‘Static Monsters’ was the name given to the tough men and women competing in a special Strongman event last weekend.
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Organiser of ‘Mount Isa’s Strongest Man’ and paramedic, Scott Jones, explained the intriguing name.
“In Strongman there’s a lot of events from truck pulls to carrying stuff, but ‘static’, obviously meaning standing there, has just two events – dead lift and log press,” Jones said.
“Imagine a tree, cut to six foot. Add weight onto it, with some handles, and that’s what you are pressing.
“Some people actually did use trees, those are true logs. But I use metal ones.”
Taking first place at Stack City Fitness on Saturday was Mount Isa Mines worker, Dean Saunders.
“Dean came second in Mount Isa’s Strongest Man in January and has also competed in Strongman in Cairns, so he’s doing really well,” Jones said.
In second place was Clinton Graveson (pictured), and third was Zane Cetinich. Jones has been training with all three men since January.
Jones said it was a worldwide event, with hundreds taking on the strength athletics challenge.
“Over Saturday and Sunday this went on all the way from the US to the UK, India, multiple countries, it was amazing,” Jones said.
“Although we only had five competing in Mount Isa, I’m almost positive there were 300 to 400 competitors across the world.”
Jones is originally from Tennessee but has lived in Australia for 10 years, and in 2013 moved his family from the Gold Coast to Karumba.
He relocated to Julia Creek last year before moving to Mount Isa in January, where he started Mount Isa’s Strongest Man.
Jones is a self-confessed ‘gym junkie’.
“I joined the marines when I was 16, so I used the gym as a way to get ready for the military. So I’ve been in the gym all my life,” Jones said.
When he moved to Australia in 2009, Jones was introduced to strength athletics, and discovered Strongman.
The following year, a fellow paramedic’s plight inspired him to hold his first official event.
“In 2010 there was a paramedic doing a rescue on Thursday Island. There was a disaster and he fell from a helicopter, breaking his spine,” Jones said.
“I jumped on board trying to raise money for him in my first contest, and I’ve been holding contests ever since.
“Since I moved bush in 2013 I realised, once you go to a small town, there’s not much there. And so the more you can do to give people the opportunity – to do anything – is good.”
If you think you have what it takes to be Mount Isa’s strongest wo/man, the next event is on December 8 at Stack City Fitness.
