World's Strongest Man 2009 - Malta

[Tom Mutaffis]

Here is an interview with Derek Poundstone; they are still in the qualifying rounds right now.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles.../strongest-man

[JSully]

Wow.. I didn't know he was only 28 years old.. that's amazing.

Are they going to show the WSM live on ESPN? I know the actual competition starts next weekend as these are just the qualifiers..

[JSully]

BTW, poundstone is a beast. I am subscribed to his youtube channel.. his training is amazing. Shouldering 400lb stones, squatting his car, pulling a dump truck.. just amazing.. mad props to the guy

[Cmanuel]

He's one beast. I actually met him at the food expo portion of the institute of food technologists annual meeting this year. Honestly I didn't realize he was that tall, I always thought he was taller. Cool guy though.

[Tom Mutaffis]

WSM is a TV show, not a live event. It will be aired around the holidays (late December). They are currently doing the qualifiers and then I believe there is a short break before the finals begin.

This will be one of the best years to date with the true world's strongest men participating. Savickas, Pudz, Poundstone, Shaw, Ortmayer, Murmets, Hollands, Loz, Pfister, etc. - should be an epic battle.

[Off Road]

Keep us posted. WSM is my favorite strength event.

[Lones Green]

Tom, I thought Pudz retired?

[jmccown]

I thought Pudz got into MMA or something.

[Bob]

Pudz did "retire", but then has come back... but decided he wanted a 6th title. Supposedly he is a bit lighter this year, checking in at under 300 lbs.. whereas Derek is around 330.

Pudz is doing a MMA match later this year.. check out the YouTube vid of the weighin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8718XFS6cuc&NR=1

As Tom said.. this year is going to be a classic!! Especially with the inclusion of Zydrunas Savickas this year - who has been excluded the last 4 yrs for being part of the competitive leaque (IFSA) which shutdown this past year.

The qualifiers are finishing up today... 2 guys from each of 5 groups of 5 strongmen... will make a group of 10 finalists that start the finals on Thursday, finishing on Sat.

[Travis Bell]

Poundstone is awesome! Hope he wins this year.

[=Travis=]

What was with the shot in the background where they were walking Nee away from the squats as if he was injured? Anybody heard?

[Ben Moore]

Nee always about passes out on any squat or dl event. I'm sure that's what it was.

[Tom Mutaffis]

What was with the shot in the background where they were walking Nee away from the squats as if he was injured? Anybody heard?

I believe that he may have been injured, again. Nothing has been confirmed yet though.

As Ben mentioned he does frequently black out during events so he may have just passed out.

[=Travis=]

LOL, yeah I've noticed that.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Pudz did "retire", but then has come back... but decided he wanted a 6th title. Supposedly he is a bit lighter this year, checking in at under 300 lbs.. whereas Derek is around 330.

As Tom said.. this year is going to be a classic!! Especially with the inclusion of Zydrunas Savickas this year - who has been excluded the last 4 yrs for being part of the competitive leaque (IFSA) which shutdown this past year.

The qualifiers are finishing up today... 2 guys from each of 5 groups of 5 strongmen... will make a group of 10 finalists that start the finals on Thursday, finishing on Sat.

There always seems to be some drama with Mariuz. He is a great competitor and I guess that he wanted to give it one last shot, with perhaps the strongest field that he has ever faced.

I am really looking forward to seeing Savickas compete; probably one of my favorite strongmen to watch.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Right now the guys who look like they are going to make the finals are:
- Poundstone
- Pudz
- Shaw
- Pfister
- Savickas

There are 5 other spots; will keep everyone posted as the qualifying rounds wrap up. Dave Ostlund and Terry Hollands both seem to be doing well. No word on Ortmayer yet.

[JSully]

Pudz did "retire", but then has come back... but decided he wanted a 6th title. Supposedly he is a bit lighter this year, checking in at under 300 lbs.. whereas Derek is around 330.

Pudz is doing a MMA match later this year.. check out the YouTube vid of the weighin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8718XFS6cuc&NR=1

As Tom said.. this year is going to be a classic!! Especially with the inclusion of Zydrunas Savickas this year - who has been excluded the last 4 yrs for being part of the competitive leaque (IFSA) which shutdown this past year.

The qualifiers are finishing up today... 2 guys from each of 5 groups of 5 strongmen... will make a group of 10 finalists that start the finals on Thursday, finishing on Sat.

Pudz has this awesome grin on his face after seeing that guy at the weigh in, lol..

I was unaware derek was 330.. **** that's huge. How tall is he?

If I had the cash, I'd go to Malta and watch in person. I love watching WSM.. that was the highlight of my bouncing career: when they would replay WSM on saturday nights at midnight on ESPN, lol..

[JSully]

There always seems to be some drama with Mariuz. He is a great competitor and I guess that he wanted to give it one last shot, with perhaps the strongest field that he has ever faced.

I am really looking forward to seeing Savickas compete; probably one of my favorite strongmen to watch.

are there any internet stations or websites we can watch to see video of the events sooner than december?

[Lones Green]

Nee always about passes out on any squat or dl event. I'm sure that's what it was.

Yeah, you're right. He looked like he was limping though

I like Big Z, didn't he do WSM 5 years ago or so back? He's a lot stronger and a lot bigger now

I hope Poundstone wins though, such a humble, strong guy.

[vdizenzo]

Nee is a either a drama queen, or gets hurt too much. I can't figure it out, but both are annoying. The kid is gifted, he just has to get his crap together.

I am excited to see Big Z on the WSM stage. So many people think you have to be ripped and conditioned to win WSM, Z might show 'em different.

I saw a vid interview of Derek in Malta, wow, our boy sure has a nice bloat to him. I have been around Derek many times and I have never seen a head on him like he's got going on now. It's beautiful. As much as I love big Z, I gotta pull for Derek because I know him. Bring it home Derek!

[Tom Mutaffis]

There have been a lot of comments around about Derek's size at WSM (bloat). He works hard and I would like to see him do well.

Big Z is my favorite, the guy just has a love for the sport and is immensely powerful. He has already proven that he can beat the top guys by winning the Arnold numerous times in a row and then winning Fortissimus earlier this year.

With regard to Kevin Nee - I don't know if his structure can support his power. He has been injured numerous times and seems to struggle with conditioning at his current size. Kevin is a gifted athlete though and probably the top strongman deadlifter, pulling an easy 905 in the gym with just straps and a belt!

I will continue to post updates as they come through. (Sorry Jake, there is no way to watch the contest before December - but sometimes guys post stuff on Youtube so you may want to keep an eye out on there).

[JSully]

I've seen Kevin Nee's 905 deadlift, absolutely amazing!

I don't care about bloat, Poundstone is awesome. I wached several youtube vids of him at Americas Strongest Man and he's a monster. I'm rooting for Poundstone. I'll keep an eye out on youtube for WSM vids.. I wish it was more mainstream.

[Tom Mutaffis]

I've seen Kevin Nee's 905 deadlift, absolutely amazing!

I don't care about bloat, Poundstone is awesome. I wached several youtube vids of him at Americas Strongest Man and he's a monster. I'm rooting for Poundstone. I'll keep an eye out on youtube for WSM vids.. I wish it was more mainstream.

The discussions elsewhere were more about safety rather than aesthetics.

If I see any videos floating around I will post them here.

[vdizenzo]

I don't care about bloat

them's fightin' words!

[=Travis=]

I wish it was more mainstream.

They'll be televised, it's just not live. It's every year at xmas there will be a marathon including the qualifiers up to the finals. Even though you know the winner, they're still fun to watch.

As far as youtube goes, Poundstone's girlfriend is good about posting lots of videos of the comps so I bet she'll start having some up before too long.