaking streak, Kendrick Farris cleaned and jerked 200 kg last night at the USA Weightlifting National Championships, for a new American record in the 85-kg category.


Kendrick Farris sticks 200 kg for a new American record. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

After snatching 155 kg, Farris opened with 190 in the clean and jerk. He missed the jerk, came back to make the 190 on his second attempt and then called for 200, in a bid to break his own American record. Farris jerks with an unorthodox style, but it works for him - he made the lift and looks good for more.

Schaumburg, Illinois - Superstar powerlifter Ed Coan said that he is doing one more meet before retiring, and based on how his training is going, Eddie is primed to unleash some very impressive lifts.


Ed Coan is training hard and getting ready for his final competition. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo

Watching the action at the USA Weightlifting National Championships yesterday, Ed Coan was immediately surrounded by a group of people eager to say hello to the iconic powerlifter.

The USPF Nationals, on August 11 in Las Vegas will be his last meet, Ed Coan said. "It's just time," he said. "I'll be 44."

What he didn't add was what a ride he has had in powerlifting - a guy who didn't have to use extreme gear or loose rules to post huge numbers, Ed Coan did it the old-fashioned way . . . he's just plain strong.

And talking strong, Ed said he's squatting 800 now with just a belt, benching 500 raw and deadlifting 800 on a three-inch block with no belt, so the stage is set for a big show in Vegas.

IronMind® just received the first official word on the competitors for the World's Strongest Man Super Series Muscle Beach Grand Prix, which is set for June 16 at one of the most famous locations in all of muscledom . . .Venice Beach, in sunny southern California.


Odd Haugen called Brian Siders "the world's best powerlifter" and when he made his strongman debut at the 2005 Arnold, Brian made quite a splash. Win, lose or draw, you can bet that nobody is going to kick sand in Brian's face at the World's Strongest Man Super Series Muscle Beach Grand Prix. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Three-time World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski will be there, so if you want to see him in person, here's your chance. Meet-director Odd Haugen said that Stoyan Todorchev, the top Bulgarian strongman, has been invited, as well as "the world's best powerlifter," Brian Siders. If that's not enough big-name talent, Jesse Marunde is also on the card and Odd said that Jesse "is looking really good and his grip is stronger than ever."

The looking good part is important here, not because of Jesse's stated goal of being the first strongman to make the cover of a bodybuilding magazine (he's already been featured in IRONMAN), but also because of the recent rumor of his demise. The really big comment there, though, is about Jesse's grip, because this is the guy who was the first teenager certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper and when few people thought it could be done, Jesse casually closed a No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper in each hand, simultaneously. Odd said that he recently witnessed Jesse pick up the Inch dumbbell with a level of ease that he's never seen before.

The contest starts at noon and there are only 250 tickets for this perfect venue, so watch here for more information on how to get one.

Set for Riga May 13, World Strongman Cup Manager Vlad Redkin has just announced the official start list for this stage, as well as the events.


England's mighty Terry Hollands, shown on the Bus Pull at the 2006 World's Strongest Man finals, will be competing in Riga. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

Here is the "final list of athletes for my stage," Redkin told IronMind®:

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski - Poland
2. Antanas Abrutis - Lithuania
3. Tarmo Mitt - Estonia
4. Raivis Vidzis - Latvia
5. Ralf Ber - Austria
6. Dominic Filiou - Canada
7. Elbrus Nigmatullin - Russia
8. Piter Ann - Estonia
9. Florian Trimpl - Germany
10. Ren Minkwitz - Denmark
11. Mark Felix - Grenada
12. Sergei Rjumin - Belarus
13. Terry Hollands - England

Vlad Redkin also announced the events:

- Car Deadlift: about 2 tons, for reps
- Front Squat: 200 kg for reps
- Stone Lift: 5 stones (100 kg to 140 kg)
- Atlas Stones: 5 stones (120 kg to 180 kg)
- Super Yoke: 350 kg, 20 meters
- Medley: Tire Flip (6 flips) and Farmer's Walk (130 kg, 20 meters)

They're back from the Land of Fire and Ice, and IronMind® is very fortunate to have just received this report from Dr. William Crawford.


Bill Crawford with the largest of the Dritvik Stones. IronMind® | Erik Sauve photo.

"Hello Randall,

We are back from Iceland and what an epic journey. We stayed with Petur Gudmundsson and he put us up in style as well as feeding us traditional Icelandic fare. On Saturday, we met Hjalti Arnason and took us to Jon Pall's grave. Hjalti then drove us through the neighborhood were he and Jon Pall grew up. We then saw the Jon Pall documentary at Hjalti's house. Wow, what a great movie! Truly a labor of love by Hjalti.

"On Sunday, we drove to Grundarfjordur and met Geirmunder Vilhialmsson, a friend of Petur's who had lifted the Dritvik Stones many times, and his son who is a strongman went as well. We went to Dritvikto lift the stones and a reporter from the Reykjavik newspaper Morganbladid came to file a report. The largest of the stones was very heavy and very, very smooth. I was able to lift the largest stone and stand with it, truly the most defiant stone I have ever lifted. The largest of the Dritvik Stones is an unheralded superstar of testing stones.

"On Monday, we went to Husafell to test ourselves with the ultimate crucible of testing stones, Kviahellan. I was a little worried because we had lifted a Husafell replica that Hjalti showed us on Saturday then completely spent ourselves lifting the Dritvik Stones on Sunday and here we are on Monday in Husafell.  I was able to carry Kviahellan completely around again in full-sterkur style.  The heavy and frequent training paid off to prepair me for that schedule. We got video footage of the carries well.


Erik Sauve wit the Kviahellan replica. IronMind® | Bill Crawford photo.

"We drove back to Reykjavik and Petur arranged for us to meet Magnus ver Magnusson while he was training, an added bonus to the trip.  We ran into Stefan Solvi Petursson, one of the top strongmen in Iceland, who knew we were coming to Iceland after seeing us on the IronMind® website.

"Petur has invited us back to go to the Western Fjords to lift another set of heavy testing stones, so we will be back and look for Petur to show me how to lift stones. There can never be enough stones. We met Andreas, Petur's brother and he has a pair of frightening hands, no doubt a key to his great strength.  Basically, there are lots of very powerful Icelanders, whom I feel are the strongest people in the world.  Just my opinion.

"Anyway, an epic journey. A full report to follow for MILO®.

"Jet-lagged and happy,

Bill"


Left to right: Bill Crawford, Robert Troupe, Erik Sauve, Dana Florence at Kviahellan. IronMind® | Jason Stack photo.

Kurtis and Laurie Bowler, of Rainier CrossFit, have announced Mt. Rainier's Strongest Man II.


Paul Benfanti won the lightweight class in 2006 edition of the Mt. Rainier's Strongest Man contest. Dan Ramierez photo, courtesy of Kurtis Bowler and reprinted from the 2007 IronMind® catalog.
 

Set for July 21 in Summer, Washington, once again this event is a fundraiser for FRAXA, the Fragile X Research Foundation. It is a drug-tested event and no memberships are required, Kurtis Bowler told IronMind®. Two weight classes as well as divisions for women and novices will be included, and for full details, please email Kurtis and Laurie Bowler: raininercrossfit@comcast.net.

He led the world last year with a throw of 73 feet 8 inches and yesterday Christian Cantwell chalked up another win, at the Modesto Relays, where the organizers did something different with the big men who make the the 16-pound shot look as small and light as a marble.


Christian Cantwell was on center stage at the Modesto Relays, where he won the shot put yesterday. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

Instead of pushing them off in some corner, the shot putters were featured at the 50-yard line of the field at Modesto Junior College - talk about location, location, location . . . the women's invitational pole vault, with a field that included Stacy Dragila, was the next door neighbor.

Christian Cantwell won with a throw of 21.3 meters. Dan Taylor, proving that it just takes one good throw, fouled four times, threw 21.17, which was good for second place, and passed on his last throw.


Dan Taylor made the most of one good throw, 21.17 meters, which netted him second place in the shot at the Modesto Relays yesterday. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., photo.

We don't know how many Ivy League educated MDs visit Iceland to do battle with giant stones, but one who does is Dr. William Crawford.


"How do you train to carry a heavy stone? Carry heavy stones."  And that's just what Erik Sauve is doing. IronMind® | Photo by Bill Crawford.
 

MILO® readers know Bill Crawford has already joined the mighty group of people who have successfully made the full sterkur with this legendary testing stone.

Steve Jeck and Peter Martin's book Of Stones and Strength introduced the lifting world to the special magic of the classic lifting stones and Bill Crawford is quick to credit this book and Steve Jeck's DVD Kviahellan: The Pen Slab for firing up himself and Erik Sauve when they shook hands with the stone in person last year.

Back for more this year, Bill Crawford, Erik Sauve, Dana Florence and Robert Troupe will be locking up with Kviahellan and the Dritvik Stones, not to mention spending some time with such great names in the Icelandic strength community as Petur Gudmundsson and Hjalti Arnason. Appropriately enough, the T-shirt that Bill Crawford designed for the trip is emblazoned with Jon Pall Sigmarsson's famous line Petta er ekkert mal ("It's no problem for Jon Pall"). Off to Iceland on Friday, the group will return next week, but don't think these guys just rolled out of bed one day and decided to do this.

"We have trained with heavier stones and with more intensity than last year," Bill said, which means some pretty serious preparation underlies this journey. Earlier, Bill had told IronMind, "We are still getting snow here in New Hampshire, but we shovel the snow out of the way and carry the stones. Good stone lifters train in the rain, snow and cold because you need to be ready, mentally and physically, for the conditions of a stone lifting tour as anything can happen. Again, 'It is better to cry in the dojo, than to weep on the battlefield.'"

With training like this, can you doubt Bill when he says, "Honestly, I am more than ready to make this trip."

Bon voyage!




Bill Crawford, undaunted by the snow on the ground, ready to roll with a 400-pound rock. IronMind® | Erik Sauve photo.

What better place than Sonoma County (in the heart of California's wine country) to find out more about wine and weightlifting?


You might think Jim Schmitz is training for the Redwood Empire Weightlifting Championships, but he's actually about to toast Tommy Kono, who was honored at a dinner in Sacramento last year. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

If you've been wondering which wine goes best with weightlifting - maybe not at the level of pairing a Sauvignon Blanc with snatches and maybe moving to a Chardonnay, if not a Merlot or a Zinfandel, for the clean and jerk - here's your chance to find out, because on June 23rd, the Redwood Empire Championships will be held at La Plaza Park in downtown Cotati. In addition to wine, beer and BBQ will also be on hand . . .

Meanwhile, back to the lifting, this is yet another Pacific Weightlifting Association good-time meet and in case you didn't know it, the PWA has been hometown territory to such top lifters as Tommy Kono, Bruce Wilhelm and Mario Martinez; throw in leading weightlifting coach and administrator Jim Schmitz, put Butch Curry ('80 Olympian) at the helm of the PWA, and a pile of great people working in the trenches, and now you know why weightlifting is booming in Northern California.

And just so you don't think everything is taking place north of the Golden Gate Bridge, mark your calendars for May 20, when the FIT Barbell Club will host the NorCal Open in Los Altos, California. FIT (Focused Individual Training) has been pivotal in supporting and developing weightlifting on the San Francisco Peninsula, in Stanford-Apple-HP, etc. territory, just in case you thought you could only snatch or clean and jerk in a less lustrous setting. So if you want to see another paradigm-challenging weightlifting program, head over to this meet.

For full details, please check NorCal Open.