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Northeast Strongman Showdown
2001
Wilmington, Massachusetts Held on Febraury 17,2001 |
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Strong·man (strôngmn) n.: an intense sport of which the modern derivation is a direct descendent of the Scottish and Icelandic/Scandinavian test of manhood. A typical strongman competition is a test of strength, endurance, ingenuity and heart. It consists of events adopted from traditional Scottish Highland Games, variations of powerlifting, Olympic lifting and just plain “crazy” events such as the rope and harness truck pull.
The Budweiser Northeast Strongman Showdown held on February 17, 2001 certainly fit the bill of the aforementioned definition of the strongman sport. Fifty-six Herculean athletes assembled to pit their might, strength and grit against seemly unmovable objects made of metal, machine, and stone. The many members of Valhalla, the mythical eternal Viking resting grounds for the warriors of old, smiled, laughed and reveled as they gazed upon this mighty spectacle of man, steel and rock.
Forty-two “amateurs” and fourteen pros assembled at the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, Massachusetts over a twelve plus hour period to see who would not only be left standing, but who would be the top of the heap and earn their eventual entrance into Valhalla. Art McDermott, highland games competitor, produced this extravaganza. The competition itself began at 10:00 a.m. with the amateurs finishing up at around 5:30 p.m. The pros then took over the show and the excitement became palpable. When all was said and done, at a little past 10:30 p.m., Svend Karlsen amid shouts of “VIKING POWER” was the triumphant winner of the day. All that was needed was for the mighty Norwegian to slice through the air as if with a sword to fully evoke memories of the late great Jon Pall Sigmarsson. It should be noted that in this writer’s opinion, several of the top “amateurs” would have given the pros a real run for the money literally. This article will start perhaps counterintuitively and certainly in a non-chronological fashion by addressing the professional meet first. Then, the amateurs will be examined.
THE PROFESSIONALS
Prior to the event, this writer had the opportunity to spend much of Friday with the athletes. There was one common theme among them: This was the first international event of the new strongman season for them and they all wanted to win it to set the pace for the entire year and to send a message that this year was going to be their year.
The Northeast Strongman Showdown was not simply a traditional strongman contest where a bunch of individuals competed against one another, but rather it was billed as the best of the United States versus the best of the World. The United States was represented by the Indiana Connection of Chad Coy, Brian Schoonveld, and Bryan Neese along with West Virginian Phil Pfister, Pennsylvanian Walt Gogola, Bruce Tessier of Massachusetts and resident of Las Vegas Gary Mitchell. The international field was as diverse featuring the likes of Canadian strongman trio of Hugo “Huge-o” Girard, Travis Lyndon and Ed Brost along with Svend “Viking Power” Karlsen of Norway, Sami Heinonen of Finland, Glenn Ross of Northern Ireland and Jamie Barr of Scotland. The men assembled on this field were truly some of the best that both the United States and the World had to offer. Not an inexperienced man in the bunch. Nine of them had competed in the World’s Strongest Man. Four had been there at least twice. Additionally, four of the competitors had made it on past the qualifers to the finals of the big show. Arguably, it could be posited that this event was the greatest assembly of international caliber strongmen on the United States since the 1997 World’s Strongest Man Contest in Las Vegas.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. with in excess of 1500 spectators on hand enveloping the competition floor on both sides, the lights went down, the spotlight turned up, the American flag was raised, the national anthem was sung, the competitors were introduced and the POWER began.
Preliminary Notes on the Competitors
Several of you will undoubtedly skip or have undoubtedly skipped to see the results before reading this very statement. If you have you will have noted a statistically rather surprisingly poor performance by the usually solid Glenn Ross. Prior to his long plane flight over here to the United States, he had contracted the flu with a cold. When he arrived, the symptoms went from bad to worse to nearly unbearable for the 400+ pound strongman. As he ate with some of us, the usually outgoing, jovial and jocular strongman spent his time in between bites and strained breaths in apparent agony of coughing fits accompanied by sneezes. This undoubtedly affected his performance as it carried on into the next day’s competition.
lBoth Svend Karlsen and Brian Schoonveld had used the time following the World’s Strongest Man to trim themselves down to at or near 300 to 310 pounds to become as Schoonveld stated “more of an athlete and more mobile.” Svend remarked that as he did this, he had fears that his core strength would suffer, but he commented that his core strength surprisingly went up quite a bit quite unexpectedly. This translated to a very impressive and memorable performance for the modern Viking, as we shall soon read for the Viking. Svend showed up looking like a massive bodybuilder complete with prominent abs. Bruce Tessier and Walt Gogola were each cutting their figurative teeth, as this was their first major international caliber competition. Physique-wise, Hugo Girard looked more massive than ever before. Chad Coy had put on some weight. Bryan Neese was had been recovering from some injuries including a bicep tear and looked to be back into the physical and mental swing of things. Gary Mitchell reported that he had had the best training cycle of recent memory. So much so as to have his training partner Mark Phillipi remarked that this was the strongest and best conditioned that he had ever seen Mitchell. Alas, Mitchell found himself suffering from a infected spider bite on his then enflamed left elbow that effected his grip. Sami Heinonen brought a small film crew with him to chronicle the event. Magnus ver Magnusson was on hand to act as referee and judge of the professional event. The four-time World’s Strongest Man looked like and acted like the champion of old as he graciously accepted the crowd’s praise, signed autographs and stood for pictures. He will be back in full action this year at Gayle Schroeder’s Azalea Festival Strongman Show in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Also of note in attendance was meet promoter Jim Davis whose upcoming meet in St. Louis will be one of the next major strongman events in the United States, Olympic Gold medallist Harold Connelly, Dr. Ken Liestner and World Strongest Man competitor Steve Pulcinella.
THE APPARATI
The apparati themselves were for the most part produced by Mastiff Equipment, which is owned and operated by pro strongman and 1999 “US Strongest Man” Bryan Neese and his wife Erica Neese. Not one complaint was heard throughout the day in regards to the equipment as they were professionally manufactured and held up to the abuse placed on them by the athletes. Mastiff Equipment can be contacted at http://www.mastiffstrength.com
The Farmer’s Walk Click to see photos
The very first event was the farmer’s walk where the professionals were challenged to carry the farmer’s walk implements weighing 325 pounds each. The athletes were not allowed to drop the implements. If they did so, a measurement was made. The event took place over a 200-foot course. This was a tandem event where each competitor was paired with someone else. So, there were times when athletes looked over at their opponent to spur themon further. It was a straightway course with some of the competitors turning it into a runaway. Phil Pfister sent early notice that the “off season” for him did not mean the “sit on the couch season” as he turned in the winning time. Brian Schoonveld and Hugo Girard were right on his heels as they were the only other two finishing the event. Surprising to many, Svend Karlsen did not finish the course. Chad Coy turned in a new personal best in this event.
1) Phil Pfister 26.2 seconds
2)
Brian
Schoonveld 26.9
3)
Hugo
Girard 27.2
4)
Sami
Heinonen 182’
5)
Svend
Karlsen 178’
6)
Travis
Lyndon 158’
7)
Brian
Neese 157’6”
8)
Chad
Coy 151’
9)
Walt
Gogola 133’
10)
Glenn
Ross 99’6”
11)
Jamie
Barr 91’
12)
Gary
Mitchell 80’
9”
13)
Ed
Brost 79’
14)
Bruce
Tessier 70’
Viking
Press Click to see photos
Rather than using the traditional strongman method to determine the order of the competitors where the individual currently in last place went first, this competition utilized a random order system where the athletes found themselves in a new competition order for each event divorced of rhyme or reason. The crowd really got into this next event. T he place was rocking and counting the reps along with Magnus ver. The Viking Press apparatus was manufactured by Mastiff Equipment similar in design to the one originally used in the Helsinki Grand Prix with three notable exceptions. First, the weight at the hands was heavier in the Mastiff version with three hundred and fifty (350) pounds, which is much heavier than the Helsinki version. The second difference was that instead of a series of canisters used to hold the weight, ten full kegs were implemented. Thus, making the Mastiff version of the apparatus a little more unruly to the inexperienced in that there was more lateral motion. The most important difference was that unlike the Helsinki version, the Mastiff version had a “resting stand” where the apparatus rested when not in use. This fact would play an important role later on as you will read. Coming into this event several people were mentioned by the athletes to probably win this event. Had Glenn Ross not been so sick, he would have been mentioned more often, but nevertheless he was still a favorite. Hugo Girard was picked by many to battle it out with Brain Schoonveld for the top honors. Schoonveld was rumored to have done in excess of 25 in practice and had done twenty plus in the Snowman Challenge only a month earlier.
This event proved to be the most controversial in the entire day. Prior
to this event, there had been small fireworks between Svend Karlsen and Phil
Pfister as Svend had commented on Phil’s prior performance in the Helsinki Grand
Prix of last year.
In that event, Phil turned in a sixteen-repetition result a few of which
Svend found of questionable “lock out.” Naturally, Phil took exception to this comment
and stormed off to the warm-up area to finish preparing amid vocal protests
of “That’s not
cool ” and “What the f-ck Svend.” Svend soon followed into the warm-up area and
extended his hand in friendship to Phil who after some pause took it. Prior to the event,
Magnus ver Magnusson explained in no uncertain detail that he was expecting
strict lock-outs and the repetition would not count if and until he gave the
down signal accompanied by the number of the repetition. The second area of
controversy came as Phil Pfister began the event. The six foot five inch Phil Pfister uses a deep
jerk technique to press the weight overhead. In doing so, he began the event by banging the weight against
the “rest stand” of the apparatus very violently thereby catching some rebound
effect benefits.
After two warnings to Phil and four repetitions, Phil was ordered to stop
by Magnus ver.
At first, Magnus ver was not going to allow Phil Pfister to proceed and
record only four reps, but after some contemplation, Phil was allowed to return
following everyone else’s performance. The third incident occurred as Ed Brost took
the handles. Ed
started motoring through rep after rep after rep as Magnus still had not
signaled one rep.
Ed had forgotten to wait for the down signal from Magnus ver. This led to some
grumbling as Ed was awarded ten reps in the end. Brian Schoonveld had a few of his reps not
counted by Magnus ver.
Also, Chad Coy found his last rep to be very difficult as Magnus ver
properly made Chad wait until his right elbow fully locked out. He had to wait a good
five-second with the 325 pounds above him. When the smoke cleared and the event was over,
Hugo stood as champion of this event. Again, Brian Schoonveld was making his presence
known as he came in a solid second. Schoonveld engendered the crowd’s support as
through his performance and by throwing t-shirts into the crowd. Bryan Neese tore out
an explosive and clean 14 reps. Phil Pfister’s second chance netted him a tie
for the seventh place finish with Gary Mitchell with nine reps. Glenn Ross would have
been undoubtedly good for at least twice what he got if he had not been
sick. Jamie Barr
commented that this was his least favorite event of all strongman events.
1) Hugo Girard 21 reps
2) Brian
Schoonveld
19
3) Bryan
Neese
14
4) tie - Svend
Karlsen
Travis Lyndon 13
5) tie - Chad Coy
Walt Gogola 11
6) tie - Ed Brost
Bruce Tessier 10
7) tie - Phil Pfister
Gary Mitchell 9
8) tie - Sami Heinonen
Glenn Ross 8
9) Jamie Barr 5
Tire
Flip Click to see photos
Again, the random order system that was used found several competitors with little
time to recover from the previous two events. Following this
event, Bryan Neese summed up the feeling among the
professionals for the need to slow down the pace of the event a little
when he talked to meet promoter Art McDermott. This event was again a classic tandem event
where the competitors went head to head using a near 900-pound tire over a
100-foot course.
As anyone who has flipped a tire of this size can tell you, this is
perhaps the most grueling event known in strongman. So much so, that many
a well conditioned athlete found themselves acting as if they were sucking air
through a straw at the end. Svend Karlsen simply put ran away with this
event. His
technique was superlative and tight. Following suit was the “new guy” Bruce
Tessier. He was
such an unknown quantity in at this show that no one knew what to expect of
him. Several
professionals came up to this writer to ask who he was, where he came from and
what to expect.
All this writer could do was state Bruce’s name and shrug his shoulders
as to the rest.
Needless to say, by the end of the day, he became very memorable for not
only his Whit Baskin like physique but for his performance as well. It was at this event
that all eyes started to shift towards Travis Lyndon of Canada. He was followed by
his fellow countryman Hugo Girard. Jamie Barr was the only other professional to
finish the event in under a minute.
1) Svend Karlsen 47.8 seconds
2) Bruce
Tessier
55.47
3) Travis
Lyndon
56.27
4) Hugo
Girard
57.1
5) Jamie
Barr
58.76
6) Chad
Coy
1:02.7
7) Bryan
Neese
1:11.75
8) Sami
Heinonen
1:23.7
9) Brian
Schoonveld
1:24.08
10) Walt Gogola
1:30
11) Ed Brost
99’
12) tie - Gary Mitchell
98
Phil Pfister 98’
14) Glenn Ross 95’ 2”
Atlas Stones Click to
see photos
This event had the crowd rocking and was perhaps the highlight
of the whole day.
The weight of the Altas Stones ranged up to 365 pounds. The platforms
ranged in height from 64 inches to 48 inches. The lights were again turned down
and the spotlight was used to bathe each athlete in bright light. Bryan Neese was the
first man up.
There were three timekeepers used in this event: one at the third
stone, one at the fourth stone and one at the fifth stone. Apparently there
was some confusion by one of the timekeepers. Bryan had flown through loading four
stones. As he
was about to attack the fifth stone, one timekeeper, believing the event to be a
ninety second event, erroneously told him that he had thirty seconds left when
in fact he only had fifteen. Neese stepped back and re-tackkied his arms
only to only be called out at seventy-five seconds. Bryan was given an
extra turn after this timing error. On his second attempt, he failed to load the
third stone.
No times were kept for those who loaded less than 3 stones. Hence, his DNF
result below.
On his first turn, which was negated by his decision to go again, he
loaded the first 4 stones. Bryan's fourth stone time was 42.1
seconds. This
would have moved him up ahead of Jamie Barr and Ed Brost, but would not have
changed his place in the overall. Svend Karlsen showed all in attendance what
he means when he yells “Viking Power” as he blazed through all five stones. He hardly struggled
with the last stone as he popped it from the floor to his lap and onto the
pedestal with no hesitation. Equally impressive was Travis Lyndon whose
huge six foot-five inch body made getting his arms around the stones easy. Travis no doubt has
great genetics for this event to be coupled with his fast feet and
athleticism.
Chad Coy flew through the stones as well which provided little surprise
to many as he had reported that he has lifted heavier stones, higher and
faster. Bruce
Tessier, Brian Schoonveld, Gary Mitchell, Phil Pfister, Sami Heinonen and Walt
Goggla loaded all five stones.
1) Svend Karlsen 5 stones @ 27.90
2) Travis Lyndon 5 @ 30.64
3) Chad
Coy
5 @ 36.62
4) Bruce
Tessier
5 @ 39.09
5) Brian
Schoonveld
5 @ 39.24
6) Gary
Mitchell
5 @ 40.08
7) Phil
Pfister
5 @ 44.53
8) Sami
Heinonen
5 @ 45.44
9) Walt
Gogola
5 @ 56.09
10) Hugo Girard
4 @ 27.85
11) Glenn Ross
4 @ 40.12
12) Ed Brost
4 @ 44.43
13) Jamie Barr
3 @ 30.29
14) Bryan Neese
DNF*
Super Yoke
Click to see photos
The apparatus itself weighed in excess of 800 pounds. The course was ninety feet. The most amazing aspect in regards to Svend Karlsen in the Super Yoke event is not only does he hold the world record and that he always wins the event, but that he consistently shows us all why he does. He ran with the apparatus. Svend commented that he felt the pressure of Brian Schoonveld. Before the event, Svend stated that he was nervous because he had heard that in practice Schoonveld who had designed the very apparatus that they were using had been turning in times to rival Svend’s best performance. Svend’s concern almost proved prophetic, as Brian was only two seconds behind Svend. Svend seriously complained about his own performance citing it as pathetic. Hugo Girard’s constant improvement in this event amazes many. In the 1999 Beauty and the Beast strongman competition, Hugo on a similar apparatus could only budge the weight two feet. Phil Pfister blazed away as well. Ed Brost turned in his best performance of the day in this event.
1) Svend Karlsen 16.0 seconds
2) Brian Schoonveld 18.80
3) Hugo Girard 20.0
4) Phil Pfister 29.9
5) Ed Brost 30.41
6) Chad Coy 34.2
7) Bryan Neese 44.43
8) Glenn Ross 56.5
9) Travis Lyndon 85’8”
10) Walt Gogola 76’3”
11) Gary Mitchell
75’2”
12) Bruce Tessier
32’5”
13) Jamie Barr
19’3”
14) Sami Heinonen
10’5”
Truck Pull Click to see photos
Coming into this event, several things were clear. It had been a long
and arduous day of competition for the competitors. The issue was still in
doubt as Svend Karlsen had the lead, but Schoonveld and Hugo were close
behind. Rather
than utilizing the random order system as had been used previously, the
traditional method was used with the current person in last place going
first and the leader going last. This created an exciting climax to the
showdownthat had everyone on pins and needles. At this point Svend was in the lead, followed
by Schoonveld with Hugo Girard one point behind him. Additionally, the
United States was in first by two points. The truck pull was in reality a massive
30,000-pound dump trucks pull with a harness and a rope for
simultaneous arm over arm pulling. Traditionally, a 15-ton truck is not that
challenging to men at this level. However, as we all know, these size dump
trucks have massive tires in terms of both height and width making the event
much more difficult as there is more tred per revolution creating more
friction. The
course itself was unmarkable excepting a slight upward dip at the end. Travis Lyndon and
Phil Pfister smoked this event. So much so that Magnus ver commented “Phil
needs no help when it comes to truck pulling. I will be giving him no more help.” As an interesting aside,
Chad coy used a 40-pound lead vest to weigh himself down for this event.
All eyes now turned to the last three men to go: Hugo Girard, Brian
Schoonveld and Svend Karlsen in that order. Hugo took the slack and turned in what would
later prove to be the winning time of the event with 45.08 seconds. Brian Schoonveld
went next turning in a time of 50.78 seconds which would later place him in
fourth place for the event and knock him narrowly out of second overall. Everyone watched
any waited to see if it was going to be Hugo or Svend to be crowned
champion.
Svend needed to turn in s time faster than a minute and five
seconds. Svend
appeared to be nervous and not as confident as he had been all day. Svend took the
strain, kept his head down and turned in a gutsy performance under pressure with
a fifty-five second result. Immediately following the whistle being blown
to signify his completion of the course, Svend was unsure if he had won or
not. He looked
around for the timekeeper. He couldn't find the timekeeper. Finally, after
several seconds, as he was told his time, the mighty Norwegian strongman
launched his arms in the air triumphantly accompanying his loud shouts of
“Viking Power!!!” which was echoed by some in attendance. As a result, of
this last event, the United States lost its narrow lead with the international
competitors walking away as champions this day by one point.
1) Hugo Girard 45.08 seconds
2) Travis
Lyndon
45.74
3) Phil
Pfister
46.03
4) Brian
Schoonveld
50.74
5) Svend
Karlsen
55.24
6) Sami
Heinonen
58.56
7) Bryan
Neese
1:06.15
8) Bruce
Tessier
1:06.20
9) Glenn
Ross
1:07.84
10) Walt Gogola
1:13.45
11) Gary Mitchell
1:15.32
12) Jamie Barr
1:19.06
13) Chad Coy 1:29.49
14) Ed Brost 98’
OVERALL PLACINGS
1) Svend Karlsen - Norway 17.5 Points
2) Hugo Girard - Canada 22
3) Brian Schoonveld - USA 24
4) Travis Lyndon - Canada 26.5
5) Phil Pfister - USA 38
6) Chad Coy - USA 42.5
7) Bryan Neese - USA 45
8) Bruce Tessier - USA 48.5
9) Sami Heinonen - Finland 52.5
10) Walt Gogola - USA 54.5
11) Gary Mitchell - USA 63
12) Ed Brost - Canada 63.5
13) Glenn Ross - N. Ireland 64.5
14) Jamie Barr - Scotland 68
Team Totals: (Low point wins)
USA 315.5
International
314.5
Svend Karlsen simply put was head and shoulders above the other competitors on that day and with those events. Svend, without a trace of braggadocio or insincerity, calmly told several that if he had to do these very events all over again on that very day with no rest, he could. There is no doubt in my mind that he could. This may very well be his year to win the prize that he has sought now for many, many years: the title “World’s Strongest Man.” However, Hugo Girard looks larger and more confident than ever and will undoubtedly prove to be a major foe. This writer was very impressed by the Mohawk-wearing US strongman named Brian Schoonveld. He has the requisite attitude and drive to push himself to the limit and beyond. He has a large potential to become himself a dominant name in the sport with a few changes. Let’s all remember that he is very new to this sport having competed for less than two years now. He is nearly as polished as the old pros. Travis Lyndon will be one to watch this year. If he is not invited to the World’s Strongest Man, then that will be a big mistake! Had it not been for a slow start, he might have supplanted one or all of the top three. Phil Pfister’s performance was perhaps hampered in part by the fact that he has a newborn. Chad Coy is constantly improving since his strongman debut in the RaceWay in Las Vegas for the AFSA Full Strength Challenge in 1998. Bryan Neese is coming back strong from his injuries and will perform well this year when he lets some of his hesitation go. The two “rookies” of the bunch Bruce Tessier and Walt Gogola turned in impressive performances. One would hope that they would take advantage of the Beauty and the Beast competition opportunity this year to try to qualify for a spot in the World’s Strongest Man. Sami Heinonen had an inconsistent day, but continues to be one to watch internationally. Gary Mitchell seems poised to turn in a great performance this year evidenced by his dedicated training and heart. Ed Brost and Jamie Barr found several of the events not to suit them here. Poor Glenn Ross was just too sick. Svend as champion took home $3500. Hugo $2000. Brian Schoonveld $1000. Travis Lyndon took $750. Fifth, sixth and seventh (Phil Pfister, Chad Coy and Bryan Neese) received $500, $300, and $250 respectively. Placings of 8 through 14 found $100 their reward.
CONCLUSION
Usually in any meet write-up this is the part of the story where the writer takes the time to comment upon the overall event, his impressions, his criticisms and what the meet promoter intends to do next year. However, before that is all done, this event had a large shadow looming over it---Whit Baskin. As many of you know Whit was involved in an automobile accident on December 19th that resulted in him being in a coma, requiring intensive care treatment, surgery, rehabilitation and a tracheotomy just to name a few aspects. Present at this event was Summer Baskin, Whit’s sister. Summer caught us all up on Whit’s condition (which probably by the time of press has changed). She explained that it appears as if following happened on that night. Whit had been working at the Baskin family restaurant that night. He had left after closing time at 2 a.m. to drive to a nearby town to visit a lady friend of his. It is unsure whether he simply fell asleep and his foot hit the accelerator pushing the SUV he drove up to 100 miles per hour or he had been traveling at 100 miles per hour and had fallen asleep. Whatever the circumstances, he came off the road and struck a pole. In talking to Summer, one definitely was struck by the impact that this personal tragedy has had on the family and indeed us all. Thousands of people have visited the “Whit Baskin and Family” Board to express their sympathy and to post a note of prayer or will wishing to Whit. Hundreds have wrote or called the Baskins. Hundreds have contributed to his various funds. This event was not different. Throughout the event Art McDermott acting as emceee reminded us all of Whit and encouraged us all to think about him. Art McDermott together with some of the booths present held a Thomas Inch dumbbell challenge with the proceeds to go to Whit. Over a thousand dollars was raised in this manner to help him. Thank you to everyone who has helped.