Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inPower play
Power play
by Outspoken on Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:54 am
Power play
A dozen "amazing" amateur strongmen give it all they've got during a contest at Bath Heritage Days.
By ANNE GLEASON
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
BATH — Drew Colby, 24, was roped into participating in his first amateur strongman competition Saturday, when his friends convinced him to try it just days before the event.
But after successfully completing the trolley pull, in which competitors pull a 2-ton trolley 60 feet, Colby said he would likely be back for more.
The strongman competition was a new event at the this year’s Bath Heritage Days festival. It’s a sport that has steadily grown in Maine since last summer, when the first amateur strongman competition in the state was held in Westbrook.
On Saturday, amateur strongman competitors tested their strength on the pick-up truck lift, the trolley pull, the Atlas stones and the steel log.
Eliot Storey, a competitor, became Maine’s designated chairman last year for North American Strongman, Inc., the governing body of amateur strongman athletes.
Storey, 23, had competed in events in New Jersey and New York, and decided to bring the sport to Maine. The appeal of the sport, Storey said, stems from the camaraderie and the challenge.
“Whenever we’re here, we’re all best friends,” Storey said. “It’s just you against the implement. The spotlight’s on you and the crowd is on you.”
Several of the strongmen athletes on Saturday were former high school football players looking to return to competitive sports. Ryan Martin, 25, Adam Lebel, 26, Elias Denson, 22, and Colby all played high school football together at Morse High School, Lebel said. They’ve been training together for years, but just recently started to focus on the strongman competitions.
“We’ve always been fans of it,” Lebel said, referring to the pro competitions, including the annual World’s Strongest Man competition. “It’s just something to focus your training on.”
Tim Blakeslee of Oakland trains with a group in the Augusta area. Blakeslee got into the sport about six months ago and became hooked.
“It’s just about being around a bunch of guys and just bowling it out to impress everyone we can – to put on a good show,” he said. “It really gets your adrenaline going.”
The 12 competitors impressed the crowd Saturday, with one girl exclaiming, “Look, he’s lifting that truck!” and others calling the athletes’ feats “amazing.”
Competitor Merrill Hall stood out among the field of mostly young men Saturday, with graying hair and a slight paunch. Hall, 47, acknowledged he was “old enough to be some of these guys’ fathers,” but said his age doesn’t hinder his performance.
“I have no idea what I could have done when I was 20,” said Hall, who has his own steel log at home for training. “I’m the strongest I’ve ever been right now.”
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=197806&ac=PHnws
A dozen "amazing" amateur strongmen give it all they've got during a contest at Bath Heritage Days.
By ANNE GLEASON
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
BATH — Drew Colby, 24, was roped into participating in his first amateur strongman competition Saturday, when his friends convinced him to try it just days before the event.
But after successfully completing the trolley pull, in which competitors pull a 2-ton trolley 60 feet, Colby said he would likely be back for more.
The strongman competition was a new event at the this year’s Bath Heritage Days festival. It’s a sport that has steadily grown in Maine since last summer, when the first amateur strongman competition in the state was held in Westbrook.
On Saturday, amateur strongman competitors tested their strength on the pick-up truck lift, the trolley pull, the Atlas stones and the steel log.
Eliot Storey, a competitor, became Maine’s designated chairman last year for North American Strongman, Inc., the governing body of amateur strongman athletes.
Storey, 23, had competed in events in New Jersey and New York, and decided to bring the sport to Maine. The appeal of the sport, Storey said, stems from the camaraderie and the challenge.
“Whenever we’re here, we’re all best friends,” Storey said. “It’s just you against the implement. The spotlight’s on you and the crowd is on you.”
Several of the strongmen athletes on Saturday were former high school football players looking to return to competitive sports. Ryan Martin, 25, Adam Lebel, 26, Elias Denson, 22, and Colby all played high school football together at Morse High School, Lebel said. They’ve been training together for years, but just recently started to focus on the strongman competitions.
“We’ve always been fans of it,” Lebel said, referring to the pro competitions, including the annual World’s Strongest Man competition. “It’s just something to focus your training on.”
Tim Blakeslee of Oakland trains with a group in the Augusta area. Blakeslee got into the sport about six months ago and became hooked.
“It’s just about being around a bunch of guys and just bowling it out to impress everyone we can – to put on a good show,” he said. “It really gets your adrenaline going.”
The 12 competitors impressed the crowd Saturday, with one girl exclaiming, “Look, he’s lifting that truck!” and others calling the athletes’ feats “amazing.”
Competitor Merrill Hall stood out among the field of mostly young men Saturday, with graying hair and a slight paunch. Hall, 47, acknowledged he was “old enough to be some of these guys’ fathers,” but said his age doesn’t hinder his performance.
“I have no idea what I could have done when I was 20,” said Hall, who has his own steel log at home for training. “I’m the strongest I’ve ever been right now.”
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=197806&ac=PHnws
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
