This weekend in strongman 1/25
Once a week I am going to make a simple post like this to summarize the past weekend’s strongman competitions. I will still aim to write recaps of at least one show but at the very least I’d like to just put this info out while I work on those other posts. It was a very eventful weekend, so if I don’t spend as much time on a competition, I apologize in advance.
The weekend of the 25th saw a lot of competitions, some big, some small. One that stands out for it’s fun concept is Snowballs And Sandbags. This competition in Iowa was an unsanctioned event, just for fun, and invited athletes to participate in 4 total events using only sandbags. The highlight event has to be the Sandbag Snowman, where athletes had 60 seconds to assemble a snowman out of sandbags by carrying them 50 feet at a time and stacking them from heaviest to lightest. In the Women’s Heavyweight class, Taylor Ash assembled all 3 of her bags in only 30 seconds, winning the event. She would go on to win the Women’s Heavyweight class that day. For the Men’s Heavyweights, only 1 second separated Adam Wekenmann and Tyler Reeder’s scores, but although Tyler would win the Sandbag Snowman, Adam would end up taking 1st in the class at the end of the day. Finally, out of two Men’s Super Heavyweights, Brendt Lauck took 1st place with a 4 event sweep.
Saturday also saw multiple record breaker events. At Maine State Record Breakers, several Max Log records were broken, and several were set for the women. In Men’s Super Heavyweight, Zachary Wallace set a new state record for the log at 290lb, beating the old record by 20lb. Teejay Sinclair set the new state record for Men’s Lightweights(-198) at 220lbs, a 25lb increase over the previous record. Other state records broken include Kristen Dye shattering the Women’s Super Heavyweight(-242) 18” Axle Deadlift record by over 100lbs with a final pull of 530, and Kristy Marker setting the new standard for the Masters Heavyweight Women with a 255lb atlas stone over bar.
Moving over to Oregon, the 2nd Annual Valhalla Classic saw Cody Osuna win the Men’s Super Heavyweight class, with a max log of 275lb, 6 reps of a 605lb axle deadlift, and a blistering 19 second time in the yoke/sled medley. Adam OpBroek started the Men’s Middleweights off by losing a point on log, but would go on to win the next 2 events and tie the fourth to win his class. Brady Chisholm similarly started down on points in the Men’s Heavyweights, but made them up on the yoke/sled medley and stone to shoulder.
At the Masters only Silver Strength Showdown in Gatesville, Texas, Iva Liou pulled an incredible 520lb Axle Deadlift in the Women’s Heavyweight class. The heaviest log press of the day went to Jonathan Norris-Green in the Men’s Heavyweights with 330lb, Jonathan and Iva both went on to win their respective weight classes.
The 2025 Battle Of The Ozarks in Arkansas saw 40 athletes compete, including a Pro class of 6 men. I’d like to acknowledge the Teen Men’s Heavyweight class, where Xyler Botelho pulled 12 reps of 365lb in the deadlift event, and pressed 225lb in the Max Log. In the Women’s Novice weightclass Dinah Hardin took 1st place, although Teagan Hobbs was not far behind her. Ryan Argyle won the Men’s Novice class, while Chris May and David Spry finished 1 point apart for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
At Florida’s Strongest Man, in my favorite place on Earth(Polk County), athletes competed in a Trump Circus Dumbbell, Max Distance Yoke, Max Kratos Bar Deadlift, Wheelbarrow Of Death, and Natural Stone To Shoulder. Of note, Rich Canning took a 600 pound yoke for a 200 foot walk in the Masters Super Heavyweight Men, the farthest distance of the day across all classes. He swept all 5 events to win his class. Brooks Larkin just narrows took 1st in the Men’s Heavyweights, beating out Dillon Meeks by half a point. Highlights of Brooks’s performance include a 900lb yoke for 117ft, and a max deadlift of 750 pounds.
In Mamaroneck, NY, Todd Giorgi hosted two competitions(fun fact I have competed at one of Todd’s shows at this same park). In the New York Novice Battle, 11 athletes competed. Erin Ruggiero took 1st in Novice Women’s Lightweights. Kayla Frye took 1st in Novice Women’s Heavyweights. Harrison Moss won the Novice Men’s Lightweights, and Joe Vignola and Santiago Wills won the Novice Men’s Heavyweights and Hero Men classes respectively. On the same day, Todd hosted USS Record Breakers, with athletes competing for National, NY, and CT records in Max Log Press, Max Axle Press, Max Standard Deadlift, Max 18 Inch Deadlift, Farmers Hold For Time, and Max Stone(NY and CT records only).
Denver saw yet another record breakers event. Mile High Max Outs saw athletes attempt to break Colorado state records in several events. Patricio Duran set a new Max Circus Dumbbell state record for the Master Lightweight Men 50+ with 145lb, breaking the old record by 36lb. Bethany Brewer also set a new state record for Circus Dumbbell for the Heavyweight Women(-198) with 130lb. In the same weight class, KaTarra Taylor set a new deadlift record at 455lb, and a max yoke record at 600lb for 25ft.
In Leavenworth, KS, the 2nd Annual First City Coldsnap(say that 5 times fast) had one of the most interesting events, in the form of a stone over bar last man standing. All athletes regardless of weight class got in line, and attempted stones from lightest to heaviest, one at a time. If the stone was loaded, they got back in line. If they failed, they were out. I wish I could have seen this event in person because it sounds intense. Other events included a Viking Press, where some standout performances include Travis Vaughn pressing 230lb for 25 reps in the Novice Men’s Heavyweights and Brad Spier pressing 280lb for 25 reps in the Men’s Super Heavyweights. In the Ukrainian Deadlift, Buffy Gordon pulled 205lb for 20 reps, winning that event for her class. The Men’s Middleweights(-220) all managed at least 30 reps of 280, but it was Aaron Boots who won the event with 35 reps.
Finally, the best for last. In Chicago, Mike Lohman held a charity event, Warpath Strength’s Pull For Paws. This was a team deadlift event, where teams of two would compete to deadlift either 400, 800, or 1200lb for as many reps as possible. I am so happy to see that this charity competition completely sold out at 60 athletes. As this was a competition for fun, I won’t highlight any scores. I will just highlight some fun team names. “I Just Met The Guy” is good. “I Love Heavy Petting” is possibly concerning as it is listed right above “Grandmas Who Lift And Take Naps.” Good team names. Full points all around for creativity. Most importantly, Mike set a goal of raising 5000 dollars for K9s For Warriors, and as of typing this, he has smashed that goal and raised 6,165.20. Of every competition this weekend, I think this was the most important, and in this moment I am proud of this sport. You can still donate at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/k9sforwarriorscommunityfundraisers2024/account/1840483/ to help provide veterans with service dogs.
That’s it. Wow. I am so glad that the coming weekend doesn’t have as many competitions. Full scoresheets can be found below:
Pull For Paws: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/warpath-strength-pull-for-paws-2025
2nd Annual First City Coldsnap: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/2nd-annual-first-city-coldsnap
Mile High Max Outs: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/mile-high-max-outs
USS Record Breakers: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/uss-record-breakers-2025
New York Novice Battle IV: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/new-york-novice-battle-iv
Florida’s Strongest Man: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/florida-strongest-man-richard-lamb-toy-drive
Battle Of The Ozarks: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/battle-of-the-ozark-s-northwest-arkansas
Silver Strength Showdown: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/silver-strength-showdown-united-states-strongman
Valhalla Classic: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/valhalla-classic
Maine State Record Breakers: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/maine-s-strongest-man
Snowballs And Sandbags: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/sandbags-and-snowmen
