Country’s strongest prove power
A car park in Palmerston North was transformed into a cauldron of brute strength as men and women competed to see who was the strongest of them all.
Fourteen competitors took part in the inaugural Manawatu Strength Competition on Saturday, with a crowd packing in to the Zenith Fitness car park to see their feats of pure muscle.
A big contingent travelled south from the Strength Pit clubs based in Otara and Waikato for the competition, while Jono ‘‘Wookie’’ Macfarlane – a two-time New Zealand Highland Games champion and 2007 NZ Strongest Man winner – also took part.
The events included a monster tyre flip, deadlifting car axles weighing up to 300 kilograms, lifting logs weighing up to 170kg, and the farmer’s walk – moving while carrying weights in each hand and keeping them at their sides.
Jonathan Faapoi may have been competing in a strongman competition for the first time, but he ended up winning the farmer’s walk.
He said he usually did power lifting, but decided to enter the competition after organiser Carl Waitoa, a former world’s strongest man representative for New Zealand, invited him along.
‘‘He only asked me a week ago, so I’ve not really had the chance to try any of this.
‘‘Power lifting only has three main lifts, so this sort of stuff is really different.
Whetu Flesher from Strength Pit Otara said it was his first time competing, having taken up the sport three months ago.
‘‘I went to an Auckland strongman event and saw the team doing what they do.
‘‘If you had asked me three months ago if I would be competing in a strongman event, I would have said no.’’
The training involved more than just lifting heavy things though, with cardio also incorporated to help with general fitness, he said.
‘‘I’m about the fitness aspect of it, and getting stronger.’’
Levin-based Colin Sparey, who has competed in multiple strongman events, said he enjoyed it because ‘‘it hurts’’.
‘‘It hurts, but it tests you. You can’t test yourself in a gym, because it is not against anyone.’’