[jas123]

Here's the lineup:

Group 1
1. Derek Poundstone USA
2. Jarek Dymek Poland
3. Mark Felix Great Britain
4. Jason Bergmann USA
5. Igor Werner Germany
6. Stevan Solvi Petursson Iceland

Group 2
1. Phil Pfister* USA
2. Sebastian Wenta Poland
3. Johannes Arsjo Sweden
4. Richard Skog Norway
5. Oli Thompson Great Britain
6. Tobias Ide Germany

Group 3
1. Terry Hollands Great Britain
2. Kevin Nee USA
3. Tarmo Mitt Estonia
4. Janne Virtanen* Finland
5. Elbrus Nigmatullin Russia
6. Jean-Francois Caron Canada

Group 4
1. Mariusz Pudzianowski* Poland
2. Arild Haugen Norway
3. Brian Shaw USA
4. Laurence Shahlaei Great Britain
5. Brian Siders USA
6. Louis-Phillippe Jean Canada

Group 5
1. Magnus Samuelsson* Sweden
2. Travis Ortmayer USA
3. Jimmy Marku Great Britain
4. Dave Ostlund USA
5. Raivis Vidzis Latvia
6. Florian Trimpl Germany

Alternates
1. Christian Savoie Canada
2. Matty Parks Canada

[jas123]

This is going on right now and here's what's happened so far:


After the first day of competiton, all five groups have completed the first event, while three of the five have completed the keg toss. After a mild, overcast day being threatened by residual storms from Tropical Storm Hanna, here are a description of the events and the results I was able to get.

The first event was the loading medley. Each competitor had to carry two 105 kilo beer kegs and two 250 kilo sandbags across about 15 meters of sand and load them onto a platform.

Group 1:
1. Mark Felix
2. Derek Poundstone
3. Jason Bergmann
It looked like Stefan Solvi Peturssun hurt his hand. Luckily, his group didn't have the keg press today and at the 2nd event, he had it pretty heavily wrapped. His group has fingal fingers tomorrow, and whether he competes tomorrow remains a big question mark.

Group 2:
1. Phil Pfister
2. Sebastian Wenta
Oli Thompson and Richard Skog both looked impressive. Phil is bigger than ever, weighing in at what looks like 375. He is going to be a serious threat this year. He is absolutely immense and he's fit.

Group 3:
1. Terry Hollands
2. Tarmo Mitt
Janne looked fast, but not fast enough to beat Terry or Tarmo. Kevin just missed loading the last sandbag in the allotted time.

Group 4:
1. Arild Haugen
2. Mariusz Pudzianowski
3. Lawrence Shalei (sp?)
4. Brian Shaw
5. Louis-Phillipe Jean
6. Brian Siders
Arild came out to impress and the top 4 were all really close. 2nd place had to go to the video truck, with Mariusz edging Loz by 4/100 of a second. Siders only loaded one keg, but still has the squat and press coming up, so all is not lost. The prediction of this heat being wildly unpredictable is proving to be true.

Group 5:
1. Dave Ostlund
2. Magnus Samuelsson
3. Travis Ortmayer
4. Jimmy Marku
5. Raivis Vidzis
6. Florian Trimpl
Dave dominated, putting up the fastest time of anyone in any of the heats. Magnus and Travis weren't far behind. With group 4 as the most unpredictable heat, group 5 is proving to be a mighty battle between 6 very experienced veterans.

This year's keg toss is different from previous years. Instead of having 10 empty, full-sized kegs, there were 8 sand-filled pony kegs ranging from 15 kilos to 22 kilos. The bar looked to be a bit higher than previous years, as well. It seems that the change from full kegs to the short kegs has noticably impacted the results as well. Where shorter competitors were at a disadvantage with the full kegs, the shorter kegs are allowing the shorter guys to get the full range of motion and utilize their explosive power to toss the kegs over the bar. Very few people got all 8 kegs.

Group 2:
1. Johannes Arsjo - 36.8 seconds
2. Pfister - 47 seconds
3. Skog - 7 kegs
4. Thompson - 6 kegs
5. Wenta - 4 kegs
6. Ide - 3 kegs

Group 3:
1. Tarmo Mitt
2. Nee
3. 4-way tie between Nigmatullin, Caron, Virtanen, and Hollands with 6 kegs

Group 5:
1. Travis Ortmayer - super fast
2. Marku - All 8 kegs, but significantly slower
3. Ostlund - 7 kegs
4. 3-way tie between Trimpl, Samuelsson, and Vidzis with 6 kegs

Another story is that Mariusz appears to have twisted his ankle before today's events started. It's very swollen and he's visibly tender when he's trying to walk on it.

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Apparently, Marius P has withdrawn as well because of his injury.

Edit: No, Marius is still in it and kicking ass with a torn calf muscle.

[pistonpump]

where are the spoilers?

[jas123]

They won't show it on TV until maybe December, and I'm telling you the results as they come in. Day 1 was yesterday, 9/6, I believe.

[pistonpump]

Originally Posted by jas123

They won't show it on TV until maybe December, and I'm telling you the results as they come in. Day 1 was yesterday, 9/6, I believe.

hahaha oh, my bad i was looking for the winners...

[VolcomX311]

[somewhatgifted]

I cant believe the length of some of these guys careers!

[VolcomX311]

Originally Posted by somewhatgifted

I cant believe the length of some of these guys careers!

I'd imagine that the strength of their core is a key element. A beastly core a day keeps the doctor away.

[jas123]

Group 1 winners who will be going to the finals:
1. Derek Poundstone
2. Jason Bergmann

2 Americans. These guys are beasts if you've never heard of them. They have competed in IFSA mainly which is big in Europe. IFSA is like WSM, but the events tend to be heavier, requiring more strength and maybe less athleticism.

[jas123]

Originally Posted by VolcomX311

I'd imagine that the strength of their core is a key element. A beastly core a day keeps the doctor away.

Core strength is the key. I made an excuse for being a bad yoke walker blaming it on my thinner frame, but a friend of mine with the same build showed me up on the yoke easily without a belt. Guess I need to strengthen the core more.

[jas123]

Originally Posted by jas123

Group 1 winners who will be going to the finals:
1. Derek Poundstone
2. Jason Bergmann

2 Americans. These guys are beasts if you've never heard of them. They have competed in IFSA mainly which is big in Europe. IFSA is like WSM, but the events tend to be heavier, requiring more strength and maybe less athleticism.

And the rest:

After four days of brutal competition in front of one of the best crowds ever seen for the contest, we have our finalists. Competiton resumes on Friday and on Sunday evening, we'll crown the 2008 World's Strongest Man.

Group 5:
1. Travis Ortmayer
2. Dave Ostlund

Group 4:
1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Arild Haugen

Group 3:
1. Tarmo Mitt
2. Terry Hollands

Group 2:
1. Phil Pfister
2. Sebastian Wenta

[Screwtape]

I'm wondering If Siders was injured? It's just hard to believe that someone as strong as him couldn't make it to the finals.

[jas123]

Originally Posted by Screwtape

I'm wondering If Siders was injured? It's just hard to believe that someone as strong as him couldn't make it to the finals.

I don't know. Maybe he's just not quick enough. He was in Marius' heat too so there was really only one spot up for grabs. Arild Haugen is supposed to be an up-n-comer too.

[Screwtape]

Is Arild Odd's son?

[jas123]

Not related, I believe.