Police car proves too tough for strong men

Loud grunts and cheers filled the air yesterday at Siloso Beach in Sentosa as competitors went head to head at the HomeTeamNS Strongman Challenge 2014.

Eight finalists faced a series of challenges, including dead-lifting a police car and pulling a 4,000kg Red Rhino.

A dead lift is made from a standing position, without the use of a bench or other equipment.

The police car turned out to be one of the hardest challenges - less than half of the eight finalists managed to lift it.

It left a mark on the eventual champion, Mr Tan Bin Soon, an engineering student at the National University of Singapore, too.

"It is a minor injury and it is worth it," said the 23-year-old, revealing the cuts on his palms.

For the past three years, Mr Tan has been climbing up the ranks, placing fifth in 2012, third last year and now, champion.

The crowd was audibly behind Mr Zarol Nizam Alfiyan, 18, who came in third overall.

He dead-lifted the car 10 times to the amazement of the crowd. But he lost out on the total points scored.

"I watched the world's strongest man competition when I was young, and I was inspired to join when I started to work out in the gym," said the gym instructor.

This year's runner-up, Mr Mohamad Zaki, 19, a nursing student in Nanyang Polytechnic, had been training for a year and joined the competition for the first time. He was shocked that he made it so far. "I was aiming for a top five placement, so I am really happy."

jariffin@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Sep 7, 2014.
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