Super-Series in Venice Beach: Report

[Chuck Marunde]

Report for the first 3 of 6 events: Overall: 1st Mariusz Pudzianowski, 2nd Jesse Marunde, and Jesse's progress: Tied 1st for Log Press, 3rd on Stones, 4th in Farmers Walk. More to come.

[Chuck Marunde]

1st place overall: Mariusz Pudzianowski. 2nd place overall: Jesse Marunde. Jesse finished behind M.P. by TWO points. On the last 3 events, Jesse got 1st on the pole dead life, 3rd on the yoke, and 2nd on the medley. Final: 1. Mariusz Pudzianowski (Poland), 2. Jesse Marunde (USA), 3. Janne Virtanen (Finland), 4. Dominic Filiou (Canada), 5. Dave Ostlund (USA) 6-Steve Bourgeouis 7-Corey St. Clair 8-Brian Irwin 9-Jim Glassman 10-Odd Haugen 11-Audunn Jonnson 12-Grant Higa. See the excellent write up at http://www.ironmind.com/morenews.php?id=1197#1197 and see Dave Ostlund's report in this forum.

[Lacy]

way to go jesse congrats

[patrick w.]

nice job jesse.

[D.Norris]

Nice work bigman! where did Brian Irwin place?

[Chris Brock]

A few pics for you all. Enjoy!


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190022.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190026.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190010.jpg

[Chris Brock]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190025.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190023.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190019.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190014.jpg

[Chris Brock]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190011.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190009.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/oldschoolcrew/P6190008.jpg

[Chris Brock]

I did not stay for the final awards, but I think this order is close:
Mariusz
Jesse
Janne V
the 390lb big dude from Canada - Filinoue (sp?)
5/6 Burgoise canada and Dave Ostlund
7/8 Corey and Irwin?

bottom 4
Glassman, Higa, Odd, another guy...I know glassman tore a pec after the second event and it appeared that Odd had a hamstring problem..... the 12 competitors were cut to 8 after 3 events then down to 6 after two more (5)...the top 6 did the final medley event.

Let me add: Mariusz was 1 on Stones, Medley, log, yoke, 2nd on fw, and 5/6 on pole lift. Jesse was consistent on everything - 5th or so on farmers, 2nd on log, 2nd stones, 1 on pole lift, 3 yoke, 2 medley. Grant threw up the first two stones like NOTHING - 300+lbs like a beach ball when the platforms were taller than him...amazing effort!

[DaneGarreau]

Great job everyone.

[wj19]

congratulations jesse ang grant....looks like a fun contest

[AaRoNSnider]

Good job Jesse and Grant.Represent!

[Mac Smith]

Helluva job fellas!!! Barring injury, I think the Good Ole USofA is making some huge strides in the international arena. Mad props to all who competed!!!

[Patrick McGuffin]

Nice job jesse!!!!!

[Jamie T]

way to go big fella.. no longer hanging with the big dogs.. YOU ARE THE BIG DOG!! :F:

Must be the beef..

J

[Jacob Sauter]

Damn, thats awesome. Congrats :cool:

[ScottDowney]

Well done Jesse getting stronger all the time!

[GDolan]

Jesus!!!! That is awesome work Jesse :YR:

[Dave Ostlund]

Venice Beach Meet Report:

FARMER'S WALK: These were suitcase style and 385 lbs per hand. It was for max distance with turns every 20m. I drew #3 for order behind Brian Irwin and Odd Haugen. I knew Odd's mark would be a good one to shoot for since he won this event in Pasadena. I made it roughly 10 meters which placed me 9th in the event. 3 pick-ups total, it was my grip that failed again (although it is a lot better than 4 months ago). The weight did not feel difficult to walk with. I tore a callous after the second drop and then dropped an implement on my right foot on the 3rd drop. A poor way to start. Corey St. Clair was very impressive going 20 meters, then Mariusz went 20, hit the turn and maybe got 2 more meters. Virtanen went last and just squeeked out the victory from Mariusz.

LOG LIFT FOR MAX: We were given 3 attempts rather than go till you fail since the TV crew was trying to speed things up. The weights were preset and a tie on weight was a tie no matter the number of attempts. I took the 270 opener and it was easy, then hit 300 (really had to do it twice since Jouko didn't give a good signal on the 1st). 330 was not to be, but it's getting closer. Jesse go a hard fought 380 to tie with Mariusz who did it quite easily. Dominic was very impressive on this also, doing 360 I believe. I tied for last, but there were several of us topping out at 300 so it didn't hurt me as bad.

ATLAS STONES: I knew if I had any chance of winning an event, it would be here or on the medley. I also knew that I needed a fantastic result here or I would be one of the 4 in the first round of cuts. They dropped bottom 4 after 3 events and bottom 2 after the 5th event to speed things up. On a side note: learning this the night before your biggest contest doesn't help you sleep. Back to stones, it was the same 6 as Pasadena (5 atlas stones and 1 river rock). I got 5 stones in 24 sec and wasn't even close on the river rock. Nobody was close on the 6th and nobody should ever whine about atlas stones sitting in the sun making the tacky runny, but rather be thankful that they don't have to lift river rocks in the sun. They are nearly impossible. Jesse finished 5 stones in 29 sec and I was still leading with only Mariusz to go. Mariusz popped 5 up in 18 sec! He one-motioned the 385 stone. 2nd place here was enough to get me tied for 8th with Brian Irwin and move on.

FISHING POLE: Had no idea how this would go as my training last weekend with my fingal finger did not yield any boost in confidence. Now that the field was down to 8, we were given unlimited attempts until we failed. Opener was 400 and things didn't start getting hard for guys until about 550 or so. On my second attemt with 525 I figured out the right foot placement and it was easy. Mariusz and Janne dropped early in this at about 550. I hit 575, 650, and then 700 to tie Jesse for the win. Dominic and Corey tied for 3rd by hitting 650 but missing 700. 700 was definitely my max and by the end of the lift my calves were cramping pretty hard.

YOKE WALK: I was now in 6th place, one point ahead of Corey and several ahead of Brian Irwin. I had the advantage of going after both of them in the yoke and knowing that if I stayed ahead of both of them I would advance to the last event. It was 900 lbs for 20 meters. Only one set-down was permitted. Brian made it about 7 meters and Corey made it 11 meters. The pick-up felt good and walking with it was good to. The first 10 meters were easy and once I passed Corey's mark I think subconsciously lost my motivation and set it down. I picked it up again and went another several meters, but it was much tougher. Maruisz did the course in about 12 seconds, Janne was 2nd, and Jesse and Dominic also finished. I ended up beating Steve Bourgeious by about 20 centimeters. I held on to 6th place and was now 1 pt behind Steve and 4 pts behind Janne. I really felt drained after the yoke though. Between a tough 700 fishing pole and the yoke I didn't know how much I had left for the medley.

MEDLEY: The medley was flip a 1200 tire 3 times, load a 300lb Ironmind sandbag to 54", then a 370lb keg to 54", then do 3 stairs with a 500lb weight stack. I did the flips and the loading easily and pretty fast I think, but got stonewalled on power stairs and didn't get a single one. Either the handle was higher than Pasadena or I just had nothing left. I couldn't get the height to clear the step and I never practice the backward tilt since I've never had to do it. I beat Steve and Dominic in this, they made it as far as I did but slower. Janne got 1 stair and Jesse and Mariusz finished all 3. Jesse was 2nd and Mariusz was 1st. Mariusz only had a slim 1 pt lead over Jesse going into this. Jesse was actually leading after the fishing pole! My placing was enough to boost me past Steve and take 5th place.

Hopefully I will have another shot at the 4th Grand Prix. I am quite happy with 5th. I definitely need to work my yoke and heavy farmer's (grip) more and of course keep improving my press. I will also practice more technique on the power stairs so I am prepared next time.

1-Mariusz Pudzianowski
2-Jesse Marunde
3-Janne Virtanen
4-Dominic Filiou
5-Dave Ostlund
6-Steve Bourgeouis
7-Corey St. Clair
8-Brian Irwin
9-Jim Glassman
10-Odd Haugen
11-Audunn Jonnson
12-Grant Higa

I will try to train tonight but I think my right foot might be broken. I will get the X-ray next week after the Moscow contest because not knowing for sure won't mindfuck me as badly.

[GDolan]

Solid performance Dave - great work!!!!!!!!

[DaneGarreau]

I think I heard that Jim Glassman tore his pec, how did this happen?

[Chris Brock]

I think I heard that Jim Glassman tore his pec, how did this happen?

while lowering the log...and I'll add, he got credit for a good lift and was in position to do well in the other events.

[DaneGarreau]

while lowering the log

Dang that sucks, sounds kinda like a freak injury, never heard of it before. O well, Hope he recovers.

[patrick w.]

great re-cap Dave. Excellent job.

[Jason Bergmann]

Congrats Dave and Jesse for doing a great Job. Wish I could of been there to see it.

[Callie Marunde]

I am so proud of Jesse!! He certainly my favorite, I was very happy to be with him last weekend!! All the Americans did awesome!! It was great to see Grant Dave (Kate) and Jim!!! YOu guys rocked!! Super cool to meet the all the other guys too!! Congrats to everyone!!
:marv:
Callie

[Jamie McEwan]

Anyone have any pictures of the fishing pole? I'm completely confused by this event.

[Jesse Marunde]

ya pics are here World Strongest Man Super Series Venice Beach (http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=675)

[Mike Westerling]

Dave,
Awesome write up! Sorry to hear about your foot. I hope it's not broken.

Jesse,
You are UNF*KIN BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great job. You are now officially my second favorite strongman. Right behind Grant after seeing those pics of the 300 lb stone on platforms higher than the top of his head!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grant,
You are now my favorite strongman for the above mentioned reason. How tall are you?

GREAT JOB YOU GUYS AND GOOD LUCK AT THE REST OF THE SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grant Higa]

Well, I am really disappointed with my performance, but I will strive harder to get better.

PROBABLY THE BEST SHOW I HAVE EVER BEEN A PART OF!!

Jesse had an Awesome show! Really relaxed, and pushed Mariusz. I was kinda tripping out on watching Mariusz Power Snatch 225 lbs like it was 95 lbs in the weight pen of Muscle Beach. He did almost 10 sets of this before the Log Press.

I saw the World's Largest Human: Dominic Filiou
Wait till you see the size of this guy, and Jesse said he is 50 lbs lighter than last year! He weighed 395 lbs, and the Super Yoke looked small on him.

I'll also remember how much 2 beers, and 2 double shots of Crown Royal cost Jesse and I at out hotel. They got a serious mark up there...

Whats up with the taxi drivers in that area? Steve, Corey and I had to tell the driver how to get to Muscle Beach, and we aren't even from there. I heard Jesse & Callie's cab took them towards Beverly Hills or something, and that made them late for the opening TV shot in the weight pen.

Mike, I'm 5 foot 8"tall. Thanks for the kind words! No excuses, the weights/implements have to be done, so I'm redialing my workout plan to get ready for the next show.

It was a VERY long plane ride after staying up all night having drinks with the European TV crewmen & Colin Bryce. No sleep for Higa...

Take care,
HIGA.

[Jamie McEwan]

Thanks Jesse. :) That looks like the hardest event that I've seen in a long time.
Great work, by the way. I think you'll be the next Kaz, bringing some WSM titles to the USA.

[Mike Westerling]

Mike, I'm 5 foot 8"tall. Thanks for the kind words! No excuses, the weights/implements have to be done, so I'm redialing my workout plan to get ready for the next show.

Grant,
I ask because I'm only 5'9 (and I know how tall those platforms seem to me) and seeing you hang with the giants in an event that favors a taller man is impressive as hell. I am not saying I could ever get to your level but it gives me hope that height wont be as much as a limiting factor as I thought is might. GOOD WORK!! and thanks for being an inspiration!
Mike

[Jesse Marunde]

I've got some great video of Grant loading the stones. coming soon...

Jesse

[Grant Higa]

Mike,
I train on tall platforms (72"-56"), but I have to work on holding onto the big diameter Stones. I can easily load 18" or 19" Stones onto the tall platforms, so just keep working on them.
I don't have height, or long arms, but I just keep working harder to get better on the Big Stones. You always here that "those events are made for a tall guy." If you enjoy Strongman, just deal with the body you've got, and get better at all the events the best way possible.
I'm probably the shortest American Pro out there, but I enjoy every comp I go to, and look forward to going up against the best in the World. Thats why I like to see all you guys enter as many contests that you can. Its a learning experience at every show, whether positive, or negative.

HIGA.

[Patrick McGuffin]

us shorties need to get to where we can beat those tall guys at thier own game!

[Don Knotts]

WOW Jesse your going to WSM 05 I heard you gave Pudz a run for his money great job BRO! :F:

[Jay O'Neill]

Jesse and Grant are the shiznit!
Mike I have to say that if you get a chance to meet these guys, you will like them even More!
Class acts!
Jesse's strength power is amazing and getting better every contest.

when You see grant in action, height plays no part. He handles the implements like a Mad MAN. IN the last contast he was in he did a deadlift Medley... the last weight was 600 lbs. He did it for reps... then started walking around... turning at an angle and shouting! Power personified. Motivational to the Max.

I am proud to know these guys... not just because of their strength in body... but in their strength of character!

[Mike Westerling]

Mike,
I train on tall platforms (72"-56"), but I have to work on holding onto the big diameter Stones. I can easily load 18" or 19" Stones onto the tall platforms, so just keep working on them.
I don't have height, or long arms, but I just keep working harder to get better on the Big Stones. You always here that "those events are made for a tall guy." If you enjoy Strongman, just deal with the body you've got, and get better at all the events the best way possible.
I'm probably the shortest American Pro out there, but I enjoy every comp I go to, and look forward to going up against the best in the World. Thats why I like to see all you guys enter as many contests that you can. Its a learning experience at every show, whether positive, or negative.

HIGA.

I just did my first contest this past saturday and plan on doing every one I can. It was the funnest time I remember having!!!!!! What do you feel improves your grip on the stones the most?
-Mike

[Lacy]

Tacky! :D ok i am sorry i coudlnt control myself

[Mike Westerling]

Tacky! :D ok i am sorry i coudlnt control myself

Lacy,
The promoter (Rick North) said something funny as well: "I had better not see anything sticky on any competitors hands. I don't care if they were eating a freakin' popsicle!"

Seriously though I am always looking for ideas on how to improve my grip on the stones. If that is a problem for grant I would love to know what he does to solve it.
-Mike

[Grant Higa]

Mike,

I still need help on Stones. Tacky can be a crutch, so I try like hell to do them raw. Jesse always told me, "to get better in Stones, do them with no tacky". Its really trying to do that, but you gotta do it.
I dont have a problem with small diameter Stones, its the big ones (21") that I do have probs. I always have to shoulder the first 3 Stones if they are staggered platforms. I seem to have a problem doing the lap, then popping it off the hips. Its my personal problem.
Yeah, I got short arms, a gut, etc...but you still gotta lift the frickin Stone the best way you can. Still trying to chip away at it.
If you don't believe that using no tacky is a crazy way to lift Stones, go to Sequim and watch Sarge & Jesse do them. Hell, if even Shane, a 175 lb guy, threw up a 300 lb Stone no tacky. I've seen Jesse's brother Robbie do them with us in training too. There forearms may look like hell, but when they go to a show and use a LITTLE tacky, they are flying.
Jesse may be tall, and have long arms, but he lifts some big Stones with no tacky in training. They could be dirty & rocky, and he'll still do them. Its great inspiration.

HIGA.

[Mike Westerling]

Mike,

I still need help on Stones. Tacky can be a crutch, so I try like hell to do them raw. Jesse always told me, "to get better in Stones, do them with no tacky". Its really trying to do that, but you gotta do it.
I dont have a problem with small diameter Stones, its the big ones (21") that I do have probs. I always have to shoulder the first 3 Stones if they are staggered platforms. I seem to have a problem doing the lap, then popping it off the hips. Its my personal problem.
Yeah, I got short arms, a gut, etc...but you still gotta lift the frickin Stone the best way you can. Still trying to chip away at it.
If you don't believe that using no tacky is a crazy way to lift Stones, go to Sequim and watch Sarge & Jesse do them. Hell, if even Shane, a 175 lb guy, threw up a 300 lb Stone no tacky. I've seen Jesse's brother Robbie do them with us in training too. There forearms may look like hell, but when they go to a show and use a LITTLE tacky, they are flying.
Jesse may be tall, and have long arms, but he lifts some big Stones with no tacky in training. They could be dirty & rocky, and he'll still do them. Its great inspiration.

HIGA.

I've been training them without tacky as much as possible for a while and my grip has definitely improved but of course not as much as I'd like. I do sandbag rows like Steve Kirit suggested and I do a band squeeze (like a cable crossover but the bands are in my hands while grabbing and lapping a lighter stone) both have helped. I will keep training them hard with out tacky as much as possble.
Thanks again,
-Mike

[Jonas Dyhrfjeld-Johnsen]

Great work guys !! I unfortunately missed out on the event as I was stuck for longer than expected at the USPF Nationals in Los Alamitos, - any idea when it will be on ESPN ??

[Jesse Marunde]

they said in two months.

Jesse

[Jonas Dyhrfjeld-Johnsen]

Thanks Jesse, - I will keep an eye out for it.

[Jim Glassman]

Dang that sucks, sounds kinda like a freak injury, never heard of it before. O well, Hope he recovers.

Thanks, it was a pretty freak thing. I was scheduled to have my AC joint and some bone spurs worked on in my right shoulder when the season was done and I think the pec may have just been trying to compensate for the shoulder.

Anyway, I'll be going under the knife on Tuesday to have the pec repaired and the shoulder work done. Thought this was my year, but I guess I'll let Jesse have his time in the spotlight and I'll be back in '06.

[Mike Westerling]

Thanks, it was a pretty freak thing. I was scheduled to have my AC joint and some bone spurs worked on in my right shoulder when the season was done and I think the pec may have just been trying to compensate for the shoulder.

Anyway, I'll be going under the knife on Tuesday to have the pec repaired and the shoulder work done. Thought this was my year, but I guess I'll let Jesse have his time in the spotlight and I'll be back in '06.

Injuries suck! I pray you have a speedy recovery.
-Mike