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Athletes to push their limits at Spruce Grove’s Strongest

Strongmen and women from across the country will make their way to the Trans Alta Tri-Leisure centre on Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the annual competition where raw strength and technique clash.

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The ultimate test of strength is coming back to Spruce Grove.

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Strongmen and women from across the country will make their way to the Trans Alta Tri-Leisure centre on Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the annual competition where raw strength and technique clash.

“Strongman is a really unique sport in the sense that it’s strength, technique, athleticism, conditioning, it’s a combination of everything that makes a good athlete and a good champion. You can’t only have one of those strengths and do well. It’s not everyday you see somebody pull a 34,000 pound truck,” said event co-ordinator Derek Galliford.

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Competitors will battle their way through five gruelling events, including the harness pull, the viking press ladder, the deadliest axle tire, the tire flip, and the strongman staple atlas stone. Weights will vary in the men’s heavyweight, and lightweight divisions.

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In total, over 30 competitors will compete across the men’s and women’s divisions.

“A good number of our competitors have been here in previous year’s, but like there is every year, we have athletes that are new to the sport, or just new to our show. That’s always exciting because it’s exposing the sport to new athletes and helping the sport grow. For one guy it’s legitimately his very first show,” said Galliford.

The women’s division will be an open weight class that will consist of eight competitors taking part in all five of the events. The division will be wide open this year with reigning champion Bev Briggs, and her runner up deciding not to enter the fold. Again, a strong mix of returning athletes and newcomers highlight a division that is anybody’s to win.

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“We have one repeat from last year who is definitely a favourite to do well but a couple of our seasoned competitors didn’t sign up this year. It’s disappointing in a sense but It’s exciting because we’re going to have a new champion in the women’s division,” said Galliford. “It should be a really good battle for them.”

Following trends in previous years the field in the men’s division will consist of a good mix of returning talent, and athletes that are brand new to the sport. Last year in the men’s division, it was Edmonton strongman Derrek Cox that walked away with the victory, after completing the truck pull in 51.88 seconds, and being the only athlete that was able to best a 300-pound log at the end of the overhead medley.

While marquis strongman events have remained unaltered, Galliford and organizers have made slight modifications to a few of the events.

“We’re always looking to keep the events interesting and changing. We have our three core ones that are the same as last year. The truck pull, the car deadift and the atlas stones. New events this year will be a max overhead log press. Basically the last man and woman standing who press the most weight over their head will be crowned champion, and the other new event is a carry medley,” said Galliford.

jothomas@postmedia.com

twitter.com/joshthomas

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