SUNDAY NIGHT

The 2007 World's Strongest Man wrapped up today with two events at Huntington Beach, California. Mariusz Pudzianowski finished a spectacular weekend by taking the title for the fourth time. I finished fourth this year, but certainly must take my hat off to the new champion. Mariusz was on top of his game all weekend long.

I knew this was the toughest field I had ever seen and every event was going to be a challenge. After eight days of competition, I can say I am completely exhausted. This is a grueling event.

The final event today was the Atlas Stones. I did beat Mariusz in a head-to-head competition, but his overall performance was truly something to behold.

I was blessed to have many friends and family in California to support me this weekend. While I didn't retain the title, I am fortunate to have so much support from friends, family and many West Virginians.

I am going to take a few days off and then get to work at my new job with Chesapeake Energy. I look forward to seeing everybody when I return to West Virginia. Thank you so much for your support!

SUNDAY

Today is the last day of competition in Anaheim, California. This has been a grueling event. Heading into today's events, I am in fourth place overall, but just three points behind Sebastian Wenta for second place. As I pointed out earlier this week, this is by far the most talented group of finalists this competition has ever seen, and the performances have reinforced that during every phase of this competition.

Mariusz Pudzianowski, a three-time champion, has been sensational this week. He leads the event by 13 points. On Saturday, he turned in his best performance in the Fingal's Fingers event, an event he has traditionally struggled with.

On Saturday Governor Joe Manchin stopped by to watch one of our events. He also talked to the promoters of the event about bringing the World's Strongest Man contest to West Virginia in 2009. I think that would be the perfect way to showcase the Mountain State to millions of television viewers over the course of a year. Last year, the contest aired on one of the ESPN channels more than 700 times!

Thank you to all of my supporters! This contest has been an incredible test of strength, and I couldn't have gotten this far without the help and support of so many people.

THURSDAY

It's the night before the finals in Anaheim, California and you can tell all ten finalists for the World's Strongest Man title are ready to go.

We spent the morning examining the equipment we will use this weekend. Friday's events are the Barrel-Loading Medley and the Safe Press.

The barrel-loading medley is an event that entails loading four 250 pound barrels onto an elevated platform.
The safe press requires us to lift a 250 pound safe over our heads as many times as we can.
I am very comfortable with the events they have chosen for the finals this year and am incredibly eager to get started. I was able to wrap up qualifying early this week and begin focusing on what it is going to take to keep the title in West Virginia.

The ESPN cameras were rolling today and the producers treated the pre-finals day like a prize fight. They took shots of Mariusz Pudzianowski and me standing nose-to-nose. Mariusz is a three-time champion and always a threat to win the contest, but there are others who will factor into the championship. This is certainly the best field we have ever seen at the World's Strongest Man contest.

The events begin early tomorrow morning. I will blog about the finals tomorrow night.

Thank you again to all of my friends and supporters!

WEDNESDAY

Hello again from Anaheim, California. After four grueling days of qualifying rounds, the next two days will be spent resting and recuperating as I prepare for the finals this weekend.

I will be competing against nine great athletes as I work to retain the World's Strongest Man title. This is, without question, the biggest, tallest and strongest group of competitors in the history of this event. Nearly everybody who qualified for the finals is 6'4 or taller. There are some legendary competitors trying to win the championship this weekend. Magnus Samuelsson, an athlete I have a great deal of respect for, has qualified for this weekend's championship round. It is the tenth time he has qualified for the finals! Three-time champion Mariusz Pudzianowski also advanced to the finals, and he is always a threat to win the event.

Four Americans advanced to the finals this year. This sport has been dominated by athletes from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, so the fact that Americans have done so well shows how much support this sport has received in the United States.

The key for me this weekend will be the health of my back. I overdid it just a bit during a workout in early September and now I am doing everything I can to make sure it is 100% this weekend. I will spend time with the World's Strongest Man doctors Wednesday and Thursday to help me work out any soreness I may have.

As I said in yesterday's blog, this is the first time in a decade the World's Strongest Man competition has been held in America. And that is fortunate for me, as I have a lot of family coming to California this weekend to watch the competition and support me as I work to bring the title home again.

Thanks again for everybody's support! I will check back in tomorrow.

TUESDAY

Greetings from Anaheim, California, site of this year’s World’s Strongest Man contest. I am pleased to be able to share my thoughts with you as I work to retain the title of World’s Strongest Man.

I arrived in Anaheim early last week and the competition began Saturday. This is the first time since 1997 that the competition has been held in the United States, so it has a different feel this year. Last year, the competition was in China, so this year’s contest has received more attention.

The first thing you have to understand about the World’s Strongest Man competition is that it is not really a spectator sport. This is a made for television event. The promoters do not send out news releases or try to attract big crowds for the events. They do their best to save as much drama as possible for the television program which doesn’t air for several months.

The first several days of competition are the preliminary rounds. Ten athletes will advance to the finals this weekend. I am excited to tell you that I have earned the opportunity to defend my title by advancing to the finals.

So far we have completed the Farmer’s Walk and Barrel Carry event, where we had to carry 265 pound anvils and 245 pound barrels full of water, the Hercules Hold, where we stand between two pillars and hold them as long as you can; And an event called Fingal’s fingers, where you lift a series of progressively heavier, hinged poles ("fingers") starting from a horizontal resting position and flip them over to the other side.

While there was one event Tuesday, the Deadlift, I was able to take it easy and begin focusing on this weekend’s championship. The great Bill Kazmaier was the last American to win back-to-back titles. He won three straight contests from 1980-1982. I have trained as hard as I can to bring the title back to West Virginia.

I want to thank everybody for your support. I will blog about my experiences every day through the championship round on Sunday.