Feeling strong
Tires, stones and a truck all factored in strongman competition
There are five confirmed competitors and five challenging events to test their strength in the Prince County Exhibition’s Strongest Man in P.E.I. championship on Thursday.
There are five confirmed competitors and five challenging events to test their strength in the Prince County Exhibition’s Strongest Man in P.E.I. championship on Thursday.
The “Strongman,” as the competition is called generally, is one of the featured events of the 91st annual Prince County Exhibition.
Good start helps
Alex Wallace is the organizer of the competition and the defending champion.
“I had a bit of luck,” Wallace said of last year’s outcome. He won the first event and just kept building. “When you’re ahead,” he reasoned, “sometimes it’s easier to stay ahead.”
But the 37-year-old Wallace said defending the title won’t be easier. He’s getting older, and the younger competitors are catching up. Training partner and fellow competitor Mitch Illsley just grins at the suggestion. He knows Wallace will give it his all in Thursday’s Cox and Palmer-sponsored competition.
Three of the competitors, Wallace, Mitch Kinch and Mitch Illsley, finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively at the Atlantic championships in Kentville, N.S. two months ago. Ilsley and Kinch also recently qualified for the Canadian Amateur Strongman Championship, which will be held in Bathurst, N.B. in September. George Kinch, who will be the judge for the Alberton competition, has also qualified for the Canadian championship. Other confirmed competitors for the Strongest Man in P.E.I. title are Kevin Cudmore from Charlottetown and Dillon Fraser from Nova Scotia.
So with those events coming up, Wallace knows competitors will be stoked to put on strong performances in Alberton. And, while he’s confident the 6 p.m. competition will be
a crowd-pleaser, he pointed out the crowd is also good for the competitors as they feed
off the excitement.