Phil Pfister Edges Odd Haugen at Muscle Beach
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2004
Phil Pfister beat Odd Haugen by one-half point to win the IFSA Battle of Muscle Beach yesterday in Venice, California. This was another great Odd Haugen strongman contest, in the tradition of Beauty and the Beast: a sunny day in a picture perfect location, top competitors, heavy events and an all-around great contest. Very ably emceed by Bill Kazmaier and Bryan Neese, this was a top-flight contest from just about any perspective. It was a beautiful day at Muscle Beach and such notables as powerlifting stars David Shaw and Terry McCormick were on hand, as were Highland Games stars Shannon Harnett and Francis Brebner. In between the strongman events, guys came over and under the watchful eye of David Erives, gave the Gillingham Grip Gauntlet a try, and although David lofted the Blob, nobody nailed all three challenges (lifting the Blob, closing a No. 3 Captains of Crush® gripper, hoisting the Rolling Thunder® loaded with 100 kg in plates). Odd Haugen and Phil Pfister distinguished themselves on the first event in the strongman contest - the farmer's walk - and never looked back. Second-year pro Jon Andersen finished in third place, overall, and first-year pro Corey St. Clair finished in a very impressive fifth place overall, drawing a lot of compliments for his performance.