Win the 105-kg US National Strongman Championships and Go to the Worlds
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2004
The 105-kg US National Strongman Championships this weekend aren't just for American bragging rights, or even for an invitation to the World Championships - they also give strongman competitors and fans a glimpse of how the sport is evolving.
The whole idea of having a lighter category at the professional level was the brainchild of Ilkka Kinnunen, one of the four original IFSA directors, and Kinnunen said that he was motivated to do this since "so many countries otherwise don't have a chance to participate since such a small percent of the population are huge giants." Strongman has grown enormously in popularity, and in the US, for example, top competitors such as Phil Pfister are highly visible not just as competitors, but also as spokesmen for the sport, and Kinnunen's vision is that by broadening the base of participants, the sport will expand.
Kinnunen is holding the inaugural 105-kg world championships later this year in Finland, the spiritual home of strongman, where he expects to have about 10,000 spectators watching the contest, which will be televised internationally. The winner of this weekend's US National 105-kg Championships is guaranteed an invitation to the World Championships, Kinnunen confirmed today, so be ready to cheer on your favorite strongman. See the official NAS website for contest details.