After much discussion and even more speculation, the qualifying events have been established for determining which Americans will compete in the 2002 World's Strongest Man contest.

Four regional qualifiers are being held.

Eastern: "Northeast Strongman Showdown," February 16th - 17th, Boston, MA; Central: "Midwest Strongman Challenge," April 6th, Columbus, OH; Central: "Ohio Valley Strongman Competition," May 11th - 12th, Athens, OH; Western: "Sierra Strongman Shootout," June 8th, Sonora, CA.

The top four athletes from each competition will qualify for the finals in St. Louis, along with the Americans who qualified for the 2001 edition of the World's Strongest Man (WSM) contest.  The top five from the American finals will be invited to WSM 2002, in Malaysia.

Jim Davis, who is responsible for coordinating the US qualifying competitions, said the finals in St. Louis will be held either July 13th - 14th or July 18th and 20th, and there will be US$25,000 in prize money.