Connors nabs Strongman title for fourth straight year

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Grant Connors is still the strongest man in Atlantic Canada, but the Kentville man’s road to a fourth straight regional title wasn’t always smooth.

After a trying year that saw him battle a bicep injury and an illness that landed him in hospital, Connors trained hard the past couple of months for the Atlantic Strongman competition and his hard work paid off at the event May 24 in New Minas.

Connors completed the six events in the competition with 50 points for top finishes. Former Acadia (and CFL) football player Danny Frame, now teaching in Middleton, was second among nine competitors with 36 points. Frame was also the runner-up a year ago.

Chris Harper of P.E.I. was third with 28 and Jay Smith of New Minas fourth with 22 points, giving the Valley three of the top four finishers.

The first event was the Tractor Deadlift, with the same tractor used in last year’s Canada-Wide Strongman event in Kentville with an extra 600 pounds added inadvertently.

Connors managed two reps to win the event and then “both knees gave out when I tried for three.” Given his trials over the past year, “I was worried at first, but it turned out to be just a little sore in the end.”

The second event was a 280-pound yoke press. Connors, the final competitor, did nine straight reps to win the event, edging out Frame who placed second with eight. Chris Harper managed five reps for third place.

The third event was the Farmer’s Walk carrying a pair of 325-pound oxygen tanks, one in each hand, over a 110-foot course.

Harper and Troy MacCallum managed 80 feet with several drops along the way. Connors successfully walked the full distance with no drops to win the event.

Car Bench Press was next

The fourth event was a Car Bench Press, 450 pounds in hand, starting on the chest to lock out. Connors placed first with five reps, though he said, “the fifth rep did feel very heavy, and there was no sixth in me.”

Chris Murray of Moncton was second with four reps, followed by Frame with three.

The fifth event was a medley, consisting of a 50-foot walk with a 750-pound yoke, a duck walk with a 400-pound weight, and a keg walk with kegs weighing 240 and 200 pounds.

An entertaining event for the spectators, but grueling for the competitors, was made even harder by the fact that the duck walk and keg walks were both uphill.

Jay Smith won the event with 48 feet on the last keg. Connors managed 32 feet with the last keg after losing his balance carrying the first keg and “going for a somehat graceful tumble.” Frame placed third, managing five feet with the final keg.

The final event was the Atlas Stones, a series of progressively heavier stones the competitors had to lift onto a platform.

By this point, Connors said, “we were all pretty well spent. I had a big enough lead that I didn’t have to do them,” but he competed nonetheless, “did two stones and called it a day.” That was enough for second behind Frame, who managed three.

Connors said, “I know that after the Medley everyone could hardly stand and we went from there right into the stones,” which no doubt contributed to poorer results than if the Atlas Stones had been scheduled earlier in the competition.

All in all, he said, “it was a great day, a nice day for a competition and no really serious injuries.” Connors and Frame both qualified for the Canadian championships, and he confirmed, “we’re both looking forward to competing and seeing everyone again.”