Besides the top Finnish grip-strength specialists, the Finnish Open Grip Championships has drawn some new faces . . . the Russians are coming.

“The deadline has now closed and we have 7 men and 6 women at the Finnish Open [Grip Championships],” organizer Sakari Selkäinaho told IronMind® today.  “The event will be televised and will come out on the MTVMax, the subchannel of our biggest TV channel.

“The Russian team looks good and I expect all men to challenge our best; they are not well-known grip specialists but have impressive records in other sports that require grip strength.

“For the women, powerlifter and strongwoman Tatiana Merezko will put Jaana Tanner´s Champion position into danger,” Selkäinaho said.

Here is the lineup:

Men:

* Aleksei Lotov RUS
* Matti Heiskanen FIN
* Juha Harju FIN
* Vasili Kuznetsov RUS
* Timo Tuukkanen FIN
* Jouni Pakarinen FIN
* Maxim Baruzdin RUS
* Jukka Lahtinen FIN

Women:

* Yvonne Häkkinen FIN
* Anna Gudkova RUS
* Galina Fedorova RUS
* Jaana Tanner FIN
* Tatiana Merezko RUS
*Tamara Ochirova RUS

Click here for a recent background article on the Finnish Open Grip Championships and watch this column for news on the latest developments.