Thunder Bay’s Strong Man Wins Again

THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – This event was the premier Pro strongman competition in Western Canada this year and featured top pro strongmen from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario.

There was also an intermediate competition for up and coming strongmen and the Western Canada’s Strongest Women competition. The event is in its 2nd year and was staged at Adrenaline Personal Training in Regina.

This report focuses on the Professional Strongman competition, however the results from the Western Canada’s strongest woman and the intermediate class are attached as well.

Pro Athletes:
Steve Halladay- Regina, SK
Brad Provic- Regina, SK
Darren Cleave- Saskatoon, SK
Travis Dergousoff- Calgary, AB
Brad Sheppard- Calgary, AB
Leif Palsen- Fort McMurray, AB
Artur Walus- Fort McMurray, AB
Luke Skaarup- Thunder Bay, ON

The pro competition took place over two days and had four events per day.

1st Event- 36,000lbs dump truck pull for 80ft. This event was very difficult and according to many of the competitors was one of the heaviest truck pulls that they had ever done. The athletes had up to 75sec to complete the course and many did not finish in the time allotted. In the end, it was Luke Skaarup placing first with a time of 58s, Brad Provic in 2nd with a time of 61s, and Darren Cleave in 3rd with a time of 72sec. In this event, Brad actually had to do it twice as the pulling harness failed on him 2/3 of the way through his first run. He made up valuable points with this do-over related to a mechanical failure of the equipment.

2nd event- Press Medley- 160lbs Dumbbell, 250lbs keg, 320lbs log, 200lbs dumbbell, and a 350lbs axel. Many of the athletes had difficulty with the heavy weights of the implements. Most managed 1 or 2 implements however it was Luke Skaarup with the win again with 4 implements in 25sec, followed by Brad Provic- 2 implements in 9s, and Artur Wallace with 2 implements in 13sec.

3rd event- maximum weight wheelbarrow for distance. The wheelbarrow was loaded to 1520lbs with kegs and the athletes would each attempt to walk 20ft with it. 90lbs was added for each of the following rounds, with only the athletes who successfully carried the wheelbarrow 20ft moving on.  Most of the athletes dropped out at 1610lbs or 1700lbs with the top three moving on to the 1880lbs. This time, it was Brad Provic with the win with 7’-2”, Luke Skaarup in 2nd with 6’8” and Travis Dergousoff in 3rd with 6’-1”.

4th event- in the final event of the day the athletes had to load five atlas stones to 60” boxes ranging in weight from 275lbs to 385lbs. Most of the athletes managed 2 or 3 of the stones in this loading race. It was Brad Provic again with the win with a time of 38s to load all five stones, followed by Travis Dergousoff with a time of 45sec for five stones, and Luke Skaarup with a time of 29sec for four stones.

At the end of day 1, it was Brad Provic in the lead with 30points, followed by Luke Skaarup with 29 points and Darren Cleave with 17 points.

Day 2

Event 5- Maximum log press. The athletes had to start with a 270lbs log and successfully lift it overhead in each round where the weight increased by 20lbs in each round. All of the athletes managed the first lift and successfully moved on. It was Luke Skaarup who won the event with a 350lbs press, followed by Artur Wallace at 330lbs and Steve Halladay and Brad Provic with 310lbs.

Event 6- Car Deadlift for reps, bar in front, with an approximate weight of 740lbs. This event was very difficult for many of the competitors, with 6 of the 8 athletes unable to lift the car. Many of them had deadlifts in the gym of over 700lbs but the weight for them on this day was too much. Luke Skaarup got another event win with 6 easy reps, and Steve Halladay placed 2nd with 3 reps.

Event 7- 400lbs shield carry for maximum distance. This event is very difficult, holding onto 400lbs is painful and because the athletes have to carry it on their chests it puts extra pressure on their lungs making it difficult to breathe. Brad Shepherd got the event win with 182ft, followed by Luke Skaarup with 174ft and Brad Provic with 168ft.

8th event- This event was referred to by some of the athletes as the death medley because of how heavy the weights were. They had to walk with a 900lbs yoke on their backs, carry 350lbs in each hand for the farmer’s walk and then drag an 800lbs train wheel for 60ft. Very difficult indeed. Many of the athletes struggled to finish the course with the yoke. In first it was Luke Skaarup who completed the course in 35sec, followed by Brad Provic in 2nd who managed to drag the 800lbs sled for 18ft, and Steve Halladay  in 3rd who managed 12ft with the 350lbs per had famer’s walk.

The overall results from all three competitions are included below along with a link to the official event page on Facebook with the results and pictures.

Facebook Page- “2014 Adrenaline Strongman Championships”

The next strongman event for Thunder Bay’s Luke Skaarup will be the 2014 Ontario’s Strongest Man competition being held at the CLE Coliseum in Thunder Bay on June 21&22nd as a charity fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Thunder Bay.

Adrenaline Pro Strongman Overall

1. Luke Skaarup 60pts

2. Brad Provick 48.5pts

3. Steve Halladay 37.5pts

4. Artur Walus 33pts

5. Darren Cleave 28.5pts

6. Brad Shepherd 28pts

7. Travis Dergousoff 18pts

8. Leif Palsen 14.5pts

Adrenaline Strongman- Intermediate class

1. Josh Ahmo 65pts

2. Will Husarewycz 65pts

3. Ryan Deloli 61pts

4. Mathew Apesland 61pts

5. John King 56pts

6. Jesse Pascoe 44pts

7. Casey Kievitis 44pts

8. Sean Mason 40.5pts

9. Cory Balaberda 36pts

10. Ryan Flaman 31pts

11. Mike MacIntosh 26.5pts

12. Dave Beakley 24.5pts

13. Nolan Suave 16.5pts

14. James Hill 16pts

15. Jon Thomas 13pts

Here’s the results from 2014 Western Canada’s Strongest Woman:

1. Tracey Halladay 40.5 pts

2. Jess Theaker 38 pts

3. Taunia Stevens 31.5 pts

4. Caitlin Thola 29.5 pts

5. Samantha Maciag 24.5 pts

6. Laura Boey 19.5 pts

7. Karina Seidle 13 pts

8. Shauna Thiessen 9.5 pts

9. Joanne Boisvert 9pts