On June 4 we held the second Durniat Strength Grip Challenge and it was a huge success with 15 total competitors and 30+ spectators. I’m proud to say we had the largest woman’s class to date in grip sport history with 5 women competing. I hope to see more women compete in the future. The men were split into two groups; open and novice. We had 3 experienced competitors in the open event and 7 in the novice class honing their skills.
Mary Ann MacKeague
The day started off at 10am with the grippers for max weight. Mary Ann MacKeague won the woman’s with a close of 64 lbs. The men’s field was filled with many personal records (PRs), with Bryan Gallagher, Malcolm Majesky and Tood Coenen all closing their first #3 gripper, a notable feat in the grip world.
Andrew Durniat
The 2 Hands Pinch event was next and again PRs were broken by many. Three women broke the 100 lbs. barrier, Abby Kascandi and Amber Ingles with lifts of 101.12 lbs and Mary Ann MacKeague with a strong 107.08. The men’s lifts were highlighted by Brandon Gerber who at 175lbs. bodyweight, hoisted up a solid 193.38 lbs.. A world class feat of pinch strength at his bodyweight and age, he’s 17. WOW!!
Jobe Stutzman
Pizza was delivered and we took a short break in the action for the competitors and fans to fuel their bodies. With energy replenished we continued on with the Double Overhand Axle Deadlift. Abby Kascandi dominated the woman’s class with a lift of 184.42 lbs. On the men’s side it was Abby’s boyfriend Malcolm who came in strong for the novice class with a lift of 356.38 a new PR for him yet again. Personally, I was able to lift a smooth 422.52 lbs. but was disappointed with my misses at 455.59 lbs., not my best day on the axle.
Brent Barbe
Brent Barbe
Here are the final standings after is was all said and done:
Open Class:
1st: Andrew Durniat
2nd: Brent Barbe
3rd: Todd Coenen
Novice Class:
1st: Malcolm Majesky
2nd: Matt Massaro
3rd: Bryan Gallagher
4th: Brandon Gerber
5th: Andrew Pantke
6th: Keifer Pantke
7th: Jobe Stutzman
Woman’s Class:
1st: Abby Kascandi
2nd: Mary Ann MacKeague
3rd: Amber Ingles
4th: Kyle Barnes
5th: Katie Pantke
It was a great day for all. I hope join us for the next event.
Bryan Gallagher, Nick Pivato, Brandon Gerber (L to R)
Jobe Stutzman, Matt Massaro (L to R)
That wrist roller platform on the Base Camp is so cool. Andrew, you never cease to amaze me. Great work guys!
Hi Andrew,
Did you weigh any of the competitors on a certified/calibrated scale before the contest? Any competitor entering an advertised allround grip competition can be included on the top 10 list (eg Europinch) for the 82.5k class provided they were weighed on a certified/calibrated scale before the contest (on the same day). A non-certified/calibrated scale is not good enough though. You can use calibrated weights for the calibration of the scale.
Cheers
Mikael
Competitors were weighed, but not on a calibrated scale. I will be sure to calibrate the scale for the next competition.