Marcus Waugh beat out 119 different athletes on this competitors and obtained the award from none apart from Arnold Schwarzenegger himself.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Marcus Waugh is a firefighter with Toledo Fire Rescue and works out of Station 21 on Detroit Avenue.
Most of his week is devoted to saving lives and being a hero. But what does he do in his spare time? He turns into the world’s strongest firefighter.
“This is a ardour for me,” Marcus mentioned. “Weightlifting has all the time been a ardour of mine, so it is also a pleasant launch to have the ability to try this as a result of we see issues at work that standard folks would not see.”
Last Saturday, Waugh defeated 119 different athletes to win the title of World’s Strongest Firefighter on the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus. He was offered with the Ax Trophy Award by the unique strongman himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Just having Arnold Schwarzenegger there added to the ambiance to the purpose the place we had been like, ‘He’s watching, so we higher not mess it up,'” Marcus mentioned. “So there’s slightly little bit of worry, however largely it is only a excessive of vitality.”
Powerlifting has grow to be a way of life that Marcus and his spouse Stephanie have embraced through the years.
But watching her husband grow to be world champion was a second she is going to bear in mind endlessly.
“It was extremely particular,” Stephanie mentioned. “I felt a lot love and luxury for him as a result of I knew that he felt it deep down and actually tried and put every thing into it and labored laborious.”
Now that he has the Arnold title below his belt, Marcus plans to get some much-needed relaxation and get again to his station and his regular routine quickly.
“Especially after the competition was over and I knew I had gained, the conclusion was nonetheless sinking in. It was sort of surreal for me, like a dream,” Marcus mentioned. “Notoriety is enjoyable. Now I’m able to get again to work and defend my title once more subsequent 12 months.”
Marcus competed within the following occasions:
Maximum sandbag as much as shoulder. Cross ax maintain. Ambulance tire deadlift for personnel. Fire hydrant shoulder press for personnel.
To present how robust Marcus is, he gained a sandbag occasion by lifting a bag weighing 396 kilos to his shoulders.