THE 2001 Beauty and the Beast by JV Askem
(The Beauty and the Beast Strongman Challenge)
June 2nd, 2001 at Andrews Amphitheater
University of Hawaii
Reported by: J.V. Askem
Left: Men's Champion Magnus Samuelsson
Center: Ladies' Champion Julie Havelka
Right: Men's 3rd place Svend Karlsen
2001 Rolling Thunder Champion
Jan Bartl successfully defended his
title with a 258 lb lift.
Part 2
Reported by: J.V. Askem
Iron Game history was made at this year's B&B!
On the Apollon Axle (2" thick barbell) a weight exceeding
the original Axle in Lille France was lifted overhead by two men.
On the left: Brian Schoonveld push presses 374 lbs. The classic
Apollon Axle weighs 366 lbs. So Brian's lift is an all time worlds record.
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Svend Karlsen also made the same weight after Brian.
Odd Haugen did manage to continental clean the weight
but lost the his grip and dropped it behind on a split jerk.
Above is Odd's 2nd place lift of 352 lbs.
MORE HONORABLE MENTIONS
Left: former Olympian Tommy Inglesby with the log.
Center: Rastistlav Sevcech from Slovakia, the
lightest
competitor at only 220 lbs. Rastistlav made a great
showing by finishing the course with the 900 lb Tire Flip.
Right: Jaroslav Kopecky, Czeck Republic with the Yoke.
From Team Pacific Northwest, Washington state's Mike Kromer on
the right.
Other teams included Indiana (Schoonveld and Coy), Minnesota
(Karl and Wade Gillingham) and the winner Team Norway (Odd Haugen
and Svend Karlsen).
On the left: James Barientos on
the Tire Flip.
Jan Bartl
Bryan Neese
Jared Spybrook
Eight grueling events made this the toughest strongman contest ever! With the first three as a qualifier for the 5 event final.
First was a 270 lb Log Lift for reps in 75 seconds. Phil Pfister and Brian Schoonveld tied for 1st with 9 reps each.
Next was a 900 lb tire flip. And the 3rd event of the preliminary round was a Medley (800 lb Yoke Walk, then 360 degrees with a 660 lb Conan's Wheel, and finally a 2000 lb Wheel Barrow Push). So in essence that was three more events instead of one. IMO, the most impressive performance on the Medley was by Chad Coy, who was lightest man to make the final.
The first event for the final 12 contestants was the Apollon Axle Lift. Then a very heavy Farmer Walk with two 342 lbs Mastiff handles. Brian Schoonveld made the longest distance with just under 200 feet.
The third event was a Deadlift Hold for time with the 2000 lb Wheel Barrow (about 750 lbs in the hands). To everyone's surprised, a much improved Phil Pfister won with over one minute 30 seconds.
The Keg Toss for height, the fourth event, was dominated by the Americans, with Karl Gillingham finally winning with a height of 17 feet 6 inches.
And the final event was another Medley (Keg and Fire Hydrant Loading with a Short Power Stairs). This was used to replace the original power stairs because of termites. Magnus Samuelsson won this event just edging out Phil Pfister by about 2 seconds. And this also determined the overall winner, who was Magnus.
THE FINALISTS
1. Magnus Samuelsson, Sweden
2. Phil Pfister, West Virgina, USA
3. Svend Karlsen, Norway
4. Karl Gillingham, Minnesota, USA
5. Brian Schoonveld, Indiana, USA
6. Zydrunas Savickas, Lithuania
7. Janne Vitanen, Finland
8. TIE between Ken Brown, California, USA and Odd
Haugen, Norway
10. Chad Smith, Texas, USA
11. Chad Coy, Indiana, USA
12. Grant McReynolds, Alberta, Canada
HONORABLE MENTION
13. Magnus Ver Magnusson, Iceland
14. Mark Phillippi, Nevada, USA
