ELMSDALE
For the second year in a row, Westisle Composite High School staff member George Kinch has finished second in Canada at the Men’s Masters heavyweight division of the Canadian Alliance of Amateur Strength Athletes’ strongman championship.
George Kinch, from St. Chrysostome, and his nephew, Mitchell Kinch were the only P.E.I. athletes competing in the national championships Sept. 22 in Waterloo, Que. Mitchell, who is from Tyne Valley, finished eighth in a field of 13 competitors in the men’s super-heavyweight division, moving up from ninth out of 11 last year.
“It was a long day,” said Mitchell, noting that in all the events combined, there were 111 participants. The Island athletes were at the venue by 9 am and didn’t set out for their drive home until after the banquet, at 11 pm, tired and sore.
Though pleased to have moved up in the standings, Mitchell was unhappy with the log event. Normally one of his stronger events, he felt he could have finished top five with the right result. He’s already practicing to perfect that event for next year.
Although missing out on his goal of winning the national title, 46-year-old George Kinch finds satisfaction in being the oldest competitor in his division and on being the only Islander to ever medal at the national event, and he’s done it twice. He also finished this year ahead of the athlete who denied him the national title last year.
More important, he said, “I didn’t take a step backwards; I took a couple of steps forward.
The final event of the five-event competition as his gauge for that evaluation, as he managed an additional lift in this year’s stone-over-bar event, lifting a 275-pound stone over a 56-inch high bar.
He placed fourth in a field of eight in that event.
His best finishes were seconds in the medley carry and duck walk events.
The medley involved carrying a 285-pound husafell stone 50 feet, running back and carrying a 240-pound beer keg the same distance and then returning to carry an awkward 275-pound sandbag for 50 feet.
He said he enjoyed the new version of the duck walk which required competitors to carry a 375-pound weight for 50 feet and then walk it up five 18-inch steps. “I liked the medley, too, because it was different,” he noted.
Kinch missed out on first place in the first event, the Farmers’ Walk, by two point nine (2.9) seconds, taking third in that event, and he tied for third in the second event, the overhead log press.
The playoff-style beard George Kinch was sporting during preparations disappeared the day after nationals.
He is already back to practicing for next year’s nationals in Regina, admitting he is 99 per cent sure he will compete. “I think I can do better,” he said, suggesting he will be placing extra focus on his cardio training in hopes of grabbing the national title.
