Arnold Amateur World Strongman Championships

The Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, which proved to be one of the Arnold Sports Festival's most popular events when it debuted in 2010, will once again feature more than 50 of the world’s top amateur strongman athletes from about 20 countries, including at least  20 athletes from the United States.

The third-annual Amateur World Strongman Championships will be held March 2 & 4, 2012 at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

All competitors earned their way into the competition through various qualifying competitions.

"Strongman is by no means a ‘mainstream’ sport along the lines of football, basketball or baseball, but it is becoming more and more popular," said Dione Wessels, CEO of North American Strongman Inc., the governing body for amateur strongman competitions in the United States. "Adding an amateur competition to the Arnold Sports Festival will allow the perfect opportunity to further promote the sport of strongman in the world."

There are an estimated 6,000 amateur strongman athletes in the United States that compete in 125 events throughout the year.

Matesz Baron of Poland, winner of the 2011 Arnold Amateur World Strongman Championships, earned the right to compete in the 2012 Arnold Strongman Classic against the best professionals in the world. He will compete against the likes of defending champion Brian Shaw and two-time champion Derek Poundstone and six-time winner Zydrunas Savickas. 2010 Arnold Amateur Strongman champ Mike Jenkins finished second in the 2011 Arnold Strongman Classic.

Haftor Julius of Iceland and Mike Burke of Colorado finished second and third at the 2011 Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships.

The following athletes have qualified to compete in the 2012 Arnold Amateur World Strongman Championships.

Hungary: Zsolt Szabo
Poland:  Bartlomiej  Bak, Mateusz Ostaszewski, Michal Kopacki
United States: Adam Scherr, Jacob Miskimens, Chad Kurian, Derek Devaughn, Dimitar Savtinor, Steve Schdmidt, Chad Robison, John Posen, Tomas Rodriguez, Ian Darr, Dave Bourgeous, Alan Colley, Brad Ardrey, Scott Porter, Josh Cybart, Justin Blake, Rob Schock, Jacob Bodi, Dave Mihalov, Zack Nims, Mike Mastell. Alternates: Robert Oberst, Eric Dawson, Chris Weaver, AJ Freda, Rob Lewis.

All athletes qualified for the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships by winning or placing in a national championships conducted by their national federation. U.S. competitors will quality at the North American Strongman National Championships in Tunica, Miss., in November 2011.

The Arnold Amateur Strongman Contest is governed by North American Strongman Corp.

Event Schedule

Friday, March 2

Bigg Dogg Strongg: Log Clean and press for  reps (320#  or 147 kilos) You must clean each rep 60 secs

Iron Mind Yoke Walk, Sandbag and Farmers Medley for 50’ each implement (850# yoke or 431 kilos, 200# Sandbag, 350# farmers)

Ricart Automotive Side Handle Car Deadlift for reps (Ford Focus)

Bigg Dogg Strongg Hussefeldt Carry max distance (400# or 181 kilos)

Sunday, March 4

(Top Ten Only):

Bigg Dogg Strongg  Dumb Bell Medley: Thomas Inch Dumbbell, 10” 190# Dumbbell, 12” 200# Dumbbell, 14” 210# Dumbbell

Odd Object Carry and Load Medley: Four Objects of Varying weight and shape.

ASC Atlas Stone over the Bar for reps: 75 Sec Time Limit 420# stone over 54# bar

Registration Information

The Arnold Amateur World Strongman Championships is open to athletes who have qualified through their national federations and have approval signatures from their national federation representative.

For more info, contact event chair Dione Wessels at DIONE@AMERICANSTRONGMAN.COM

Contact Information

Event co-chair: Dione Wessels
Event co-chair: Mike Johnston
www.nastrongman.com
Media contact: Brent LaLonde