Super strength at Clickimin as strongmen push it to the limit

Car lifts, log lifts and vein-bulging strength was on show at the Clickimin as athletes battled it out at the Shetland Transport North Isles Strongest Man competition.

Strongmen from Shetland, Orkney, Ireland and Faroe took part in event in the Lerwick sports hall.

Faroese athlete Bjarni Neilsen took first place in the North Isles Strongest Man competition, with Shetlanders Dhanni Moar and Colin Arthur taking second and third place.

Dhanni Moar also took the Shetland’s Strongest Man title.

In the novice section Óli Arnfríðuson Andresen took first place with Shetlanders Danny Arthur and Maurice Williamson in second and third.

Six competed in the open category for the strongman title with powerhouses Dhanni Moar and Colin Arthur in a thrilling head to head in the car deadlift. Ten athletes took part in the novice competition.

Moar completed 11 reps, with Arthur notching up four.

Great sportsmanship was shown between Neil Hamilton and Neilsen. Hamilton completed one rep before walking across toward the man from Faroe and cheering him on to take first place in the event with 12 reps.

In the novice car deadlift Arnfríðuson Andresen took first place with eight reps. Maurice Williamson put in a superb six reps of the Kia Picanto to take joint second.

The first of the six challenges was the log lift. Neil Hamilton took first place in the open event with a lift of 160kg.

Meanwhile Danny Arthur took first place in the novice log lift with a hefty 110kg.

Celtic football man Joel Bradley said he only started training for the event about a week ago, other fitness training had been for football.

He lifted a solid 67.5kg in the log lift as all the athletes were encouraging each other from the sidelines.

“Everybody wants everybody to do well which you don’t really get in any other sport,” said Bradley.

“It’s good to get a front row seat to watch these boys [the open athletes] – [they are] world class most them.”

The different events demand speed, power and mental strength and Bradley was hoping to perform well in the loading wheelbarrow medley.

“That’s kind of more stamina as well as power so hopefully I’ll do well in that.”

He added: “It’s all about coordination and technique is important. I would say the shorter the arms you’ve got the easier it is to push above your head.”

So has Bradley got a taste for strongman competitions?

“Football is too big a part of my life to change. I’m happy to compete and keep it fresh. I enjoy the training. It’s good and pushing onto new things.”

Hamilton had only been back lifting logs for six weeks and was happy with his start to the competition.

“It’s been a long injury recovery for the last eight years,” said Hamilton, who had been recovering from a lower back problem.

The log lift was his strongest event, he said.

“It’s a full body movement for anything from floor to overhead… hips, upper back, shoulders arms toes, everything.”

Hamilton said it was great to see athletes from Faroe too.

“I personally would like to see it happen more often. They are our neighbour just to the north and they’ve got Orkney already doing it. So why not? Get them involved and they’re keen. I’d been keen to go to Faroe. I would like to go even just for the scenery.”

Dhanni Moar said it was a lot more difficult having to choose your weight in the log lift event.

“I think I perform better when it’s 10kg increments – when a bit of endurance comes into play.

He said he enjoyed the endurance events, while the car deadlift hold needed a lot of mental strength to hold on to the bars.

“Quite often the skin on your hands will tear open. You’ve got to keep digging in, so every event brings its own challenge.”

More in next week’s Shetland Times.