Results and Champions

Arnold Strongman Classic Champions

2010: Derek Poundstone
2009: Derek Poundstone
2008: Zydrunas Savickas
2007: Zydrunas Savickas
2006: Zydrunas Savickas
2005: Zydrunas Savickas
2004: Zydrunas Savickas
2003: Zydrunas Savickas
2002: Mark Henry

Full Scoresheets

 

Mighty Mitts Competition - Full Results

None of the competitors in the 2010 Mighty Mitts competition were able to lift the Mark Henry bell out of the box.

 

2010 Results - Day Two and Final Ceremonies

Saturday Competition Summary
by Andy Miller

Friday's events set the stage for an epic show, with five competitors closely grouped on points when the events began on Saturday at 1:00 on the Expo stage.   Derek Poundstone was in the lead as his strong finishes in the Apollon's Wheels and Manhood Stones gave him a 17-point total.  Just one point back, however, was Mikhail Koklyaev with 16, and he was followed by Brian Shaw with 15, Travis  Ortmayer at 14, and to the great surprise of many,  Zydrunas Savickas had only 13.5 points after he failed to lift the largest of the Manhood Stones on Friday because of his hamstring injury.

Saturday's events started with the Circus Dumbbell lift, an event that required athletes to pull the gigantic thick-handled dumbbell made by Sorinex from the floor with two hands to get it to their shoulder and then heave it overhead using only one arm.  After Poundstone's superb performance last year, lifting the 202 lb dumbbell 15 times, the weight of the dumbbell was increased this year to 228 pounds.  The competition began in reverse order of finish-- based on Friday’s standings—and so the competitors seemed to one-up those before them, lifting the bell 0, 2, 3, 6, and 8 times over their head.   Zydrunas Savickas had the audience on its feet as he thrust the dumbbell upwards for the ninth time to claim the lead.    However, just moments later, Poundstone once again proved that he is the master of this discipline—locking out ten repetitions with thirty seconds still left on the clock.  It was an incredible performance and Derek, jazzed by his success, took off his shirt and nearly started a riot when  he threw it into the crowd. 

Having earned valuable points with his second place finish,  Savickas, pulled out all stops in the Deadlift, making 1027  pounds (465.83 kilos)  and taking first place, while Brian Shaw managed 1021.5 (463.34 kilos),  and Derek Poundstone pulled 1016 pounds (460.85 kilos).

At the end of four events, the total scores as of the men were:

Place	Competitor	Points
1	Derek Poundstone	35
2	Zydrunas Savickas	32
3	Travis Ortmayer	30.5
4	Brian Shaw	29
4	Misha Koklyaev	29
6	Dave Ostlund	16.5
7	Phil Pfister	15.5
8	Kostiantyn Ilin	14
9	Nick Best	11
10	Brian Siders	7.5

The final event, the Timber Carry, was held on Saturday evening at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and shared the stage with the Arnold Classic men’s bodybuilding finals in front of thousands of fans including Arnold Schwarzenneger and lifetime achievement award winner, Sylvester Stallone.   Because the level of competition in this event seems to be going up every year, tournament director Terry Todd asked Steve Slater and his fantastic Slater’s Hardware crew to  add approximately one hundred pounds of additional wood to the apparatus to bring the weight to just over 1000 pounds (Actual weight 10003 pounds/455 kilos.)   Competitors were to carry the mammoth frame as far up the same steeply-angled, 40-foot ramp used in other Arnold Strongman Classics as they could.   After the first three competitors made little progress with the massive weight, Phil Pfister electrified the crowd by lugging the frame all the way to the top in 20.43 seconds.  Having shown that it was possible, the men who came after Pfister seemed to catch fire.  Brian Shaw was almost skipping up the sharp incline when he appeared to trip and dropped the apparatus within just a few inches of the finish line.   Seeing that he now had a chance to move ahead of Shaw, with whom he was tied at 29 points, Misha Koklyaev stunned the crowd by taking the half-ton apparatus up the 40-foot  ramp in an amazing 11.85 seconds.  The big American, Travis Ortmayer, couldn’t quite match Koklyaev’s speed, completing the ramp in 14.87 seconds.  

However, there were still two strongmen left to carry the timbers.  When Zydrunas Savickas, six time champion, stepped up to the frame, the entire auditorium filled with anticipation.  How fast would he go?  Because he was four points behind Poundstone going into this final event, most people understood that Zydrunas would win the overall title only if Derrick made a major mistake and was unable to carry it all the way to the top.   However, Zydrunas also needed to be faster than Koklyaev if he was going to be able to take home the second place check.  So, like a large dreadnaught, he never hesitated once after he picked up the half-ton frame and raced almost effortlessly as he  reached the top in 10.16 seconds, the fastest time seen all day.  The audience jumped to its feat, roaring in gratitude for the magnificent performance.  
However, even though he didn’t need to win the event to win the overall title, Derek Poundstone does not lack courage or a strong competitive attitude.  Poundstone tied his straps on, nodded to head judge David Webster and when the whistle blew; he hoisted the heavy frame and sprinted to the top in an impossibly fast 9.28 seconds.  After thrusting his arms overhead, he jumped to the floor, kissed his girlfriend, Kristen Nelson, who was at stage edge in the orchestra pit, and then strode across the stage to shake hands with both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.   

But Derek wasn't finished for the day - after accepting his check from Gerard Dente, president of MHP, and receiving the massive Louis Cyr bronze trophy from Arnold himself, Derek asked if he could invite his girlfriend, Kristen, to thank her for all her support.  However, once she was out there, he dropped to one knee and proposed to her!  The crowd’s roar was deafening.  

Congratulations Derek (and Kristen) on your great competition, your dramatic victory, and for the start of this exciting new chapter in your life.

More pictures and videos will be uploaded soon.

Day two results - part one

	Competitors in order of finish after four events:	Circus DB (227 lbs)	Pl	Pts	Tire Deadlift	Pl	Pts	Total Pts from Day One	Total Pts for Days One & Two
1	Derek Poundstone	11 reps	1	10	1016 lbs/461.8kg	3	8	17	35
2	Zydrunas Savickas	9 reps	2	8.5	1027 lbs/466.8kg	1	10	13.5	32
3	Travis Ortmayer	9 reps	2	8.5	983lbs/446.8kg	4	7	15	30.5
4	Brian Shaw	6 reps	5	6	1021.5lbs/464.3kg	2	9	14	29
4	Misha Koklyaev	8 reps	4	7	977.5lbs/444.3kg	5	6	16	29
6	Dave Ostlund	4 reps	6	5	928lbs/421.8kg	9	2	9.5	16.5
7	Phil Pfister	2 reps	8	3	867.5lbs/394.3kg	10	1	11.5	15.5
8	Kostiantyn Ilin	3 reps	7	4	944.5lbs/429.3kg	7	4	6	14
9	Nick Best	0 reps	9	1.5	950lbs/431.8kg	6	5	4.5	11
10	Brian Siders	0 reps	9	1.5	933.5lbs/424.3kg	8	3	3	7.5

2010 Final Standings

Competitors in final standing:	Timber Carry	Pl	Pts	Pts for Events 1-4	Total Pts
Derek Poundstone	9.28 sec	1	10	35	45
Zydrunas Savickas	10.16 sec	2	9	32	41
Travis Ortmayer	14.87 sec	4	7	30.5	37.5
Misha Koklyaev	11.85 sec	3	8	29	37
Brian Shaw	36 ft 8 in	7	4	29	33
Dave Ostlund	19.51 sec	5	6	16.5	22.5
Phil Pfister	20.43 sec	6	5	15.5	20.5
Kostiantyn Ilin	16 ft 6 in	8	3	14	17
Nick Best	8 ft 8 in	9	2	11	13
Brian Siders	3 ft 10 in	10	1	7.5	8.5

 

2010 Results - Day One

Friday Competition Summary
by Andy Miller

After the Arnold Strongman competitors heaved their last Apollon's Wheel attempt overhead and dropped the final Manhood Stone over the bar on the first day of competition, five competitors were locked in a close  race for the top spots. Derek Poundstone leads the world-class group of strongmen with 17 points, followed closely by Koklyaev and Ortmayer with 16 and 15 points respectively. Six-time Arnold Strongman Champion Zydrunas Savickas, who pulled a hamstring about three weeks before the contest, struggled with the Manhood Stones but an extraordinary performance on the Wheels kept him in the fifth place overall with 13.5 points. Brian Shaw, with the fastest time to lift the heaviest Manhood Stone three times was in fourth place with 14 points at the end of Friday’s lifting.

2010 brought changes to many of the events at theArnold Strongman Classic, including the Apollon's Wheels clean and press event. In contrast to previous years where competitors were asked to lift the heavy, non-rotating, thick handled barbell as many times as they could to their chest and then overhead in a jerk or press, the apparatus was rebuilt over the last year to allow competitors to take heavier weights for singles.  The bar started at 371lbs and increased to 393, 415, 437, and finally 459lbs.  At any point that the athletes felt that they had reached their limit, they were asked to take the last weight used and and athletes were asked to clean and press the highest weight they could as many times as possible. Weight trumped repetitions - one clean and press at 459lbs beats three at 437lbs. Only three competitors successfully pressed the 459lb bar - the two previous champions Savickas and Poundstone, along with Misha Koklyaev, the Russian strongman and runner-up from last year's competition.

Every year competitors grow stronger and the weights more and more impressive. The heaviest of the Manhood Stones lifted this year at the Arnold weighed a monstrous 533lbs, making it the heaviest stone ever lifted in competition. Poundstone hadanother strong performance in that event  lifting the 533lb stone three times, a feat that Brian Shaw and Travis Ortmayer matched.   All threemen nearly got the stone over a fourth time to secure a first place finish for the event, but all slipped as time ran out and the placing was then decided by the split times of each.

Can Zydrunas Savickas come back in day two with strong showings in two of his bests events, the Tire Deadlift and the Circus Dumbell? Or will Derek Poundstone hold on to win his second consecutive championship? It's anybody's competition here in Columbus. Stay tuned for updates and check out the complete scores below.

View multimedia from day one of the competition (Videos coming soon)

 

Complete scores from Day One (Apollon's Wheels and Manhood Stones)

Competitors in order of finish after first two events:	Apollon’s Wheels:  Weight	Cleans, Continentals & Overhead Jerks	Pl	Pts	Manhood Stones	Pl	Pts	Total Pts
1. Derek Poundstone	459lbs	2- Cont'l	3	8	533lbs - 3 reps (60 sec)	2	9	17
2. Misha Koklyaev	459lbs	2- Cont'l 1-Jerk	2	9	533lbs - 1 rep (17 sec)	4	7	16
3. Travis Ortmayer	437lbs	1-Cont'l	4	7	533lbs - 3 reps (82 sec)	3	8	15
4. Brian Shaw	415lbs	1-Cont'l	6	4	533lbs - 3 reps (52 sec)	1	10	14
5. Zydrunas Savickas	459lbs	2-Cont'l 2-Jerks	1	10	452lbs - 2 reps (25 sec)	7	3.5	13.5
6. Phil Pfister	415lbs	2- Cont'l	5	6	452lbs - 4 reps (78 sec)	5	5.5	11.5
7. Dave Ostlund	415lbs	1-Cont'l	6	4	452lbs - 4 reps (78 sec)	5	5.5	9.5
8. Kostiantyn Ilin	415lbs	1-Cont'l	6	4	452lbs - 1 rep (38 sec)	9	2	6
9. Nick Best	371lbs	2- Cont'l	10	1	452lbs - 2 rep (25 sec)	7	3.5	4.5
10. Brian Siders	393lbs	1- Cont'l 1-Jerk	9	2	452lbs - 0 reps	10	1	3

 

Mighty Mitts Competition - Day One
by Peter Ullman

The inaugural day of the Mighty Mitts competition showcased the incredible grip strength by a handful of the premier strong hands in the world. The first event of the day pitted the men against an old anvil used by George Jowett, an old-time strongman known for his grip. The 173 lb. anvil was carried by the horn across the stage as far as possible using nothing more than chalk as assistance. Tex Henderson kicked off the event by carrying the anvil across the length of the stage and making the turn back to the start before losing control. Ultimately Rich Williams took home the $1000 first prize with a distance of just under 39 feet.

Sorin’s Monster, a 500 lb fixed 2” bar, posed the next obstacle for the strong hands. The difficulty of the lift became immediately apparent due to the centripetal force of the weights on the bar fighting the grasp of the competitors. After a strong showing by Mark Felix, who posted 6 repetitions, Rich Williams again took home the top spot by lifting Sorin’s Monster 8 times. If you see Williams, congratulate him and introduce yourself, but be careful. He has one heck of a handshake.

Check out multimedia from the Mighty Mitts competition on the Multimedia page