Changing of the Guard?
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2007
Leading up to the Canada's Strongest Man contest and all through the action this weekend, IronMind® was fortunate to have reports from Samuel Dube and Paul Ohl, sharing their insights along with the results as they were breaking.
Wrapping things up, here we have Paul Ohl's post-contest comments:
"Is This The Changing of the Guard"
Here are my final thoughts about the greatest Canada's Strongest Man ever.
Four competitors had a lot to prove: Hugo Girard coming back from very serious injuries and proving many wrong; Jessen Paulin holding ground against the best ever (Girard); Dominic Filiou rising to the occasion during a major championship and Louis-Philippe Jean setting the stage for years to come as the future Canadian star (he is only 22). All four men reached the line almost neck to neck. The tradition stands and Quebec remains the cradle of strongmen.
The events were meant to be at world's level both by weight and distance. The competitors paid the price and it proved costly to even the best. Such was the challenge. And it was so because The Boss (Hugo Girard) had set those standards over the years. He has brought the sport to a new level and set the stage for a new breed of strength athletes.
So is this the changing of the guard? Only Hugo Girard will decide. It will be on his own terms. Judging from what he has achieved over the past two days, he can be the sport's greatest surprise come the WSM 2008.