EDMONTON - Tristain Hoath says he was 10 years old when he first noticed he was unusually strong. The Edmonton police officer says his dad and another man were struggling to lift a large piano onto a truck when they called him for help. Hoath says he grabbed a corner and lifted the instrument with ease, as his dad stood in shock.
“He was like, ‘How did you help?’” says the 33-year-old. “I was like, ‘I don’t know ..
. I used my body.’ I don’t remember breaking a sweat.
” Hoath’s dad died in 2012 and hasn’t been able to watch him go on to flex his strength in competitions, including the inaugural Strongest Man competition in central Alberta. Hoath says he will be among 12 large men on Saturday who will shudder the grounds of a Red Deer park while they lift and toss circus dumbbells, beer kegs, boulders and a steel block full of weights. Weighing in at more than 145 kilograms, Hoath says he has already gained international recognition when he came in fifth place in the World’s Strongest Man competition, the “Super Bowl of strongmen” and after lifting a pickup truck.
He expects the competition to be a breeze. “There’s a good chance that I win,” the six-feet-two competitor says cheekily. “I’m not willing to let the others walk all over me.
It’ll be a battle.” Josh Cloherty, co-organizer of the event, disagrees with Hoath. ”(Hoath) is definitely the favourite overall,” says Cloherty, who is also competing.
“He’s one of the biggest n.
