A truck weighing approximately 8 tons had to be pulled with a harness over a distance of 25 meters. No hand rope was supplied meaning that the legs had to do all the work. Also, there was no starting block to push against and athletes had to rely on their grip on the tar (asphalt) to get going. The surface was quite slippery as a result of a large amount of loose gravel on it. There seemed to be a noticeable bump about halfway down the course causing many guys to get stuck there. Failure to complete the course within 90 seconds would mean that the athlete's distance would be used and no time would be recorded. Below is a picture of me approaching the finish line.

Here's the results of the truck pull...

Only seven out of nineteen athletes went the full distance. Out of the rest of the guys, Driko came closest to making it. I reckon that there were no real upsets here. Most of the eventual top 10 guys were already rising to the front of the pack. I don't think that my 6 second win (29.5 seconds) against Ettiene's 35.5 in second place came as much of a surprise to anybody. I came into this competition with one goal namely to win the truck pull. I believe that the fact that I weigh 176kg (387lb), which is vastly more than anybody else in the field, coupled with the fact that I can squat 400kg (880lb) in the IPF makes me almost unbeatable at this event - at least in South Africa.

I also have to single out Hennie and Stephan, who looked very impressive on this event despite not being the heaviest guys in the field.  The point standings after event 1 were as follows:

Below are some random pictures taken during the truck pull.

 

	Martin Joubert on the move. Look at those arms.		Nico with a heavily strapped knee.
	Hennie on the way to a very respectable finish.		Rory's bodyweight counted against him on the truck pull...
	...causing him not to finish the distance.		Allan moments after getting the signal.
	Johan setting up. He didn't have the sort of run he's capable of.		Ian on the move with Malone shouting encouragement.
	Andre ready to go.		Willem gets the truck rolling.
	Willem being encouraged by Dave.		Stephan had a very good run...
	...but was definitely a tired man afterwards.		Dave pulling nice and low.
	Dave nearing the finish line.		Driko getting the signal.
	Me, just before being strapped in, nervous as hell!		Me reaching for the finish line.
	Pieter just off the starting line.		Pieter being encouraged by Wimpie.
	Martin Shereden getting the truck rolling.		Martin with Dave close by.
	Wimpie battling to get the truck going.		Ettiene on his way to a well-earned second position.
	Ettiene always looked good. I knew he was my main threat.		Eben getting the signal.
	As always, Malone had an excellent pull. Good for 3rd position.

Click here to go back to the introduction to SA Strongman 2005

Click here to continue on to event 2: The deadlift

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Page last updated 10 May 2005