Nine competitors put their strength and technique on display Sunday at the second annual Cariboo’s Strongest Man.
Seven local competitors and another two strongmen from Kamloops and Salmon Arm, respectively, made up the field of athletes. Participants converged in the parking lot beside the Real Canadian Wholesale Club for the event where spectators of family, friends and passersby looked on in awe and amazement at the feats of power displayed throughout the morning and afternoon.
At the Cariboo’s Strongest Man athletes competed in a log lift, yoke walk, dead lift, stone to shoulder and, the finale, the truck pull.
Each event required strongmen to utilize different techniques and muscle groups in order to be successful, lending advantages in certain events to some athletes, while creating problems for others.
For example, in the super yoke walk, the heavyweight men’s apparatus competitors were required to carry weighed 500 pounds. The deadlift for heavyweights, meanwhile, required strength and stamina in order to hoist the 405-pound barbell as many times as possible.
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Organizer Tyson Delay, a strongman, himself, said he thought the event went great.
“We had more athletes than we expected, and more from out of town than I thought, plus lots of great volunteers,” Delay said.
“The crowd was great. There were a few close friends who came out, lots of family and great support. I just think it went really smoothly and appreciate everyone for coming out.”
For one competitor, Jaymz Hawkins, it was his first time attending or competing at a strongman event.
“I just heard about it and decided to go for it,” said Hawkins. “It was awesome. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to get into for a while and I thought this was kind of the kick in the rear I needed to get into it.”
First place in the lightweight division went to Landon Stasica, while second went to Brandon Rosner.
First in super heavyweight division was Kyle Zale of Kamloops, with Stephen Ogloff of Salmon Arm placing second. Third in the super heavyweight class went to Delay, with Williams Lake’s Reece Fredericks coming in fourth.
Delay, meanwhile, has also been taking his strength abroad and was recently invited to compete at Canada’s Strongest Natural Man in Calgary earlier this month — an event where competitors are drug tested.
At five-foot-nine and 205 pounds, Delay was competing in an open weight division versus behemoths upwards of 300 pounds.
While not getting his hopes up prior to the competition, Delay was thrilled with his results.
“I did way better than I thought,” he said. “I didn’t get last, and finished eighth out of 12 guys. I was the smallest there by about 50 or 60 pounds.”
Events he competed in included a 300-pound sack walk, a Hercules hold, a 150-pound dumbbell press for reps, an axle deadlift and a medley featuring a 500-pound hex bar.
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“The atmosphere was fantastic,” he said. “About 60 or 70 spectators came in, and everyone was super friendly, coming forward with advice, and incredibly supportive.”
On June 22, Delay also travelled north to Prince George to help coach another local competitor, Garret Leroy, at a powerlifting competition at X Conditioning.
“He was fantastic,” Delay said. “He’s been working on building up his deadlift and he smoked a Canadian record with a 535 pound lift on his first try, and he weighed in at 175 pounds. Then he went up and did a 585-pound lift and advanced the Canadian record by 50 pounds.
Delay said he would like to thank his wife, Brynn, for all of her continued support, and also Reflex Supplements of Prince George for donating $800 worth of prizes for competitors in Williams Lake.
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