Having taken 2nd place in the Teen Division in PA’s Strongest Man last Fall, local strongman, Adam W. Grimes II, recently continued his success by taking 1st place in the in New York’s Strongest Man Teen Division. The contest was held on January 18th at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. There were 159 competitors, making it one of the largest amateur strongman events in the United States.

360-pound Grimes competed in five events, including the press medley, Jeep tire deadlift, sandbag carry, frame carry/drag, and the atlas stone.
Press medley:

Four implements of increasing weights were lifted. Lifters alternated, lifting a thick-handled axle bar, a 10-inch log, an axle, then another log. The weights began at 150 pounds and went up to 200 pounds. In this event, the goal was not only to press all of the implements overhead but to press them in the fastest time. Grimes said he is not a big fan of medley events but that he did have a lot of fun with it and was able to finish first.

Jeep Tire Deadlift:

A standard deadlift bar was loaded with a Jeep tire on each side and weights to bring it up to 405 pounds. Lifters had to stand on a small platform, so the bar was at a standard height of nine inches. With the deadlift being Grimes’ favorite event, he was very excited. Having put a lot of time into perfecting his deadlift technique, he easily won the event. Grimes said, “The bar felt light, and I intentionally stopped with nine repetitions.” His nearest competitor only had six.

Sandbag carry:

A 220-pound sandbag carry for maximum distance with a 60-second time-limit. The athlete had to pick up and carry the sandbag against their torso along a 50-foot track turning at each end. This event was quite challenging; despite this, he made it 138 feet, which was the winning distance.

Frame carry/drag:

The athletes had to carry a 450-pound frame, barehanded, down a 60-foot track for time and distance with a 60-second time-limit. Once the frame crossed the mark, it had to be dropped and dragged backward by two ropes attached to the frame. Grimes quickly completed the event in a time of 30 seconds, which was the fastest time in his division.

Atlas stone:

In this event, competitors had to lift a 225-pound stone and load it over a 48-inch-high bar. When asked if he was looking forward to this event, in particular, Grimes replied, “Not really,” as it was one in which he lacked experience. In spite of this, he managed to load the stone five times in 60 seconds, beating his nearest competitor by just a single repetition.

Grimes said, “I had a pretty good time competing at New York’s Strongest. There were a lot of great competitors and fun events. Since I won first place, I also qualified to go to 2020 nationals, but I plan on holding off until 2021.”

He attributes his success to his father for training him, to his wife and mother for their support, and to his faith in God. “I could not have done it without all of you,” Grimes commented.