Watch video: Plenty of grit and power at Arnold Classic qualifier

The event, which also saw some of the country’s strongest women compete, was organised by Strongman Asylum in association with the Africa Strongman Union.

The Arnold Classic will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from May 5 to 7.

The final qualification round for the Sandton showpiece is scheduled for Bloemfontein on March 25.

Shelley ended the physically testing day with a total of 59 points, closely followed by fellow Africa strongman star Andre Sweeney and Stefan Smit, who finished with 53 and 52 points respectively.

Events on the day included a lifting relay using a log, the viking press, a one-arm circus, a car dead-lift, truck-pulling and a farmer’s walk.

A tie-breaking event was later introduced in the men’s U-90kg category.

Shelley, not the biggest strongman by any stretch of the imagination, was competitive in all the events and shone in some.

His best moment was arguably during the brand-new Ford Ranger 340kg dead-lift, where he made a mockery of the weight which awaited him.

After a series in which many strongmen failed to do a single repetition, Johann Rudd unsurprisingly opened the floor and finally made the bakkie’s rear wheels leave the ground before the Shelley show.

Following a few moments of loud verbal self-motivation – which he makes a habit of – he dead-lifted the 340kg with ease, almost toying with the Ranger.

He won that event with four reps. Such was the confidence of the man, he attempted his fifth rep – with his top off this time, after a brief break to catch his breath.

In the attention-grabbing 20m truck-pulling event, Sweeney, Shelley’s biggest rival on the day, set the pace by pulling the 9.5 ton (9 500kg) vehicle in 25.5 seconds – almost averaging one metre per second. He took top honours here after all his competition failed to beat the set pace.

His wife Vallerie won the women’s open category with no one to compete with, while their daughter Milissa finished fourth in the women’s U-75kg block.

“It was a very successful event,” commented Strongman Asylum’s Garreth Stein.

“A lot more athletes showed up – we expected 34, but we ended up with 50, which shows that the sport is on the rise. We even had masters compete (athletes 40 years and over), which is phenomenal.

“A big thank you to Ford Consolidated Auto and 3D Nutrition,” he said.

Anyone interested in being part of the sport and/or gymming with the athletes, can contact Strongman Asylum on 084 698 3225.

Results (Top 5 per category)

Women U-75kg

1. Rochelle Reyneke 15 PTS

2. Genster Lee 14 PTS

3. Tanja Van Staden 12 PTS

4. Milissa Sweeney 9 PTS

5. Chereen-Ann Sewell 7 PTS

Women Open

1. Vallerie Sweeney

Men U-90kg

1. Sean Stein 27 PTS

2. Sheldon Donnelly 24 PTS

3. Dewald van Deventer 24 PTS

4. Shaun Roland Swanepoel 24 PTS

5. Clayton Cloete 21.5 PTS

Men U-105kg

1. David Bezuidenhout 38PTS

2. Frikkie Page 37.5PTS

3. Theo Joseph 28.5PTS

4. Jaun Reitsma 26PTS

5. Jan van Bavel 24PTS

Men Open

1. Dean Shelley 59 PTS

2. Andre Sweeney 53 PTS

3. Stefan Smit 52 PTS

4. Kelin Mills 51 PTS

5. Johan Rudd 39 PTS

Masters

1. Leon Christiaan le Roux 9.5 PTS

2. Jan Greyvensteyn 9.5 PTS

3. Robert-john Green 4 PTS – @SabeloBoksburg