JIMMY MARKU
IS
UK’S STRONGEST MAN 2009

Tall Ships – 13th – 15th August 09

Click here for Competitor & Group info:

Day 1
Event 1 – Railway Section Deadlift
A tough day to kick off the UK Strongest Man were 800lb railway sections had to be lifted and held as long as possible @ the back of the Waterfront Hall

Event 2 – Vehicle Push Medley
A vehicle push medley at the Albert Quay, were a 6, 12 and 18 vehicles had to be pushed consecurively over a set course. A real tough event as James Fennelly from Co Kilkenny was injured and put him out of the competition when he was leading his group.

Event 3 – The Rock Lift
Five huge natural caveman rocks weighing from 80kg – 120kg had to be pressed consecurively over head, an element of danger to the press that really got the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Event 4 – Strongman Flag Hoist
Five massive poles at different lengths had to be deadlifted and clicked into position hoisting up the pirate flags. Mark Westaby was the only competitor to complete the 5 flags in both groups.

Two from 2 groups A and B were eliminated in the weakest link scenario from the competition.

Group A - Lee Allan – Scotland and James Fennelly – Ireland.(due to injury)
Group B – Rob Frampton – England and Martin Jones – Wales

Day 2
Event 1 – Back Lift – Albert Quay
A maximum test to see who could lift the biggest weight of the floor, a real all over body test

Event 2 – Stones
5 huge stones weighing from 100kg to a massive 160kg had to be lifted over a 4.5 foot platform over a set time, Glenn Ross was the only competitor who managed to lift all the stones out of the two groups.

Event 3 – Celtic Cross Walk
A 400lb Celtic Cross had to be walked as far as possible, turning every 20 metres an all over strength and fitness event.

Event 4 – Harness & Rope, Chain and Anchor Pull
Louis Maclean from Scotland was the only one to manage this 900lb challenge over a set course.

Two competitors from groups A and B were eliminated in the weakest link scenario from the competition.

Group A – Louis Maclean – Scotland and Mark Lawson - England
Group B – Andy Cairney – Scotland and Bertie Clarke – Ireland.(due to injury)

The winner of Group A was Glenn Ross – Ireland
The winner of Group B was Jimmy Marku - England

This leaves 4 competitors from each group to form an 8 man final.

Day 3 Final – Albert Quay

Event 1 – Car Roll
Two competitors head to head had to roll a 1 tonne vehicle each. Mark Westaby was out on his own in this event winning the event easy by over 4 secs, unfortunately Jay Hughes was injury early in the final at this event putting him out of the competition, but that’s strongman! Only the strong will survive the weak will falter.

Event 2 – Log Lift for Maximum
A maximum overall body test pressing a log above the head, Glenn Ross made a massive miscalculation in mistaking the good lift call from the referee of 175kg press, therefore having to share the first place points with Jimmy Marku.

Event 3 – Gun Powder Lift
300kg, 660lb had to be lifted in a deadlift fashion in as many lifts as possible, again mistakes were made by many competitors in this event especially Glenn Ross who did two unsuccessful pulls failing to lockout due to the chain swinging which cost him the win of 5 reps in this power event. Jimmy Marku like a true champion making no mistakes pulled 6 reps.

Event 4 – Walking to Ships Plank
Without a doubt this new event stole the competition. The crowd and competitors loved it. Each competitor on either side had to pull one another off the Ships Planks into a swimming pool and with Paul Carter from England weighing over 30 stone there was a big splash. Glenn Ross won this event outright and the only one to stay dry.

Event 5 – Finale Event – Customs Loading Event
Six heavy implements with the maritime theme had to be loaded onto a wall of different heights. An exhausting event were brains and brawn both came into play in order to sort out the implements. At this stage in the competition Jimmy Marku was only leading Glenn Ross by 1.5 point to create a nail biting finale to the competition. Though Jimmy came through to be victorious winning overall by 2.5 points, Mark Westaby won this event and came through to secure his 3rd place on the podium.

1st – Jimmy Marku – England
2nd – Glenn Ross – Ireland
3rd – Mark Westaby – England
4th – Dave Warner – Ireland
5th – Dave Meer – England
6th – Paul Carter – England
7th – Richard Smith – Wales
8th – Jay Hughes – England

Glenn Ross has held the title of UK Strongest Man for three years in a row, totalling 8 British Titles and 1 European Title over 12 years but Jimmy Marku a former Britain’s Strongest Man lifts his second British Title and will reign for this year, but I am sure the daddy will be back.

Overall a fantastic well attended and supported event by the whole of Belfast and further a field, scheduled to be on our television screens on BRAVO at Christmas time.