Morinville strongman Scott Wallace looking for a podium finish in Ontario competition

by Stephen Dafoe

Morinville resident Scott Wallace is off to Dubreuiville, Ontario next month to compete in the Alamos Gold Inc. Strongman Challenge Sept. 13 and 14.

Wallace was BC’s strongest man in 2016, finished 15th in 2018 at Worlds in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was recently named Alberta’s Strongest Man in the Master’s Division this summer. He is one of a dozen of the best Masters from around the world selected to compete in Ontario. Those competitors will have a chance at some of the $30,000 in prize money available at the event.

“This is as close to a pro-level show that I’ve ever been in,” Wallace said, adding there is some stiff competition among the dozen picked.

Among the competitors is a Lithuanian competitor who came in third at Worlds last year. Fellow Canadians Lance Lavallee and Grant Conners, both of whom have pro cards are on the ticket. There are also four American pro cardholders. A couple of those Americans beat Wallace at Worlds, and he defeated a couple during the event.

Wallace, who stands six-foot-two and weighs in at 305 pounds is technically an amateur but is good enough to compete in the pro-level event with professionals in the field. Wallace will have all expenses except his flight paid for in Dubreuiville. Two other Canadians in the mid-point between amateur and pro will join him at the event.

Despite the competition, Wallace is looking to do well. “I always go in with high expectations,” Wallace said. “My highest expectation is top three. Any competition I go to, I want a podium finish. I did win Alberta’s in June, and I’m currently Alberta’s Strongest Man for the Master’s Division. My goal there was to win that one, and I won it.”

Wallace said his main goal at Dubreuiville is to place third but would still be ecstatic with a top-five finish. “If I can finish in the top five with the group that’s there, that says a lot.”

Specific training for the event began in February after meeting with his coach to design a program for the Ontario competition. His summer provincial competition was part of the preparation for the upcoming Dubreuiville event.

“The events there [in Dubreuiville] are by far the heaviest I’ve ever done, and that includes the Worlds,” Wallace said. “It’s insane how heavy there are.”

The event starts Friday, Sept. 13 with an opening ceremony and three competition events. Those Friday events include 280-pound log press reps and a car deadlift, where athletes lift a car up and down on a frame. The third event is a sandbag carry with strongmen carrying three 275-pound sandbags for 75 feet.

“I’m a good dead-lifter. My goal in the dead-lift is that I want to win it,” Wallace said. “I know that I’m not the greatest presser. I’m hoping to get one or two reps, so I don’t zero the log. Then I plan to do really good on the car dead-lift because I’m a big dead-lifter.”

Saturday’s events include an arm-over-arm truck pull, sandbag toss, car walk where competitors step into and carry an 880-pound car frame, and a medley event. The medley event consists of lifting an Atlas Stone to a pillar, picking up 350-pound weights for a farmer’s carry, and finishing with flipping a 1000-pound tire several times.

“I feel really good about all of them,” Wallace said of the events he will face. “Worlds is Worlds, and it was cool. Outside of that, I’d say this is the biggest and heaviest competition I’ve ever done.”

Saturday consists of an open women’s division event as well. That event will see a fellow Alberta competitor and training partner Allysa Anderson competing.

After the competition, Wallace and his daughter Faith will be going to CAASA Nationals in Regina to compete in the Canadian Amateurs event.

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