Heavy on competition
Winners from each of the six weight classes move on to the national competition in November
Published Aug. 23, 2005
As 17 men gathered around Columbia's Courtyard Square on Saturday, muscles twitched nervously.
One of them sported a gray T-shirt that read, "Pain is my destiny." Another shirt advertised the "House of Pain."
The men were competing in the second annual Mid-Missouri Strongman Competition.
The event divided the men by weight class with the winners qualifying for a national competition in Kentucky in November.
But Saturday's competition not only pitted the men against each other, it also pitted them against themselves.
"It's not who's the strongest or the quickest, but who wants it the most," MU graduate student Abe Smith said. "And that's more mental than physical."
This might explain why this sport seems less cutthroat than others.
Each man claps for his toughest competition.
Cheers like, "Just five more reps," and "Come on, you can do it," are not just common, but sincere.
Smith said the encouraging atmosphere is simply because everyone is having fun.
"They're nice, jovial guys," he said. "We come here to interact with one another, and a lot of times we see old friends."
The competition consisted of six events including lifting stones and pulling a fire truck.
The participants' ages varied just about as much as the events, ranging from 21 to 47.
One man from each of the six weight classes qualified for the national competition.
Smith won first place in his weight class.
Halfway through the first event, each competitor's face was flushed and most of their T-shirts were soaked in sweat.
Nervous faces had changed into grimaces as each man pushed through the pain caused from lifting 185 pounds over his head for the lightweight category, or 275 pounds for the heavyweight category.
Event organizer Demitrius Davis said he was impressed with just how many repetitions each competitor was able to do.
"It's easier than I thought," he said with his eyebrows raised.
By the time the second event ended, MU senior Joe Chan's hands were bloody and blistered from flipping a 600-pound truck tire 50 feet. Yet he still grinned and said he was having fun.
The encouragement between the competitors continued.
When MU junior Robert Duffield dropped the 400-pound weights on his first attempt to carry them 50 feet, he picked them up again as his competitors cheered.
"We train together, and the cheers definitely help you," Duffield said.
Even spectator Ken Herndon, 23, of Columbia, said he could feel the intensity and sense of teamwork.
"I would try it for fun in a couple years," he said.