Children enjoying the various activities during The 4th edition of 'Qatar's Strongest Man' contest which took place at Aspire Park yesterday. Pic by Baher Amin / The Peninsula
Hundreds of families yesterday enjoyed an exciting evening as they witnessed 14 of the brawniest Qataris and residents vie to be crowned “Qatar’s Strongest Man” in an ultimate challenge of strength and endurance.
A vital part of a year-round series of events hosted by Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) to promote sports activities and encourage healthy lifestyle among community members, the competition saw six Qataris and eight residents compete in various challenges including car lifting, dead-lifting, flipping giant tyres, lifting sandbags and truck pulling.
The specially set up fan zone area at Aspire Park was filled with hundreds of spectators cheering for their bets, some of whom were previous winners of the competition’s first three editions.
“This is an excellent initiative to arouse interest among people to engage in physical activities to get fit. It is inspiring to see how strong the competitors are and the grueling preparations they had to go through to get to where they are now,” said Manoj, one of the spectators.
Not only did the people enjoy the thrill of the show, they also took part in activities AZF organised on the sidelines of the event to encourage community participation. They included a number of sports activities and performances.
Many children participated in fun games such as tug-of-war, sack race and football. A crowd-puller was You.fo - a game in which players throw an aerodynamic ring using a specially designed sword-like staff over distances of 10m to 30m.
“The event is perfect for a family day out because it has all the elements for the entire family including entertainment and physical activities for kids,” said Mahmoud, one of the parents whose children took part in fun games.
On its fourth edition, this year’s competition generated much interest with more than 130 hopefuls who tried out, of whom 14 were chosen to compete at last night’s event which welcomed back Qatari defending champion Fahad Al Haddad and the 2014 Kenyan winner Christopher Oketch.
The event, which was free to the public, saw several stalls offering food and souvenir items near the fan zone area.
