WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN COMPETITION '97
As seen by Chris from San Diego
She obviously had an interesting holiday following the '97 WSM in Las Vegas!
 
This was the first page to publish the results
Copyrighted material, pictures used with permission

Shortcuts [COMPETITORS] [QUALIFYING 7.10] [THE FINAL] [MORE NOTES 26.12] 
Jouko Ahola, 26, Finland, Hämeenlinna

The contest was held outside of Las Vegas in Primm, Nevada at the Primadonna Resort.  
  • United States Strongman Competition: September 26-29
  • International Qualifying Rounds: October 2-5
  • World Strongest Man Finals: October 10-13
International competitors 
  • Magnus ver Magnusson (Iceland)
  • Regin Vagadal (Faroe Islands)
  • Joe Onosai (Samoa)
  • Svend Karlsen (Norway)
  • Bernard Rolle (Bahamas)
  • Brian Bell (Scotland)
  • Riku Kiri (Finland)
  • Raimunds Bergmanis (Latvia)
  • Russ Bradley (UK)
  • Eugeny Popov (Bulgaria)
  • Derek Boyer (Fiji)
  • Jean-Luc Moalli (France)
  • Gerrit Badenhorst (South Africa)
  • Berend Veneberg (Holland)
  • Heinz Ollesch (Germany)
  • Magnus Samuelsson (Sweden)
  • Ginuad Depuis (Canada)
  • Paul Lepik (Estonia)
  • Flemming Rasmussen (Denmark)
  • Jouko Ahola (Finland)
  • Torfi Olafsson (Iceland)
  • Bill Lyndon (Australia)
  • Michael Abdullah (Japan)
  • Bob Weir (UK)
  • American Competitors 
  • Thomas Ingalsbe (Georgia)
  • Jim Voronin (Texas)
  • Mark Phillipi (Nevada)
  • Gary Mitchell (D.C.)
  • Kevin Toth (Ohio)
  • Ken Brown (California)
  • Ironbear Collins (Georgia)
  • Phil Martin (California)

  • Kiri in Super Yoke
     
    QUALIFYING AS SEEN BY CHRIS (mail 7.10)  

    Hi Sami - Just got back home earlier today oh make that yesterday now (10/6) and all I can say is that I am kinda in shock. RIKU, MAGNUS, & GERRIT did not qualify for the final! Hard to believe isn't it? I did hear a rumor that they received byes to the final and just competed as pacers in the heats for the other guys, but I don't think so. They clearly did not perform that well. 

    I was not able to work up the nerve to go and talk to any of them. But a friend I met there introduced me to Joe Onosai, Paul Lepik, Michael Abdullah, and Bill Lyndon. Michael and Bill were so-o nice and quite fun too. I had a good time just hangin' with them waiting in between events. I love their accents and kept making Bill talk becuz wanted to hear it. Even got him to do the "HAKA," it is a New Zealand war dance that is usually performed by the Maori. As I said we were just hangin about and acting kinda crazy. I hope they both are there for the final even though they did not qualify for it, becuz I just love being around those two guys. I'm hoping that Riku, and Magnus and Gerrit will stay also so that I can try to work up the nerve to talk to them. I can't believe what a big chicken I turned out to be but I guess they are just a little intimidating. 

    I became very ill from the sun while there and actually was sick the entire length of my stay. I became dehydrated also - I didn't think that I would be that affected by the heat/sun but was. And I had a horrible sunburn - ouch. I'm over everything now except the sunburn. I'm definitely going to buy a lot of sunblock this next time for the finals. 

    I've heard that the 97wsm will air in january here but don't know about over there. They need to do a lot of editing because there was not many people attended the heats but should be more for the final. I should definitely show up in the crowd so you'll be able to see what I look like. I tried to avoid the camera when I saw that it was facing me only to turn my head and have another one directly on me - oh well so much for my brilliant plan. 

    Everyday the events started at least 1 hour late and the time between events was even longer. Anyways here are the events and winners of the events but I can not provide you with actual points becuz I was too busy taking pix instead of writing the results down. Also I had to ask these finnish dudes (trainers I think w/Ahola) who were the winners of the winch,yoke,cask circle and hecules hold w/barrels so if some of the results are wrong its their fault;-) 
     

    Heat 1: (qualified bold
    Events 

    Winch (Rope and Wheel Pull) 
    Log Press for Reps Hercules Hold with Cars 
    Wheel Flip 

    Competitors  

    Magnus ver Magnusson 
    Regin Vagadal 
    Torfi Olafsson  
    Joe Onosai 
    Svend Karlsen 
    Brian Bell

    Heat 2: 
     
     
    Events 

    Super Yoke 
    Deadlift for Reps 
    Loglift for Max. Weight 
    Farmer's Walk

    Competitors  

    Riku Kiri 
    Raimunds Bergmanis 
    Evgeny Popov 
    Derek Boyer 
    Jean-Luc Moalli 
    Russ Bradley

    Heat 3: 
     
     
    Events 

    Limo Pull 
    Cask Circle 
    Flintstone Deadlift 
    Power Stairs

    Competitors  

    Gerrit Badenhorst 
    Berend Veneberg 
    Magnus Samuelsson 
    Ginuad Depuis 
    Paul Lepik 
    Heinz Ollesch

    Heat 4: 
     
     
    Events 

    Atlas Stones 
    Throw for Height 
    Car Walk 
    Hercules Hold with Slot Machines

    Competitors  

    Bill Lyndon 
    Flemming Rasmussen 
    Michael Abdullah 
    Jouko Ahola  
    Bob Weir 
    Bernard Rolle

    Also to be in the final are the 2 Americans: Iron Bear Collins and Mark Phillipi.
    I've listed the site where the event took place as there were different locations and also put the event winners name right after event and listed the other competitors in brackets. There was one event per heat each day so everyday the competitors only had one event.

    OCT.2 Buffalo Bill's back parking lot:  

    • the winch-S.Karlsen {Magnusson,Onosai,Vagadal,Bell,Olafsson} 
    • super yoke-R.Bradley {Kiri,Bergmanis,Popov,Boyer,Moalli} 
    • arm over arm pull-M.Samuelsson {Badenhorst,Ollesch,Depuis,Lepik,Veneberg} 
    • car walk-F.Rasmussen {Abdullah,Lyndon,Rolle,Weir,Ahola}
    note: There were several problems with the arm over arm pull - the 3 limo's they used weren't going in a straight line and something with the brakes and just a lot of dumb stuff that delayed this event for what seemed like hours. 

    note#2: Here's what I mean by me being a big chicken ----> Riku and his wife came and stood right next to me during the car walk and I still did not say anything to him. He is huge though, his hands were like way massive. 

    OCT.3 Buffalo Bill's front parking lot:  

    • cask circle-M.Samuelsson 
    • hercules hold (barrels)-J.Ahola 
    • dead lift (reps)-D.Boyer 
    • incline press-J.Onosai
    note: I showed up one and a half hours late because I could not stop vomiting but when I finally did get there they hadn't even started yet. lucky me huh? Badenhorst needed oxygen after doing the cask circle. I didn't actually see him get it but the paramedics went running past us with oxygen and everyone was staring at the tent where he was and then an announcement was made shortly after saying that Gerrit was okay and that he was conscious and talking. It was really, really hot and it was only about 11 am. 

    note#2: I did not get any pix of the herc hold because they were facing the other way and did not want any pix of Jouko's butt! besides by this time I was feeling very sick again from the sun which was raging by then. I thought for sure that Riku was going to win the dead lift but was really surprised to see Derek perform so well. 

    note#3: Onosai smashed Magnusson in this event (incline press) with a little help from some fans cheering him on - I wonder who? hehe I felt bad because I think my friend blew MVM 's concentration with all the cheering she did for Joe but there were so many people for magnus and the other scandinavian guys that I started cheering for guys that I normally would not have just to give them some support. Magnus made 16 reps and Joe did 21 or 24 I can't remember. 

    OCT.4 Desert behind Whiskey Pete's:  

    • throw for height (barrels not blocks)-B.Lyndon 
    • hercules hold (cars)-M.Ver Magnusson
    Primm Valley Pool: 
    • log lift-R.Bergmanis 
    • flintstone lift-G.Badenhorst
    note: Veneberg became furious when he found out that one of his lifts was disqualified and threw something - a water bottle, I think - at the referee D.Edmunds but missed him and it went sailing into the crowd and almost hit some people. His coach/trainer had to drag him away because it appeared he was going to argue with the ref about the decision. It was very unsportsman like what he did and I thought he was acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum. He got his though because on his next lift he injured his arm/bicep ? not sure the exact location but he was finished and could not compete anymore. 

    note#2: Bergmanis was so happy to make one of his lifts he jumped in the pool after wards - you had to be there I guess but it was pretty funny/cool. I was standing just a couple of feet away from Magnus, Gerrit, Heinz and Regin who were watching and they were just cracking up (laughing) it was really one of the better moments of the competition. 

    OCT.5 Desert behind Whiskey Pete's:  

    • wheel flip-S.Karlsen 
    • farmers walk-R.Bergmanis 
    • power stairs-??? it was either Samuelsson or Ollesch, I think Samuelsson 
    • atlas stones-????? I got mad and left when the tv crew made us move from our spot because we were casting shadows over the taping area and by that time there was no other place to view the event from so I didn't even get to see who advanced from that heat :-(
    note: I found out just this morning from Bill (he has the strongman page) that Rasmussen and Ahola are the two that advanced from that last heat. 

    If you have any questions or don't understand anything just ask and i'll clarify it. I will be leaving early thursday morning 10/9 so ask before then or you'll have to wait till I get back from the finals. Oh yeah Bill said that they arent gonna let him post any results from the competition on his page till it airs on tv so if you post anything it could very well be the first update on this! 

    I just received your email while writing this one so i'll reply to that one separately. I know there is a lot more I could say but for the life of me my mind is running in circles from excitement and can't put anything else down in this email that would make any sense! 

    I just realized that I did not tell you who was going to be in the final: 
     

    from heat 1: Svend Karlsen (norway) Torfi Olafsson (iceland) Magnus knocked out from this heat  

    from heat 2: Derek Boyer (fiji) Raimonds Bergmanis (latvia) Riku Kiri from this one 

    from heat 3: Heinz Ollesch (germany) Magnus Samuelsson (sweden) Gerrit Badenhorst here  

    from heat 4: Jouko Ahola (finland) Flemming Rasmussen (denmark) 

    also to be in the final are the 2 Americans: Iron Bear Collins and Mark Phillipi. 
    I will try to get the actual points from these guys I was chatting with - from finland - they helped me with getting all the winners of the events as I had not written them down so maybe they can get me all the results. I'll see what I can do. 

    I've been unable to correct the color on the pictures and I don't even understand why they came out so dark on the disk when the actual photos are fine. I don't have a scanner yet so I can send you some pictures if you want but they are kinda dark - the blues and reds are very blue and very red. I've sent that pic of Ahola for you to see what I mean. Flemming won that event though. 

    I found out that the BBC will air the contest in December (on xmas eve i believe) so that's when the strongman page will have the results posted.


    Events for the 1997 WSM Final  
    Truck Pull  
    Overhead Lift  
    Car Rolling
    Husafel Stone
    Showgirl Squat
    Keg Loading
    Silver Dollar Deadlift
    Medley  
     
    Sami it's true the winner and WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN FOR 1997 IS JOUKO AHOLA OF FINLAND! His performance was just amazing - he is amazing. He clearly dominated almost every event having won the very last two events of the finals: the deadlift at I think 950lbs./430kg? and the medley. It had come down to Flemming and Jouko and it was an explosive performance by both of them giving it their all. I'll be honest here i was rooting for Flemming and was sad when he didn't win but I knew even before this event that Jouko had it - he was totally psyched!!! and he had great support from Riku, Ilkka, and Markku plus his coach/trainer (sorry i never did talk with them again so didn't get there names). Finnish camera crew was there so you probably may already know the news. they interviewed him after the deadlift win as did Bill Kazmaier for ESPN2.
     
    THE FINAL  

    Here is the list of the events for the final as they were changed: 

    Friday Oct.10 - day one Buffalo Bill's Back Parking Lot: Truck Pull - Flemming Rasmussen 

    Buffalo Bill's Front Parking Lot: Overhead Lift - 3 way tie: IronBear Collins/Jouko Ahola/Flemming Rasmussen 

    note: there was a little controversy when Rasmussen did his reps as he clearly could have done more, but what would have been his 13th rep was not allowed as referee said that he didn't lock out his arms I think. But I thought that it was a good lift and he should of won this event. And upon later discussion with Bill Henderson who videotaped it - it was a good lift as it showed on his tape. I did not actually view this tape but I know it's true and I just wanted confirmation from someone else. Bill said that he was going to show it to Flemming who apparently later in the day was at the pool right outside his hotel room while he viewed the tape but then decided against it because he did not want to make him angry. Actually the next day I think he did end up showing it to him and Flemming just kinda blew it off I guess. I mean really what could he do anyways except get madder. 

    Saturday Oct.11 - day two Desert Behind Whiskey Pete's: Car Rolling - Magnus Samuelsson Husafel Stone - ?????? 

    note: There was a serious wind/sand storm coming on during the car rolling and so it was decided that they would hold the stone carry as soon as they got the course set up instead of later that afternoon. Well I left for about 30 minutes and when I got back I could not see with the wind being so strong and the sand blowing in my eyes. I wear contacts so it was really quite awful and I decided not to stay hoping that they would cancel the event. I'd say that at least half the people ended up leaving because of the conditions being as they were. I'll be quite curious to see how this event turned out when it is aired on tv. 

    note#2: I have all the results for the stone carry except for M.Samuelsson. So the winner was Svend Karlsen with 86.66 meters unless Samuelsson had was able to top that which he very well could have. I will be sure to get his time and let you know for sure. 

    Sunday Oct.12 - day three Fremont Street (Downtown Las Vegas): Squat - Mark Phillippi, Keg Loading - Flemming Rasmussen 

    Notes: the first event was to start at 9am but was changed to 5pm but i did not know this and got downtown at around 8am. I was really mad when i found out about the change after meeting some guys who also showed up early and we called the hotel. I ended up spending the day in Vegas on the Strip. I enjoyed though because it had been a few years since my last visit and there have been a lot of changes and new hotels so I can't complain too badly about being 8 hours early. 

    Svend Karlsen and Chief IronBear Collins were both injured during the squat event and sadly it was really the end for these two even though they would each later attempt the loading and the deadlift next day. 

    Flemming Rasmussen made about 3 dents/holes in the loading platform with his knees slamming into it because he was going so fast. This loading was one of the most exciting of the whole contest. 

    At 9pm the lightshow started - something that is done nightly on the hour at the "Freemont Experience." Well it came on at nine, ten, eleven and twelve and every time it came on the competition had to stop because the lights went out except for the show lights. The first time it came on everyone thought it was really cool but by the time the 3rd and 4th ones came on we all just wanted it to stop. It was late and I was actually starting to hope for the guys doing the squat to fail so we could get on with the loading and go back to the hotel which was about a 30-45 minute drive depending on what transportation you were using. Later I hoped they would just cancel the loading but they did not and it did not finish till just after midnight. I was able to snag a ride on the bus with some of the competitors and tv crew. We reached the hotel back in Primm at about 1am. Talk about exhausted and my night what was not even over yet but i'll get to my scheming next report. 

    Monday October 13 - day four Primm Valley Pool: Dead Lift - Jouko Ahola, Medley - Jouko Ahola 

    Award ceremony followed in front of the Primm Valley(Primadonna) Hotel about 15 minutes after the win. I was front and mostly centered so i'm hoping my pictures came out decent but it was already dark out so you never know. 

     
    RESULTS 1997 

    Primadonna Resorts in Primm, Nevada 

    October 10,1997 Friday - Day One: 

    Truck Pull 

    1.Flemming Rasmussen - 47.84 = 10 pts. 
    2.Magnus Samuelsson - 49.40 = 9 pts. 
    3.Svend Karlsen - 52.56 = 8 pts. 
    4.Heinz Ollesch - 53.13 = 7 pts. 
    5.Jouko Ahola - 68.66 = 6 pts. 
    6.Torfi Olafsson - 77.47 = 5 pts. 
    7.Raimonds Bergmanis - DNF 22.79 meters = 4 pts.
    8.Derek Boyer - DNF 21.02 meters = 3 pts.
    9.Chief Iron Bear Collins - DNF 20.03 meters = 2 pts. 
    10.Mark Phillippi - DNF 17.2 meters = 1 pt.

    Overhead Lift (reps), After 2 events:  

    Chief Iron Bear Collins - 12 reps = 9 pts. ~~~~~ 1-Rasmussen 19 pts. 
    Jouko Ahola - 12 reps = 9 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2-Ahola 15 pts. 
    Flemming Rasmussen - 12 reps = 9 pts. ~~~~~~ 3-Ollesch 13.5 pts. 
    Mark Phillippi - 11 reps = 6.5 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~ 4-Karlsen 12 pts. 
    Heinz Ollesch - 11 reps = 6.5 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~ 5-Chief 11 pts. 
    Raimonds Bergmanis - 10 reps = 4 pts. ~~~~~~ 6-Samuelsson 10.5 pts. 
    Torfi Olafsson - 10 reps = 4 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 7-Olafsson 9 pts. 
    Svend Karlsen - 10 reps = 4 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~ 8-Bergmanis 8 pts. 
    Derek Boyer - 9 reps = 1.5 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-Phillippi 7.5 pts. 
    Magnus Samuelsson - 9 reps = 1.5 pts. ~~~~~~ 10-Boyer 4.5 pts. 

    October 11,1997 Saturday - Day Two: 

    Car Roll, After 3 events:  

    1.Magnus Samuelsson - 16.22 = 10 pts. ~~~~~~ 1-Rasmussen 24 pts. 
    2.Svend Karlsen - 16.59 = 9 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 2-Ollesch 21.5 pts. 
    3.Heinz Ollesch - 16.75 = 8 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3-Ahola 21 pts. 
    4.Torfi Olafsson -17.90 = 7 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4-Karlsen 21 pts. 
    5.Jouko Ahola - 18.06 = 6 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5-Samuelsson 20.5 pts. 
    6.Flemming Rasmussen - 19.56 = 5 pts. ~~~~~~ 6-Olafsson 16 pts. 
    7.Mark Phillippi - 19.90 = 4 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 7-Chief 13 pts.
    8.Derek Boyer - 21.09 = 3 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8-Phillippi 11.5 pts.
    9.Chief Iron Bear Collins - 22.97 = 2 pts. ~~~~~ 9-Bergmanis 9 pts. 
    10.Raimonds Bergmanis - 23.27 = 1 pt. ~~~~~~ 10-Boyer 7.5 pts.

    Husafel Stone 

    Magnus Samuelsson - ? meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1-Rasmussen 31 pts.
    Svend Karlsen - 86.66 meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2-Samuelsson 30.5 pts.
    Jouko Ahola - 84.02 meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3-Karlsen 30 pts.
    Flemming Rasmussen - 82.38 meters ~~~~~~~~ 4-Ahola 29 pts.
    Raimonds Bergmanis - 75.17 meters ~~~~~~~~ 5-Ollesch 24.5 pts.
    Derek Boyer - 72.77 meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6-Olafsson 20 pts.
    Torfi Olafsson - 64.43 meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7-Bergmanis 15 pts.
    Heinz Ollesch - 54.74 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8-Collins 14 pts.
    Mark Phillippi - 52.83 meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-Phillippi 13.5 pts.
    Chief Iron Bear Collins - 45.80 meters ~~~~~~ 10-Boyer 12.5 pts

    October 12,1997 Sunday - Day Three: 

    Downtown Las Vegas - 6pm start time (changed from 9am to 5pm but actually began at 6) 

    Squat, After 5 events: 

    1.Mark Phillippi - 821lbs. = 10 pts.~~~~~~~~~~ 1-Rasmussen 39 pts.
    2.Chief Iron Bear Collins - 803lbs. = 9 pts.~~~~~ 2-Ahola 36 pts.
    3.Flemming Rasmussen - 792lbs. = 8 pts.~~~~~~ 3-Samuelsson 33.5 pts.
    4.Jouko Ahola - 781lbs. = 7 pts.~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4-Karlsen 30 pts.
    5.Derek Boyer - 753lbs. = 6 pts.~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5-Ollesch 27.5 pts.
    6.Raimonds Bergmanis - 693lbs. = 5 pts.~~~~~~~ 6-Phillippi 23.5 pts.
    7.Heinz Ollesch - 660lbs. = 3 pts.~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7-Olafsson 23 pts.
    Magnus Samuelsson - 660lbs. = 3 pts.~~~~~~~~~ 8-Collins 23 pts.
    Torfi Olafsson - 660lbs. = 3 pts.~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-Bergmanis 20 pts.
    10.Svend Karlsen - injured in warmup lift = 0 pts. ~ 10-Boyer 18.5 pts. 

    Note: Collins injured on 836lbs. 

    Keg Loading, After 6 events: 

    1.Flemming Rasmussen 6 kegs/ 46.05 = 10 pts.~~~ 1-Rasmussen 49 pts.
    2.Jouko Ahola 6 kegs/ 51.21 = 9 pts.~~~~~~~~~~ 2-Ahola 45 pts.
    3.Raimonds Bergmanis 6 kegs/ 53.09 = 8 pts. ~~~~ 3-Samuelsson 40.5 pts.
    4.Magnus Samuelsson 6 kegs/ 61.83 = 7 pts. ~~~~ 4-Karlsen 31 pts.
    5.Torfi Olafsson 6 kegs/ 74.15 = 6 pts. ~~~~~~~~ 5-Ollesch 30.5 pts.
    6.Derek Boyer 5 kegs/ 48.84 = 5 pts.~~~~~~~~~ 6-Olafsson 29 pts.
    7.Mark Phillippi 5 kegs/ 67.49 = 4 pts.~~~~~~~~ 7-Bergmanis 28 pts.
    8.Heinz Ollesch 5 kegs/ 2 min. = 3 pts.~~~~~~~~ 8-Phillippi 27.5 pts.
    9.Chief Iron Bear Collins 1 keg/ 22.52 = 2 pts.~~~ 9-Collins 25 pts.
    10.Svend Karlsen 1 keg/ ??.?? = 1 pt.~~~~~~~~~ 10-Boyer 23.5 pts.

    October 13,1997 Monday - Day Four: 

    Dead Lift 

    1.Jouko Ahola - 955lbs (435kg!!!). = 10 pts. ~~~~ 1-Ahola 55 pts. 
    2.Mark Phillippi - 950lbs. = 9 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 2-Rasmussen 53 pts. 
    3.Torfi Olafsson - 950lbs. = 8 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 3-Samuelsson 42.5 pts. 
    4.Raimonds Bergmanis -940lbs. = 7 pts. ~~~~~~~ 4-Olafsson 37 pts. 
    5.Derek Boyer - 880lbs. = 6 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5-Ollesch 35.5 pts. 
    6.Heinz Ollesch - 860lbs. = 5 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 6-Phillippi 35.5 pts. 
    7.Flemming Rasmussen - 803lbs. = 4 pts. ~~~~~~ 7-Bergmanis 34.5 pts. 
    8.Chief Iron Bear Collins - 760lbs. = 3 pts. ~~~~~ 8-Karlsen 32 pts. 
    9.Samuelsson - 670lbs. = 2 pts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-Boyer 29.5 pts. 
    10.Karlsen - 600lbs. = 1pt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10-Collins 28 pts. 
      Note: Ahola set new record.
    Medley: 
    1.Magnus Samuelsson - 43.81 sec. = 10 pts. 
    2.Jouko Ahola - ??.?? = 9 pts. 
    3.Flemming Rasmussen - ??.?? = 8 pts. 
    4.Raimonds Bergmanis - 45.88 = 7 pts. 
    5.Torfi Olafsson - 48.38 = 6 pts. 
    6.Heinz Ollesch - 49.94 = 5 pts. 
    7.Mark Phillippi - 60.69 = 4 pts.
    8.Derek Boyer - 0 pts.
    Chief Iron Bear Collins - 0 pts.
    Svend Karlsen - 0 pts.

    Final Standings:  

    1-JOUKO AHOLA (FINLAND) 64 pts.
    2-Flemming Rasmussen (Denmark) 61 pts.
    3-Magnus Samuelsson (Sweden) 52.5 pts. 
    4-Torfi Olafsson (Iceland) 43 pts. 
    5-Raimonds Bergmanis (Latvia) 41.5 pts. 
    6-Heinz Ollesch (Germany) 40.5 pts. 
    7-Mark Phillippi (USA) 39.5 pts. 
    8-Svend Karlsen (Norway) 32 pts. 
    9-Derek Boyer (Fiji) 29.5 pts. 
    10-Chief Iron Bear Collins (USA) 28 pts.

    Notes: For some reason Boyer did not participate in this last event and nothing was said as to him being injured. Both Collins and Karlsen were injured and decided not to go. 

    Thanx to DEAN and LEE for filling in the blanks! 

    There are conflicting reports on who actually won the medley but I believe that it was Samuelsson. Ahola beat Rasmussen in his heat and was therefore the new champ and I think this led everyone to believe that he also won this event but he did not. Ahola needed only to beat Rasmussen to take the title, he really didn't need to beat anyone else as he and Rasmussen were so far ahead in points. 

    There may be some minor adding mistakes as I was very tired when writing this. Also there might be small mistakes in the placings but to the best of my knowledge it is as accurate as possible. If anyone has any info or corrections to add just email and it will be posted. 

     
    More notes 

    Jouko Ahola said: (quotes and short translations) 

    -Olen aika pieni mies, joten siinä mielessä jotkut lajit ovat minulle erityisen kovia. Meikäläistä ei mitenkään noteerattu ennen kisoja ja minulta kysyttiinkin, olinko erään ranskalaisen kilpailijan huoltaja (I'm quite a small man, so some events are tough for me. I didn't get much attention before the competition started and I even got asked, if I was a caretaker of one french competitor) 

    -Nyt meitä on ryhdytty testaamaan, ja esimerkiksi Las Vegasissa jokainen kilpailija kävi läpi doping-testit kaksi päivää ennen suorituksia. Jos joku jää kiinni kielletyistä aineista, on seurauksena kilpaulukielto sekä kaikkien saatujen rahojen menettäminen. (Now they have started to test us and in Las Vegas every competitor went through doping-tests two days before the competition started. If anyone gets caught, he will get suspended and loose all the prize money) 

    - Oli valtava tunne viimeisen lajin lopussa nähdä, ettei Flemming sieltä enää pysty nousemaan. Vasta vähän myöhemmin oivalsin, että voitin siinä samalla koko kilpailun (In the end of the last event it was a great feeling to see, that Flemming can't rise anymore. Only a bit later I understood, that I won the whole competition) 

    - Onhan tämä kaikin puolin upea juttu. Olen ensimmäinen suomalainen, joka on voittanut koko maailman finaalin. Nämä ovat kuin lajin MM-kisat (This is a great thing in every way. I'm the first finn ever to win the world's.) 

    -Harjoittelen edelleen viidesti viikossa 3-4 tuntia päivässä. Olen itse rakennellut erilaisia vempeleistä, mm. voimaportaat, tukkeja ja betonista valettuja kiviä. Harjoitussalini on Hämeenlinnassa entisen tavaratalon pysäköintihallissa, jossa voin rauhassa kanniskella mm. henkilöautoja. (I train 3-4 hours per day five times a week. I have built among other things power stairs, logs and concrete stones. I train in an old warehouse's parking hall, where I can for example carry cars) 

    - Esimerkiksi farmarikävelyssä 150 kilon painot alkavat olla maksimaaliset, koska kenenkään sormet eivät kestä kanniskella 200 kilon painoja (In the farmers walk 150kg weights are near the maximum, because nobody's fingers can take 200kg) 

    - Voimamieskisoissa liikkuu nykyisin entistä enemmän rahaa. Tosin Suomessa voimamieslajeissa ei ole yhtä suuria rahoja kuin joissakin muissa maissa. Esimerkiksi Islannin Magnusson ei edes lähde kotimaastaan alle 17 000 markan kynnysrahalla (There's more money in strong man competitions nowadays. However, not as much in Finland as in some other countries. For example Magnusson doesn't leave Island for under 3500$) 

    Chris wrote also: 

    before the final:
    I'm hoping that Riku, and Magnus and Gerrit will stay also so that I can try to work up the nerve to talk to them. 

    after: 

    well they did not stay except for Kiri and on the last day at the last possible moment I actually approached him and got a pic with him and also had him sign my enlargements of him. His wife loved one of my pics so much that she would not even put it down so I gave it to her and she was so happy. Riku even smiled!!!!! in the pic too although the guy I had take it does not know how to take pictures 

    publishing these results:
    Oh yeah Bill said that they arent gonna let him post any results from the competition on his page till it airs on tv so if you post anything it could very well be the first update on this! 

    the BBC/ESPN/TWI have made his page the official strongman page and have asked him not to post the results until after the competition has aired in england which is usually sometime around christmas. But he has already posted some of the results now anyways. 

    Riku Kiri?  

    Have you ever stood right next to Riku? He is not only huge but he carries an enormous presence with him that can be kinda intimidating. I don't think he does that on purpose it's just him, and he's so quiet. What else can I say except that he's absolutely gorgeous! 

    (how come he did not qualify?) 

    The loglift was an overhead lift/press for weight (increased) which if you view the '96 heat with Kiri well he didn't do good at all. In fact coming in 2nd to last place. I expected he would win but I guess not. 

    In farmers walk I thought he did okay but others in his heat were faster. The deadlift was for reps and I was sure he would do great and win this one but Boyer won it. I'm sure he came in top 3. Same thing with super yoke, he did go past me extremely fast but again I think Boyer was faster and also was really psyched for this event. If I'm not mistaken Kiri received a bad call similar to Flemming's incident in the 3way tie (overhead lift for repetitions/97final). 

    ("Bad luck - you can't always win even if you are in a very good shape") Yes, so very true. But what happened in Primm just seemed so blatantly obvious. Did you know that an order had gone out not to advertise for the contest? I wonder why- food for thought wouldn't you say. 

    (Sorry I don't quite understand. Why wouldn't they advertise it?) The reason is what I have been saying all along- the "fixed" heats. If they were to advertise it like they should of then their would be too many witnesses to what they were doing. As it was everyone was comparing stopwatches and that is how all these rumors started. It was not only competitors talking but many spectators also. As for next year's competition there is no reason not to advertise it since they have accomplished what they wanted. 

    We talked about bad arrangements. (They sent for example the competitors very fast back to the airport after the award ceremony.) Yes I heard about that too. Gerrit had to leave at 4am the night of the last heats. That must of been awful. No time to just relax and take it all in.  

    And 

    (Competition was televised here 16.11.) What? You mean you've already seen the '97 WSM??????? oh not fair, not fair. 


    21.10.97, additions 26.12.97, SK & CHRIS