By Brian M. Boyce
TERRE HAUTE — Those weren’t thunderclaps coming out of Dever Distribution’s parking lot Saturday, but the grunts were just as loud.
Athletes from across the Wabash Valley stayed strong all day long Saturday at the second annual Gladiator Challenge, beginning at 8 a.m. with a 5K run and ending that afternoon with the Strongman Contest.
“I think it went great,” said trainer John Barrett of Union Hospital’s Center for Fitness and Performance, promoter of the event on behalf of the Indiana Guard Relief Fund. “I’d have liked to see more people but I think the weather dampened it a bit,” he added, noting the volume of calls he received during the early morning’s thundershowers just before the 10 a.m. Pump Fest competition.
This year, however, Barrett said the crowd of spectators was better than last year, as more than 60 of the competitors’ friends, family and trainers showed up to cheer during the events.
Dever Distributing donated the facility for the event’s usage, as well as 180-pound, full kegs of beer, 30-pound empties, and a 14,750-pound beer truck for some of the games.
Betsy Snoddy of Terre Haute won the Pump Fest competition as the lone female competitor.
“I train at Union Hospital and heard them talking about it,” she said after completing a pull-up dead hang, bench press and squat series for the win. “I wish more women had come out,” she said.
2nd Lt. Jake Jackson of Cory won the sub-225-pound-and-under Pump Fest Division, followed by Jeremey Peevler, 31, who won the heavyweight group.
Peevler, who runs Solomon’s Gym at the New Haven of Hope Church at 2251 Liberty Avenue, also won the heavyweight division of that afternoon’s Strongman Contest and is a return competitor from last year’s contests.
“It’s fun and it’s for a good cause,” he said, noting that Solomon’s Gym is free for anyone to use and serves as a community outreach. “It’s really all about coming out and supporting each other.”
The disabled veteran served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne from 1995 to 1998 and credits weight training with his physical recovery. “It’s changed my life.”
Peevler will host a bench press contest Sept. 19 at Solomon’s Gym, and said his long-term goal is to use weight training as a way to help other disabled veterans get back into civilian life.
“I’m in school right now for sports management and I’m doing an internship at Union Hospital,” he said.
Ethan Tyler, 24, won the Strongman Contest in the sub-250-pound division for the second year. “I’m taking on all contenders,” he joked after the results were tabulated.
Tyler is completing a master’s degree in exercise science at Indiana State University and trains with Peak Performance Gym in Brazil with Mike Gugino, focusing on “…Just the grind, you know. Overall strength.”
Gugino said Tyler has spent a lot of time honing his technique in the events. “We’ve been more sport-specific,” he said. “This is fun. I enjoy it.”
Molly Martin, 20, of Terre Haute, competed as the lone female in the Strongman Contest, racking up the top overall score for the competition.
Barrett emphasized that the training and form needed for these contests is a lot higher than one might think from just watching them on television. Indiana has produced a number of competitive strength athletes in years past and he hopes that public “Pros versus Joes” events such as Saturday’s draw more interest among local gym rats.
The five-event Strongman Contest began with a “log press” for reps in which an Olympic-style barbell was placed inside a metal “log” and loaded with about 195 pounds of weight. Each contestant cleaned the log up to their chest, then pressed it above their heads until failure within a 60-second time limit.
Next up was the “Carry and Load” event in which two 180-pound kegs of beer were placed next to two 220-pound concrete balls. Contestants picked up each and ran to a four-feet high platform, placed it on top, then went down the line to the next object within a 60-second time limit.
The third event was the “tire flip,” in which men under 250 pounds used a 400-pound tire, men over 250 pounds used a 600-pound tire and women used a 200-pound tire. Contestants flipped the tire end-over-end for 80 feet for time, with a 90-second limit.
The fourth event was a “keg toss” in which contestants launched empty, 30-pound kegs over a pole vault bar for height.
The final event was the “beer truck pull” in which men harnessed themselves to a 14,750 truck; women were harnessed to a Ford F-150 and pulled the load, using a rope for assistance, 60 feet for time with a 90-second limit.
Chris Porter, 23, works out near his home at the 7th Street Gym in Clinton with trainer Jason Irving and said he’s only begun working on the games for about five months.
“This is the first year I’ve done it,” he said, noting that he plans to train harder over the winter months for future events.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, wiping sweat from his forehead, when asked if he’s coming back for more.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
