Some pics from Ukraine

[Dave Ostlund]

Some pics from a contest I did in the Ukraine over the weekend.

[Mac Smith]

HOLY SHIT!!! YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT F*CKIN CROWD?!!!! :eek:

[AaRoNSnider]

That looks awesome Dave.How did you do?Was that Vasyl in the first pic with the arm sling?Looks kind of like him

[lhprop1]

Cool pics, Dave. In that first one, who is the guy 3 to your left? He looks a good 2" or 3" taller than you!

[Jesse Marunde]

oh my gosh! That crowd is unreal!!!

tell us more about the show, don't tease us!!!

JEsse

[Josef Xiegua]

Dave -
No way. I was with my girlfriend in Kiev City this weekend. I don't speak the language, but had no idea there was a strongman event. HUGE CROWD! How long you were there? How was quality of event? Any others you hear of in Ukraine soon?
Joe

[Dave Ostlund]

Here is my write-up on the event:

This was the first contest for the United Series this year. It was also my first contest outside of North America.

Six events total and 12 competitors.

1) Yoke and Tire Medley (800x20m, 700x5 flips): The yoke felt pretty good, but I was slower than normal on the tire. Finished 4th out of 12 on this event.

2) Car Deadlift: The bar was in front like the keg deadlift at WSM. The weight was supposed to be 660, but felt more like 600 or 620. I got 6 reps and almost 7 with a big hitch. This was a good PR for me, but only enough to place 9th I think. I think 3 guys did 14 reps.

3) Log Medley: I only got the first log (264 lbs) and it felt harder than it should have. Missed twice on 300. Pedan did all 4 (120kg, 135, 150, 160) and used very little leg drive. 6 of the guys only got 1 log, but I was slowest and got last in this event.

4) Frame Carry (775lbx15m up a ramp): The pickup was a little higher than what I expected. I picked it up 3 times and was about 2 feet short of the finish. I was happy with my performance, but again only placed 9th I think. Some 21 year old Ukrainian kid who weighed about 225 marched it right up with no drops!

5) Arm Over Arm Pull: The first half of the course was uphill and very difficult and then it came downhill slightly. I made it halfway and when it started getting easy I had about 15 sec left. Made it about 10 ft shy of finish. Tarmo Mitt made the whole course look like it was downhill. I have never seen anyone dominate the arm over arm like that. I was 5th or 6th in what is usually a good event for me.

6) Atlas stones: (120, 130, 150, 160, 180) all to about 54". I was very worn out at this point, but managed all 5 in about 30 sec. Finished 2nd, 1 sec behind Tarmo. I think five guys did all the stones.

Overall: 8 out of 12. Definitely need to improve.

Overall it was a good time and the crowd was huge (almost 10,000 people). Vasyl and Dymek were the referee and timer. The Ukrainian strongmen are really good and can drink a lot of vodka (in retrospect it is best not to try and keep up).

[patrick w.]

awesome pics!!

great job too. Nice lifts.

[TEXAS STONEMAN]

That contest looked Awesome!
Dave, you think the jet lag got to you a little bit? The way you described your performance on the events you seemed a little out of sorts.

[Dave Ostlund]

The jet lag probably factored into it (8 hour time difference), but that is part of the challenge of competing over there. Those guys went through the same thing when they came to Edmonton.

No excuses though, I have to get stronger for next time.

[Dan Harrison]

Proud of ya Dave for flying around the world and kicking some Ukrainian asses. I know we both had "learning experiences" in our recent contests, and that will only make us better athletes.

See ya

Dan

[Jacob Sauter]

Great writeup.

[Grant Higa]

Wow....thats awesome Dave for you to be a part of that. Unreal.

I met your boy Jeff Peterson this weekend in Chicago, and he is a STRONG son of a gun. He told me that you were in the Ukraine.

Grant.

[Jesse Marunde]

Dave,

Really apreciate you taking the time to post pics and a write up. Very cool of you. I'm giving you 50 rep points! ;)

Jesse

[Clint Darden]

Wanted to post it here too man....AWESOME job man!!!! VERY impressive...but you always are.

Jet-Lag does take it out of you...it does me anyway.

Clint