TRADITION
Over more than two centuries, Canada has been known as the cradle of strongmen.
It started in the late XVIIIth centuray with Hercule Grenon from the Charlevoix region, on the north shore of the St.Laurence river, and, at the beginning of the XIXth century, with Claude Grenache, the man said to hold at arms length a heavy wood and a iron plow. And, it goes without saying the legendary Jos Montferrand. Then raised a giant of a man: Louis Cyr. The quest to meet all ultimate strength challenges of the legendary Canadian Samson lasted 23 years. At the end, he had defined what strongest of the strong meant and set standards that have yet to be equalled.
The tradition was kept alive ever since. First, in the 20’s with Victor Delamarre, the strongest amongst smaller strongmen. With a technique of his own, he managed to hold more than 300 pounds overhead with one arm. The feat was accomplished in 1914.
In the 40’s, an entrie family of strongmen, the six Baillargeon Brothers, from Saint-Magloire-de-Bellechasse, stromed the North American strength community. The six strongmen added over 1400 pounds of muscles and bones.
One lifted off the ground 280 pounds with the little finger, succeeded in deadlifting a 1000 pounds barbell eight inches off the ground assisted by a set of chains.
Another one harness-lifted a 1200 pounds horse in a steel ladder and was credited with a 321 pounds side bend one arm lift. A third one push pressed for the first time the 167 pounds oversizes handle George Jowett’s dumbbell. A fourth one used to pull a 20 tons city bus with the strength of his jaw, while the other two, in turn, did a 2000 pounds harness lift and fore in half the 1945 New-York telephone directory.
The man who took the relay of the ever-burning flame was Vancouver’s own Douglas Hepburn. Winner of the 1953 World weightlifting Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, and gold medallist of the 1954 British Empire Games, Doug Hepburn was the man in pursuit of the great Paul Anderson of the USA, acclaimed in the 50’s as the World’s Strongest Man.
Between 1954 and 1965, Hepburn was credited with a one arm military press of 170 pounds, a one arm dumbbell push press of 200 pounds, an 800 pounds squat, a press off the rack of 450 pounds, a 400 pounds military press, a 580 pounds bench press and a 260 pounds two arm curl. He was the first Canadian strongman awarded the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy as Canada’s outstanding athlete.
Another milestone was reached in the 80’s with two prominent names: Tom MaGee from Western Canada and Marco Fortier from the Quebec area. Both strongmen put their names in the record books. MaGee became the first Canadian to reach the podium of the world strongest man competition (1982) and to defeat both Bill Kazmaier and Jon Pall Sigmarsson at the strongman Défi Mark Ten. It turn, Marco Fortier was the first Canadian to establish a lift record at the strongman Défi Mark Ten and the first one to squat in excess of 900 pounds.
In the early 90’s, Gregg Ernst, from Nova Scotia, appeared in the World Strongest Man after a remarkable powerlifting career in Reykjavik, Iceland, at the 1992 World’s Strongest Man, Ernst made a name for himself by lifting and carrying the 410 pounds (186 kg) Husafell stone right to the end of the 200 feet long path.
At the turn of the millennium, a 28 year-old phenomena took the central stage. And, by 2002, he had reached the number one spot in the world of strongman, when he was proclaimed the World champion of IFSA strongman Super Series. Hugo Girard became the first Canadian ever, in modern times, to accomplish such a feat. Seven times he reached the finals at the World’s Strongest Man contest. He won six consecutive Canada’s Strongest Man titles and two World Muscle Power Championships. He was credited with four strength world records, at the Apollon Axel lift, the Viking Presse, the Farmer’s Walk and the Log Press.
Hugo Girard’s accomplishments brought other Canadians strongmen to shine, the best being Jessen Paulin, Travis Lyndon and Dominic Filiou, both Paulin and Filiou winning a total of three Canada’s Strongest Man and one North-American’s Strongest Man titles.
The coming years should prove Louis-Philippe Jean, a talented strongman rising to the challenge, as one of the front runners in strongman competitions.Used with permission of Annie Godin. www.photosunshine.blogspot.com
