1998 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Challenge

The 1998 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Challenge was held on January 31, 1998 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The majority of the competitors were American, but a few international stars competed as well. The competition consisted of only four events - a keg lift for reps, lava rock loading, and overhead log lift, and a farmer's walk. The contestants were as follows:

Magnus Ver Magnusson (Iceland)
Mark Phillippi (Nevada, USA)
Malcolm Lutu (Hawaii, USA)
Joe Onosai (Samoa)
Anthony Harris (Hawaii, USA)		 Odd Haugen (Norway)
Curtis Leffler (California, USA)
Regin Vagadal (Faroe Islands)
Grant Higa (Oregon, USA)
.		 Scott Major (Pennsylvania, USA)
Bruce Greig (Canada)
Bill Duarte (Hawaii, USA)
Tony Leiato (Hawaii, USA)
.

Event #1 - Keg Lift for Reps

Competitors had one minute to press a 238 lb. keg overhead as many times as posssible.


In this event, Magnus Ver Magnusson, Joe Onosai, and Mark Phillipi tied in first place with 9 repetitions each. Malcolm Lutu finished 4th with 8 reps and Curtis Leffler finished 5th with 7.

Event #2 - Lava Rock Loading

Five rocks were loading onto a platform. The rocks weighed 176, 188, 192, 198, and 238 pounds.


Regin Vagadal won this event in 25.31 seconds - just ahead of Magnus Ver Magnusson who finished second with a time of 25.78 seconds. Mark Phillippi placed third and after 2 events, Magnusson led with 18.66 points, followed by Phillippi with 17.66 and Onosai with 15.66.

Event #3 - Log Lift

A log was pressed overhead by each competitor with weight increasing each round.


Curtis Leffler won this event by pressing 361 pounds. Mark Phillippi pressed the same weight but took second place as a result of taking more attempts. Onosai placed third with 350 pounds. Magnusson pulled a hamstring during this event and dropped out of the competition in the lead. After the third event, Phillippi had overtaken the injured Magnusson with 29.66 points (to Magnus' 25.66) and Onosai was in third with 23.66.

Event #4 - The Farmer's Walk

The weights used were 260 pounds each and were carried around a track for time.


Mark Phillippi was able to maintain his lead through this event and emerged the winner. The top five placings were:
  1. Mark Phillippi (Nevada, USA)
  2. Joe Onosai (Samoa)
  3. Curtis Leffler (California, USA)
  4. Regin Vagadal (Faroe Islands)
  5. Magnus Ver Magnusson (Iceland)

Magnusson only competed in 2 full events and was injured in the third event and still managed to finish fifth. Despite Magnusson's injury, Phillippi proved that he's on his way up in the world of strongman competitions with his victory.