Strongman reaches for the top

Sports

Posted By Greg Vandermeulen

Posted 1 month ago

Eric Sawatzky pictured at a 2009 event in Altona.

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Altona strongman competitor, Eric Sawatzky took fourth place at a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan competition thanks to a strong performance in the tire flip, circus dumbbell and yoke events.

The 21-year-old, said he was happy with his results.

"I felt great, considering I have not trained with the strongman implements since late March," he said.

"I was one of two guys to finish the course," he said, explaining at those events it is normally a tractor tire which has far worse grip.

"This was a 750 pound highway tire, very easy to flip," he said. "It ended up being more of an endurance event more than brute strength.

Sawatzky earned a third place in the yoke event. For that he had to drag a 730 pound yoke for 50 feet and then back.

He was also third in the circus dumbbell event, where 120 pound dumbbells had to be lifted. Because he didn't hold one of his lifts long enough to receive the "down" command from the official, it was not counted, leaving him with 12 reps and third place. One more would have had him tied for second.

The farmers sand bag medley earned him a fourth place finish. In that event he carried 265 pound oxygen tanks in a farmer lift for 80 feet followed by a 230 pound sandbag for another 80 feet. He finished that event in 38.19 seconds.

Sawatzky also earned sixth place in the dead lift event, where competitors had to lift 495 pounds. He managed three reps for sixth place.

His first event of the year, it won't be his last. Sawatzky plans to enter one in Saskatoon and possibly one more later this summer.

He said he hopes to someday compete in Canada's Strongest Man, but admits he's got a ways to go.

"For me to get there I need to have a 350 pound overhead lift, approximate 800 pound dead lift, be able to load a 400 pound atlas stone, and pick up about 400 pounds per hand for farmers walks," he said. "Currently my best lifts are a 300 pound overhead, 540 pound dead lift, I have loaded a 350 pound atlas stone, and I can pick up about 330 pounds per hand."

Sawatzky has seen improvement already. "When I first started back in 2008, my contest placings were usually towards the bottom of the list," he said. "As of late I am getting closer to the top."

At 6'4" tall, 285 pounds, and 21-years-old, he is in a good position.

"I have all the tools to become a great strongman competitor, perfect age, height, I can hold a great body weight," he said. "Now it's a matter of putting the tools to work for me."

Sawatzky admits that not everyone understands the lure of strongman.

"Not everyone is cut out for this sport," he said. "I enjoy them for the simple fact you get to lift cars and pull semi trucks."

For now Sawatzky will keep training with his goal to make it to the Canada's Strongest Man Competition within two to three years. That is a qualifier for World's Strongest Man.

" I know I have a long ways to go before I can be a dominant force on the Canadian scene," he said. "But day by day I am learning more and more about how to train, how to get stronger."

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