Douglas Edmunds has released what he describes as the "athlete pool" for the Highlander World Championships, noting, however, that this "list is not yet final."


An Englishman in Scot's clothing: Scott Rider, already a Commonwealth Games shot putter and Olympic Games bobsledder, had the audacity - not to mention the talent - to win the Royal Braemar Highland Gathering Heavyweight title last year. Randall J. Strossen photo.

"Gregor Edmunds (Scotland) - Current World Highland Games Champion
Ryan Vierra (USA) - 5 time World Highland Games Champion
Sebastian Wenta (Poland) - Current Highlander Champion, runner-up World Strongest Man
Kyrllo Chuprinin (Ukraine) - Current national discus champion and Olympian
Scott Rider (England) - Winner national shot put championship. current Braemar Champion and Olympian
Wout Zilystra (Holland) - World record holder in weight for height
Gunner Pfingsten (Germany) - Runner-up European shot put Championship
Stefan Solvi Petursson (Iceland) - Iceland's Strongest Man
Mike Zoklywiecz (USA) - 3 time all American discus Champion
Carl Myerscough (England) - British record holder in shot put
Geoff Dollan (Canada) - Canada's Strongest Man
Dave Barron (USA) - Runner-up World Highland Games Championship
Larry Brock (USA) - Current US Highland Games Champion
Terry Hollands (England) - Britain's Strongest Man
Craig Sinclair (Scotland) - Scottish Junior Champion
Garret Johnston (USA) - All American shot and discus Champion
Mikhail Koklyaev (Russia) - 6 time Russian weightlifting Champion and record holder. Runner-up World Strongman Championship
Saemunder Saemundsson (Iceland) - Icelandic Highland games record holder"

All names, credentials and other details are as presented by Douglas Edmunds, unedited, and IronMind apologizes for any errors.

IronMind asked Bill Crawford if he had an update on his next trip to the Land of Fire and Ice, which offers the perfect environment for awakening your inner Viking.


Husafell Stone proving ground: Bill Crawford on his way to earning full-sterkur status. Erik Sauve photo.

"Petur Gudmundsson and I have pulled together an itinerary for the Viking Stonelifting Challenge that is scheduled for May 3 - 8," Bill Crawford reported. "The tour will start on the morning of Saturday, May 3, meeting in Reykjavik and proceeding from there. We plan on six stone sites in four days, with personal guides to each of the sites. Here is a rough draft of the schedule.

Day 1) Meet in Reykjavik and proceed to the Snafellnes Peninsula to meet Geiri Vijlhemsson to travel to and lift the Dritvik Stones. As I said in my [MILO] article last year about our Iceland Stonelifting Tour, the heaviest of the Dritvik Stones is an unheralded superstar among the testing stones. It weighs 370 pounds and is smooth as well as the most defiant stone I have ever lifted.

Day 2) Travel to the Western Fjords and lift the Stones of Latra. Among these four stones is a stone the Icelanders named Judas, because it is very unbalanced, so that you get it to your knees and it betrays your efforts by rolling out of your hands.
Then off to lift the Brynjolfstak, a 600-pound column of stone that is to be lifted from the ground to a full standing position. My guess is that Brynjolfstak means 'bear hug' in Icelandic.

Day 3) Travel to and lift the Black Stone, a mysterious stone that I frankly know nothing about, but we will have a guide to help us find and lift this stone of mystery.

Day 4) Travel to and lift the Leggstein, a 485-pound stone that has a legend attached to it, and I will include details about the stone in the article that I will write for MILO, so stay tuned.

Okay, so if lifting a total of ten massive stones in four days is not enough, we finish with the legendary Husafell Stone as the last stone on the last day. Only the heartiest souls need apply.

So there you have the schedule of stones to be lifted. We have several hardcore stonelifters who have committed to the trip, and so far my communication indicates that everyone is training very hard, as a schedule of stones of these weights and the grueling nature of day after day of stonelifting will be quite taxing.

We have room for one or two more of the right stonelifters, so if anyone else is interested, we have some room on this epic journey."

If this sounds like your idea of a good time and think you're up to the challenge, please send an email to sales@ironmind.com and we will forward the information to Bill.

Incidentally, lest you forget, Bill Crawford proves that just because you're an Ivy League educated MD doesn't mean you should settle for any less than full-sterkur status.

"The GNC Grip Gauntlet . . . has sampled the strength of over 10,000 men," Wade Gillingham wrote in the June 2006 issue of MILO, and this weekend, at the FitExpo, another wave of stalwarts gave it their best shot, with four succeeding officially and another one doing it unofficially.


Wade Gillingham - in another dazzling display of Blob mastery - lofts an "unliftable" Blob using only two fingers plus his thumb at last weekend's FitExpo. Randall J. Strossen photo.

"An estimated 700 competitors tried but only four eligible competitors completed all three of the GNC Grip Gauntlet challenges this past weekend at the Ironman FitExpo in Los Angeles," Wade Gillingham reported.

"Donovan Donnell, Ronnie Castro, James Rude, and Vache Sevajian became the latest to join the exclusive GNC Grip Gauntlet list by closing the No. 2 Captains of Crush® gripper, lifting 187 pounds on the IronMind Rolling Thunder®, and lifting the 50-pound Blob. In addition, Corey St. Clair, although ineligible [for the prize] due to his professional strongman status, was able to complete the challenges, while Dave Ostlund and Odd Haugen opted to save their grip for the strongman contest and only' chose to lift the 50-pound Blob.

With four individuals completing the challenge, event organizers are considering upping the weight for the Arnold Expo," Gillingham told IronMind.

The GNC Grip Gauntlet was started in 2004 as an extension of the Blob Challenge that Wade Gillingham had run at the 2002 Mr. Olympia and the 2003 Arnold. In 1991, IronMind had introduced the idea that grip strength really involved three primary forms - crushing, pinching and supporting - so when Wade Gillingham and Randall Strossen discussed the structure of a more inclusive test of grip strength, it was natural to apply this framework, using standardized, widely available pieces of equipment (although now, getting an authentic Blob can be pretty pricey).

Fun, simple and fully capable of sorting the contenders from the pretenders, the GNC Grip Gauntlet will be on hand at the Arnold, so be sure to stop by the GNC booth - say hi to the Gillinghams and take a shot at the Gauntlet.

Colin Bryce, a man of many talents in strongman, told IronMind today that strongman.tv will be filming the Gaspari Nutrition All-American Strongman Challenge at this weekend's FitExpo in Los Angeles.


Colin Bryce preps the troops before the start of this year's WSMSS Mohegan Sun Grand Prix. Incidentally, take a look at Mark Felix's forearms: the night before, Mark had hauled up 301 pounds to win the 2008 IronMind Rolling Thunder® World Championships, a lift that obliterated the previous world record. Randall J. Strossen photo.

Although this program will not be available live, Bryce explained, the film will be FedExed to London, where, "It will be flipped in two or three days," making it available to strongman.tv subscribers shortly after the contest itself.

In addition to presenting contest coverage of the Gaspari Nutrition All-American Strongman Challenge, this marks the beginning of strongman.tv's evolution toward covering more than just the very top echelon in the sport, as strongman.tv is intent on gaining added exposure for second- and third-tier strongman contests as well, Bryce explained. This expansion of program content would potentially provide all contest promoters an online environment for broadcasting footage from their events, Bryce said, and it is conceivable that content could include regional or local contests, as well as second-tier national competitions.

And lest you think this is merely a vanity option for everyone who would like to share his first, or maybe his greatest, strongman performance with family and friends, consider the career development opportunities as well, as Bryce told IronMind that coverage on strongman.tv could be a way for prospective strongmen to display their talent, with the idea that it might lead to contest invitations.

"This creates a way for strongman competitors to document their performances before the strongman world," Bryce said, "and get themselves moving up the strongman ladder."

The Gaspari Nutrition All-American Strongman Challenge is at this weekend's FitExpo, and please check strongman.tv for subscription and program details.

Strongman promoters who might like to explore the possibilities of coverage on strongman.tv should contact Jesper Albansson: jesper@worldclass.se.

It's considered the top dog in the world of grip contests - it's tough, fun and has a history unlike anything else in the field, so if you think you've got a pair of mighty strong mitts, and will be in the Los Angeles area in mid-February, plan to stop by the FitExpo and give the GNC Grip Gauntlet your best shot.


You can run, but you can't hide from the GNC Grip Gaunlet: If you've the grip, this is the contest that will allow you to prove it . . . Just for the fun of it, Wade Gillingham shows how easily he can walk a Blob - most really strong grip guys are happy if they can merely break one off the ground. Randall J. Strossen photo.

"For the past four years the GNC Grip Gauntlet has offered strong-handed individuals the opportunity to showcase their grip strength in a classical test of three types of hand strength: crushing, using the IronMind Captains of Crush® No. 2 or No. 3 gripper, supporting using either a 187 or 212 pounds on the IronMind Rolling Thunder®, and pinch gripping using the world famous Blob," explained Wade Gillingham.

Brutally simple, the GNC Grip Gauntlet was developed as grip master Wade Gillingham and IronMind's Randall Strossen discussed the best way to structure a legitimate grip contest, one that captured the three basic facets of grip strength - crushing, pinching and supporting - first promulgated by IronMind in 1991, and that also used well-established, generally-available implements, and that could generate the history and competitor base required to produce meaningful results.

Speaking to its stature, Gillingham explained, "If you think this challenge isn't world class, think again. Over the past four years, an estimated 10,000 attempts have been made to complete the three challenges on the GNC Grip Gauntlet stage and only two individuals have ever completed all three in the 'heavy' format." One them was, "former NFL linebacker and current professional wrestler, Monte 'Alpha Male' Brown," said Gillingham, and the other is event's host on the GNC stage, Wade Gillingham, himself.

The GNC Grip Gauntlet kicks off its 2008 series in Los Angeles at the Ironman FitExpo February 15 -17, Wade Gillingham told IronMind, and if you can't make the LA show, you've got two more chances to have fun and maybe establish yourself as one of the all-around great grip guys: Besides the FitExpo, "You can catch the GNC Grip Gauntlet at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, February 29 - March 2, and at the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas, September 26 - 27," Gillingham said.