The 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man was the 29th edition of World's Strongest Man

World's Strongest Man

The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...

 and was won by Phil Pfister

Phil Pfister

Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...

, the first American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to win the competition since Bill Kazmaier

Bill Kazmaier

Bill Kazmaier is a former powerlifter, strongman and professional wrestler from the United States. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest competitors in strength competitions...

 in 1982. The contest took place between the 14th and 23rd of September 2006, in Sanya

Sanya

Sanya is the southernmost city in China and is a part of Hainan Province. In 2006, it had a population of 536,000, making it, after the provincial capital , the second most populous city on the island. The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination,...

, China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

The 25 competitors in the World's Strongest Man qualified through the World's Strongest Man Super Series. The Super Series consist of exclusive Grand Prix events produced all over the world. Official Super Series site

Format

The 25 competitors were split into five separate heats, each consisting of six events. After each event each competitor was given points, from 5 for first to 1 for last. Half points occurred if more than one competitor had the same result, and no points were scored if a competitor did not take part in an event. The points were tallied after the six events and the two competitors with the most points from each heat progressed to the final. The final consisted of seven events and the champion was the competitor with the most points after all of the events.

The Head referee was Colin Bryce

Colin Bryce

Colin Bryce is a former Great Britain Olympic bobsledder and strongman now working as a television presenter and producer...

, assisted by Svend Karlsen

Svend Karlsen

Svend Karlsen is a former Norwegian strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder.-Powerlifting/Bodybuilding:...

 (the 2001 World's Strongest Man). Jouko Ahola

Jouko Ahola

Jouko Ahola is a Finnish strongman and actor. He won the 1997 and 1999 World's Strongest Man, and finished second in 1998. Ahola won the Europe's Strongest Man contest twice in 1998 and 1999, and finished fourth in 1996. Jouko won the World's Strongest Team in 1997 and 1999, and was second in 1998...

, World's Strongest Man winner from 1997 and 1999, was the equipment manager.

Events

There were a total of 11 different events used in the competition:

• Farmer's Walk
• Keg Toss
• Car Dead Lift
• Car Walk
• Overhead Stone Lift
• Barrel Loading Race
• Cannonball Carry & Sledge Drag
• Fingal Fingers
• Power Stairs
• Bus Pull
• Atlas Stones

Heat 1

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Mariusz Pudzianowski Mariusz Pudzianowski Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is a Polish former strongman and current mixed martial artist...	Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...	25
2	Don Pope Don Pope Don Pope is a strongman competitor from the USA. He is best known for participating in the World's Strongest Man finals of 2005, 2006 and 2007. His best finish was 3rd at the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition. Don has a maximum dead lift of 800 pounds, and can squat nearly 1000 pounds. He...	USA	18.5
3	Arild Haugen Arild Haugen Arild "Hulk" Haugen is a strongman and professional boxer from Sirdal, Norway. He currently lives in Sandnes, Rogaland.Haugen stands tall and weighs approximately . He is capable of squatting , a deadlift of , and a bench press of...	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	16
4	Reza Gharaei Reza Gharaei Mohammad Reza Gharaei is an Iranian Strongman, and powerlifter.-Strongman career:Reza has competed for Iran in several international strongman competitions....	Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...	16
5	Jessen Paulin Jessen Paulin Jessen Paulin is a Canadian Strongman. A resident of Gatineau, Quebec, Paulin is known for being a multiple-Quebec's Strongest Man champion and a two-time Canada's Strongest Man in 2005 and 2006 succeeding, multiple-time champion and former World Champion Hugo Girard who was in rehabilitation...	Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	11.5

Heat 2

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Terry Hollands Terry Hollands Terry Hollands , is one of the world's leading strongman competitors and was Britain's Strongest Man .-Early life:...	United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	22.5
2	Raivis Vidzis Raivis Vidzis Raivis Vidzis is a leading international strongman competitor, former two-time holder of the World Strongman Cup title and repeat entrant to the World's Strongest Man. Now Raivis competiting in Mixed Martial Arts.-Biography:Vidzis won his country's strongest man title when he was just 24 year's old...	Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...	21.5
3	Jesse Marunde Jesse Marunde Jesse Marunde was an American strongman athlete who placed second in the 2005 World's Strongest Man competition....	USA	20.5
4	Dave Ostlund	USA	19.5
5	Gu Yan Li	China	5

Heat 3

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Phil Pfister Phil Pfister Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...	USA	21.5
2	Mark Felix Mark Felix Mark Felix is a strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition...	Grenada Grenada Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...	18
3	Janne Virtanen Janne Virtanen Janne Virtanen is a strongman from Espoo, Finland. Janne earns his living as a carpenter in Finland....	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	17.5
4	Elbrus Nigmatullin	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	17
5	Darren Sadler Darren Sadler Darren Sadler was a British strongman competitor, winner of the World Strongman Challenge in the under 105 kg category, and notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man despite his comparatively small stature.-Early life:Darren Sadler was born on 22 March 1980 in...	United Kingdom	16

Heat 4

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Tarmo Mitt Tarmo Mitt Tarmo Mitt is a professional strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition...	Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...	21
2	Jarek Dymek Jarek Dymek Jarek Dymek is a strongman competitor from Malbork, Poland. He is a training partner of 5 time World's Strongest Man champion Mariusz Pudzianowski. In 2005 Jarek won Europe's Strongest Man, his career best win. Jarek has competed in the World's Strongest Man 8 times, making the finals 5 times. His...	Poland	20.5
3	Boris Haraldsson	Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...	19
4	Dominic Filiou Dominic Filiou Dominic Filiou is a Canadian strongman. Filiou is best known for competing in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World's Strongest Man competitions. In 2005 he finished third in the finals, a career best. In 2006 and 2007 he was eliminated during the qualifying heats...	Canada	16
5	Kevin Nee Kevin Nee Kevin Nee is an American professional Strongman athlete. He is notable as being the youngest person ever to reach the finals in the World's Strongest Man in 2007 at age 21....	USA	12.5

Heat 5

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Sebastian Wenta Sebastian Wenta Sebastian Wenta is a shot putter, strongman and Highland Games competitor from Poland. Wenta's athletic career started with volleyball, and he eventually moved onto the shot put and discus throw. He began competing in strongman in 2005 and has quickly risen through the ranks...	Poland	26.5
2	Sławomir Toczek	Poland	23
3	Josh Thigpen	USA	17
4	Odd Haugen	Norway	10.5
5	Magnus Samuelsson Magnus Samuelsson Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	8 (Inj.)

Final

Mariusz Pudzianowski, the reigning champion, started well in the final. He was joint first with Mark Felix in the Dead Lift, with 16 lifts and won the power stairs in 26.33 seconds, almost 8 seconds faster than second placed Tarmo Mitt. The power stairs proved a tough task for others though, Raivis Vidzis coped the worst but managed to carry on.In the 3rd event, the overhead stone lift, Phil Pfister dominated and lifted all 4 stones, while no other competitor could lift more than 2.
The top 5 after the first day of the final was:

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland	28.5
2	Mark Felix	Grenada	21.5
3	Phil Pfister	USA	21
4	Tarmo Mitt	Estonia	17
5	Don Pope	USA	17

Pfister dramatically closed the gap to Pudzianowski in the 2 events on day 2 of the final as he won both of them. Pudzianowski struggled to 6th in the Fingal Fingers, while Pfister set a world record time of 5 fingers in 31.92 second and in the bus pull
Pfister managed to pull his bus just 12 centimetres further than Pudzianowski to leave himself 1.5 points behind the leader.
The top 5 after the second day of the final was:

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland	42.5
2	Phil Pfister	USA	41
3	Don Pope	USA	32
4	Mark Felix	Grenada	30.5
5	Tarmo Mitt	Estonia	27

Despite having won 3 events in a row, many people expected Pfister to struggle in the Car Walk and he needed something special once Pudzianowski had set a time of 27.4 seconds and amazingly Pfister beat it by just over half a second, meaning the 2006 WSM would go right down to the wire in the Atlas Stones, with just half a point separating them. The Atlas Stones proved to be extremely tight but Pfister just edged Pudzianowski and let out a great celebratory roar as a devastated Pudzianowski let his 5th stone roll off the platform. Don Pope recovered well to finish 3rd having come last in the first event.
The final results:

#	Name	Nationality	Pts
1	Phil Pfister Phil Pfister Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...	USA	61
2	Mariusz Pudzianowski Mariusz Pudzianowski Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is a Polish former strongman and current mixed martial artist...	Poland	57.5
3	Don Pope Don Pope Don Pope is a strongman competitor from the USA. He is best known for participating in the World's Strongest Man finals of 2005, 2006 and 2007. His best finish was 3rd at the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition. Don has a maximum dead lift of 800 pounds, and can squat nearly 1000 pounds. He...	USA	45
4	Mark Felix Mark Felix Mark Felix is a strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition...	Grenada	38.5
5	Tarmo Mitt Tarmo Mitt Tarmo Mitt is a professional strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition...	Estonia	38
6	Sebastian Wenta Sebastian Wenta Sebastian Wenta is a shot putter, strongman and Highland Games competitor from Poland. Wenta's athletic career started with volleyball, and he eventually moved onto the shot put and discus throw. He began competing in strongman in 2005 and has quickly risen through the ranks...	Poland	36.5
7	Terry Hollands Terry Hollands Terry Hollands , is one of the world's leading strongman competitors and was Britain's Strongest Man .-Early life:...	United Kingdom	30
8	Jarek Dymek Jarek Dymek Jarek Dymek is a strongman competitor from Malbork, Poland. He is a training partner of 5 time World's Strongest Man champion Mariusz Pudzianowski. In 2005 Jarek won Europe's Strongest Man, his career best win. Jarek has competed in the World's Strongest Man 8 times, making the finals 5 times. His...	Poland	29
9	Raivis Vidzis Raivis Vidzis Raivis Vidzis is a leading international strongman competitor, former two-time holder of the World Strongman Cup title and repeat entrant to the World's Strongest Man. Now Raivis competiting in Mixed Martial Arts.-Biography:Vidzis won his country's strongest man title when he was just 24 year's old...	Latvia	26
10	Slawek Toczek	Poland	20.5

External links

• Official site
• Official World's Strongest Man Super Series site