Olympia Strongman Brno 2024- results and reportage

Summer is definitely coming to an end and with it most of the competitions of this year's Strongman season. If I'm back in time, I'm travelling along the hot D1 towards Brno, after a few peripetias with the columns of standing trucks just before Brno I turn to the parking lot at the Olympia Shopping Center in Brno. I meet a lot of familiar faces of strongman sport, especially professional strongman Ondra Zadžora, who with his team and SPC gym is organizing the ninth year of the competition in Brno.

The weather that day was beautiful and sunny, but in the afternoon it was literally hot. Spectators used to the high level of preparation and organization of the competition certainly could not object this year. The races went absolutely great. From 9:00 the beginners' races were presented, and in the afternoon from 14:00 the competitors of the amateur strongman league measured their strength.

All competitors throughout the day competed in five heavy events, these were the same for both competitions, only the weights of each weight or event were different.

• Tractor pull
• Overhead medley (log lift, axle lift, yoke press)
• Fingal's finger
• Farmer's walk
• Tire flip

Beginners

Nine o'clock passed and the whistle blew for another professional strongman Tomas Sikora, this time as a referee, and the competition could begin. BeStrong Vít'a Zlámal took the moderator's role. A total of 21 beginners were ready for their race.

Tractor Pull

As usual, a tractor from a long-time sponsor of the race was pulling in Brno. Beginners on the rope pulled 3 tons, a kind of mini-tractor. But why not, it looks great to the spectators, the tractor is a big and respectable machine. Plus this discipline is very photogenic. And even though I wrote that it was a 3-ton tractor, given the tyre pattern and the nature of the vehicle itself, even this was a pain for the competitors. Only five riders managed to pull the tractor to the finish of the 20 metre course.

Third place went to Igor Horniacek with a time of 49:01, second place to Viktor Cajka with a time of 39:91 seconds. The winner of the discipline was Martin Máša, who pulled the tractor in 39.43 seconds, just...

Overhead Medley

3 pressure disciplines interconnected and in order to get the highest number of points, the competitor must pass all parts in the shortest possible time. He must get overhead and lock out until the judge gives the cue that he can move on to the next section. First was the Log lift of 100 kg, followed by the Axle lift, 100 kg and last was the Yoke press of 90 kg with the last part going for the maximum number of reps.

Either way only about half of the starting field got to the yoke. Erik Krajčovič took the bronze with a time of 56.96 seconds. Ondřej Šoukal finished just a bit better, with a time of 55.97. Daniel Doležel with a time of 52,40 seconds was the best. Great job.

Fingal's Finger

A very popular discipline this year, which until recently was owned only by the strongest Czech of the past years, Jirka Vytiska, who donated his Fingal's Finger to Golčov Jeníkov, later joined by Zdeněk Vávra in Vrdy, who also lent his finger to Přelouč or Čáslav. Now it seems to be one of the popular disciplines in our area, at least as far as the organizers are concerned. But of course strongman sport is evolving and there are some preferences or trends and I just welcome it.

Today the challenge was to turn Fingal's finger 6 times in the shortest time. The third place belongs to Zbynek Zachar, who turned his finger six times in 57.08 seconds. The second place went to Igor Horniacek with a time of 56.01 seconds. The victory in the discipline was defended by Viktor Čajka with a time of 53.45 seconds.

Farmer's Walk + Sled Pull

Another discipline that impresses the spectator almost superhumanly. The competitors had a 10-meter course, where in one direction they had to carry the popular suitcases weighing 100 kg each, so a typical shopping at the mall for the weekend, and in the other direction they had to pull a 170 kg sledge. Weights like that separately may not sound too heavy, on the other hand it is the fourth discipline and in the hot sun it is a treat.

All but one competitor managed the discipline, with the fastest ones managing speeds of more than one metre per second. Hats off to this sprint. Third place Martin Máša and time 19,13 seconds. Second place Erik Krajčovič with a time of 19.08 seconds, so really close. The sprinter of the day was Martin Jiráček, who completed the discipline in a time of 17.42 seconds.

Tire Flip

I really like the tire flip, in the morning the tire weighed 300 kg and had a rather high tread, so it was hard to catch, but of course it didn't hinder the great performance of all competitors. The maximum number of spins per minute promised a great spectator experience. At the same time, to avoid identical results, the intermediate time counted. Viktor Čajka managed 9 repetitions in 57,77 seconds and won the third place. The second, with the same number of repetitions, was Martin Jiráček in the time of 52,79.

The beginners fought back, in great performances and showed with all their strength that strongman sport is anything but easy and simple. The best were the following three fighters: Bronze medal Martin Jiracek, total points 84. Erik Krajčovič won the silver medal with one more point, 85. The gold was won by the well-prepared and comprehensive Viktor Čajka with a total of 93 points. But when I mention the best ones, I would definitely mention Igor Horniacek, who competed very well, in almost all disciplines on the box, literally burnt out in the only one, the pressure one, and it cost him not only the box, but I would dare to say the highest place. But strongman is not only about brute strength, but also about complexity and technique of performing exercises and disciplines, hopefully it will work out Igor.

Amateurs

The afternoon part belonged to amateur competitors who participate in the Czech Amateur Strongman League, one could say that these fighters are one league higher. That is why their disciplines and weights always had higher weight or difficulty of execution than in the morning part.

Tractor Pull

Tractor pull, yes, but this time it was a huge agricultural machine in full force... in terms of weight. The tractor on giant arrow wheels weighed 7 tons and flooded literally everyone... It didn't drop zero, but really, all the power was counted literally to the centimetre. Third place Ivo Dávidík, 2,56 meters. Second place Ondřej Batelka, 2.66 meters. Winner of the discipline Liron Neuman, 6,65 meters.

Overhead Medley

Again as in the morning, but again we attach. Log lift 125 kg, followed by 125 Axle lift and finished with Yoke press loaded to 115 kg. And here too it turns out that "if it was easy, everyone would do it". The pressing medley tested everyone and only 4 competitors made it to the end of the discipline to repeat the Yoke press. Third place Peter Binder, 1 repetition with Yoke, second place, 2 repetitions with Yoke, and winning the discipline home Vojta Halma, another of the pressure beasts from SPC Gym, 6 repetitions.

Fingal's Figer

Turning the metal pole with a one minute limit gave a hard time to the amateur strongmen the sun was just burning everything that couldn't hide in the shade, that is the discipline and the competitors. Ivo Dávidík just won the third place with 2 repetitions with an intermediate time of 38,26. Ondrej Batelka was faster with the same number of two reps only with an intermediate time of 33.06 seconds. Petr Grmela was the only one who managed more than two reps and set five of them.

Farmer's Walk + Sled Pull

130 kg in each hand and pulling a 270 kg sledge on a 2x 15 m route, nothing more, nothing less, a treat when you consider that the end of the race is approaching and the competitors' strengths are quite exhausted by the previous disciplines... Mlask. On the other hand, the spectators can go crazy, those 12 fools are showing off in front of them, drenched in sweat, panting, just with all their might. But believe me, it's a great feeling when you have a mass of iron to pick up and carry and it bounces off the ground and you go forward to the finish line with all your might.

Same when you have a sled loaded to a heavy 270 kg in front of you and you are pulling it backwards towards the end of the course. How did the sprinter's race go in this discipline? 30.61 seconds Ondrej Batelka took third place. Vojta Halma finished a hair faster in 30.5 seconds. Pavel Juricek won the discipline with a total time of 27.46 seconds.

Tire Flip

And here is the last discipline and it is already visible on all competitors. But if you read between the lines, you will see the concentration and chic of the last forces for one purpose, to give absolutely everything that is possible. For the amateur racers, the tyre looked very similar, but was a full 120kg heavier, at 420kg. Again, the challenge was to complete the highest number of repetitions in the time limit of one minute. All competitors managed to handle the tyre, but the best trio: third Ivo Dávidík with 4 repetitions in 45,82, second Vojta Halma with 5 repetitions in 54,17 and first Pavel Juricek with 6 repetitions in 50,98 seconds.

The amateur competition is over and it's time to announce the winners. But before I write the results, I will again confirm the professionalism of the whole team around Ondra Zadžora and SPC Gym, well prepared races, well managed organization, it is then a pleasure to write the reports, moreover, fortunately there were no major injuries, abrasions, scrapes and callouses do not count, this is such a standard of what happens at every race at least to someone. Ondřej Batelka took third place overall, he took 42 points. Second place and only one point more Pavel Juricek 43 points. The victory by a difference of 4 points from second went to the home fighter Vojta Halma. Congratulations

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