Derek Anthony Poundstone (born September 28, 1981) is an American police officer, former professional
strongman and strength coach from
Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was the runner-up at the
2008 World's Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion (2009 and 2010), and a three-time winner of America's Strongest Man (2007, 2009, 2010). Poundstone is also a high-ranking officer for the
Naugatuck,
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
Police Department and is the former owner and
landlord of an apartment complex and gym.
Background
Poundstone was born into a military family at
Mountain Home Air Force Base in
Elmore County, Idaho. He lived in Spain and Italy until he was 10, after which the family settled in
Rapid City, South Dakota, where Poundstone began lifting weights at the local
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
branch. Poundstone moved to
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...
in 1999.
Strength sports
Early career
Poundstone began his sporting career by competing in
powerlifting, encouraged by a local champion, and progressed to become the Connecticut State Champion. He started competing in strongman after finding an advertisement for a contest on the back of a powerlifting flyer. After earning his Professional Strongman card from the ASC (American Strongman Corporation), Poundstone took two years off competing to enter the
Police Academy and become a police officer in
Naugatuck, Connecticut.
2006
He returned to compete in strongman, and placed fifth in the 2006 St. Patrick's Strongman National Qualifier. Poundstone then went on to place 2nd to the current IFSA World Champion
Žydrūnas Savickas in the 2006
World Strongman Challenge contest in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
. Next, Poundstone placed 5th in the 2006
America's Strongest Man contest. This earned him an invitation to the 2006
IFSA World Championships. On October 26, 2006, two weeks before the IFSA World Championships, Poundstone severely injured his lumbar spine during training while attempting a maximum effort deadlift of 366 kg (805 lb). Poundstone had a
lumbar disc herniation (L4/5) and a massive spinal cord hemorrhage. Doctors told him that he would never lift again due to the severity of the injury.
2007
Poundstone's return to the strongman competition circuit was the 2007 St. Patrick's Strongman contest in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
. Poundstone won by 13.5 points and overcame his deadlifting injury fear by completing a 364 kg (800 lb) deadlift during the competition. This victory qualified Poundstone to compete in the 2007
America's Strongest Man contest, which Poundstone won by a record 30 points. Poundstone also qualified to compete in the 2007
IFSA World Championships in
Geumsan,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. Additionally, Poundstone received an invitation from Dr.
Terry Todd to compete at the 2008
Arnold Strongman Classic, in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
.
Poundstone also competed in two Team Strongman contests and a
Highland Games/Strongman hybrid contest. First was the USA vs. World team contest put on by Al Thompson in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Poundstone and his team (
Travis Ortmayer,
Van Hatfield,
Nick Best, Walt Gogola) pulled out an unprecedented victory against three of the top five European strongmen in the World, (
Žydrūnas Savickas,
Vasyl Virastyuk, and
Andrus Murumets). Team USA won the first three events and Team World won the next three events. Team USA won with a victory in the final event, the Atlas Stones.
Poundstone's next contest was in
Callander, Scotland at the World
Highland Games contest. This contest was a Highland Games / Strongman hybrid. Poundstone won the event and set two world records. Poundstone broke
Igor Pedan's 9 rep 125 kg (275 lb) Log Clean and Press World Record
by powering through 13 reps, with 130 kg (286 lb). Poundstone also broke Žydrūnas Savickas, 140 kg (308 lb) Block Press World Record by pressing out a 145 kg (319 lb) block.
Poundstone's next contest was a team contest, the World's Strongest Nation held in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. This time Team USA consisted of Poundstone along with Travis Ortmayer, Tom McClure, and
Brian Shaw. Team USA placed 2nd overall behind Team Ukraine led by Vasyl Virastyuk.
Poundstone competed in the 2007
IFSA World Championship held in
Geumsan,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. Poundstone was in 2nd position throughout the entire competition until the last event. During the final event, Poundstone ripped open his hands during the Farmer's Walk event, which caused him to drop the implements. Poundstone placed 4th overall in his first appearance at the World Championship, 2 points behind
Mikhail Koklyaev and 1 point behind the 2006 World Champ Žydrūnas Savickas. Vasyl Virastyuk won the competition, becoming the first athlete to win both the
World's Strongest Man Title and the
IFSA World Championships. Poundstone's performance was the best ever recorded by an American at the IFSA World Championships.
Poundstone decided to compete on the WSM/SS circuit after sufficient political differences with
IFSA. Poundstone was called up by Odd Haugen and asked to enter as a replacement athlete into the Mohegan Sun Super Series due to
Kevin Nee pulling out with a torn biceps. Poundstone accepted and competed for the first time against
Mariusz Pudzianowski. Poundstone defeated the four-time WSM champion and secured a qualification spot for the 2008
World's Strongest Man contest.
2008
Poundstone competed in the 2008
Arnold Strongman Classic contest, his first appearance at the Arnold. Poundstone would take second place behind
Žydrūnas Savickas.
On June 29, 2008, during the 2 day
Fortissimus contest, Poundstone became the first American to defeat Žydrūnas Savickas. Poundstone and Savickas were approximately 40 points ahead of all the other competitors. Poundstone was the only athlete who managed to lift the 517 lb
Louis Cyr Stone and secured his victory and title at the "Mightiest Man on the Planet."
Poundstone became the 2008 Strongman Super Series champion after accumulating the most points throughout the Grand Prix. 1st at the Mohegan Sun, 2nd at Madison Square Garden, and 4th at Sweden earned Poundstone enough to take the overall title.
Poundstone competed in the 2008
World's Strongest Man competition where he and
Mariusz Pudzianowski, Poland's then four-time champion would go head-to-head in the final event, the atlas stones, with Poundstone leading in points. In the atlas stones, Poundstone gained the lead, but as he lifted the final stone, the stone slipped, falling to the ground and giving Pudzianowski his record 5th
World's Strongest Man title.
2009
Poundstone's next challenge was the 2009 Arnold Strongman Classic. With Žydrūnas Savickas opting to take a year off, the crown was vacant. Poundstone set a new world record with 15 reps in the circus dumb bell event. Poundstone took first place overall, and became only the third man behind
Mark Henry and
Žydrūnas Savickas to win the Arnold Strongman Classic title since its inception in 2002.
[
In May 2009, Poundstone was scheduled to defend his title at the Mohegan Sun Strongman Championship hosted by Giants Live. Poundstone won five of six events, taking second on one event, and took the overall title. Poundstone also set a new world record on the max Apollon's axle clean and press with 415 lbs.
Poundstone competed in the 2009 World's Strongest Man competition, which took place in ]Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, coming in fourth place after Brian Shaw, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Žydrūnas Savickas.
2010
Poundstone successfully defended his title at the 2010 Arnold Strongman Classic. Leading up to the last event, the timber carry, Poundstone had a 3-point lead over 6-time champion Žydrūnas Savickas. Poundstone won the last event and the overall title for a second consecutive time, only the second man to accomplish this feat at the Arnold Strongman Classic. Žydrūnas Savickas came in second and Travis Ortmayer came in third place. During the awards ceremony, Poundstone proposed to his girlfriend on stage and she happily accepted.[
Poundstone defended his title at the 2010 Mohegan Sun Strongman Championships hosted by Giants Live, winning 3 out of 6 events including the shield carry. This was Poundstone's third consecutive victory at this contest. Brian Shaw came in second and Stojan Todorchev came in third place.
Shortly before the 2010 World's Strongest Man contest, Poundstone severely tore his quad muscle and was unsure if he would be able to compete, but he decided to heal and focus on upper body training. Poundstone was able to qualify for the finals and finished in 9th place overall. Less than 24 hours after the 2010 WSM contest, Poundstone won his 3rd America's Strongest Man title and broke Nick Best's Jón Páll Sigmarsson Stone carry world record.
]
Present day
Poundstone is currently coaching professional strongman Rob Kearney.
Personal life
Poundstone married fiancée Kristin Nelson on Saturday June 25, 2011, in Branford, Connecticut
Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Regi ...
's Trinity Episcopal Church. Poundstone's training partner Louis-Philippe Jean was a groomsman at the wedding, and fellow strongman competitors Travis Ortmayer and Nick Best attended the wedding. In 2017 Derek and Kristin separated then later divorced. Both have since remarried.
Personal records
Strongman
''Done at Strongman competitions or during training''
* IronMind S-Cubed bar Deadlift ''(at 1-inch deficit with straps)'' – (2011 World's Strongest Man)
* Hummer Tire Deadlift ''(15 in off the floor)'' – (2012 Arnold Strongman Classic)
* Car Squat – x 12 reps (2007 World's Strongest Nation)
* Bench press
The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
''(Raw)'' – , x 3 reps (during training)
* Axle press – (2009 Giants Live Mohegan Sun) (Former World Record)
* Log press for reps – x 13 reps (clean and press each rep in 75 sec time limit) (2007 Callander Highland Games) (World Record)
* Metal Block press medley – (4 blocks) in 51.93 secs (2011 World's Strongest Man - group 5) (World Record)
* Circus Dumbbell – x 11 reps (clean and press each rep in 90 sec time limit) (2010 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record)
* Circus Dumbbell – x 15 reps (clean and press each rep in 90 sec time limit) (2009 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record)
*Machine Bench press – x 15 reps (2008 Strongman Super Series Sweden Grand Prix) (Joint-World Record)
* Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) – over 3 ft 6 in (42 in) bar (during training) (Former World Record)
* Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) for reps – x 3 reps over 4 ft (48 in) bar (2010 Arnold Strongman Classic)
* Louis Cyr Stone loading – to 30 in platform (2008 Fortissimus) (World Record)
:→ ''The stone Louis Cyr lifted in 1883 was ''
* Jón Páll Sigmarsson Stone carry – for (2010 America's Strongest Man) (Former World Record)
* Farmer's walk (no straps) – per each hand for 30m course in 16.09 seconds (2013 Giants Live FitX Melbourne) (World Record)
* Timber carry – on a 35 ft inclined ramp in 9.28 secs (2010 Arnold Strongman Classic)
* Bale tote – for 35 ft in 8.84 secs (2009 Arnold Strongman Classic)
* Super Yoke – for in 12.78 secs (2010 Strongman Super Series Mohegan Sun Grand Prix) (World Record)
Powerlifting
''Done at ADAU (Anti Drug Athletes United) Powerlifting Nationals as a Junior (21y, 125 class)''
* Squat ''(Raw w/sleeves)'' – (June, 2003)
* Bench press
The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
''(Raw)'' – (June,2003)
* Deadlift ''(Raw)'' – (June, 2003)
* Total ''(Raw w/sleeves)'' – (June, 2003)
''Done at ADAU (Anti Drug Athletes United) Powerlifting Nationals as a Junior (21y, 125 class)''[Anti Drug Athletes United Boy's & Men's American Powerlifting Records](_blank)
/ref>
* Bench press
The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
''(Raw)'' – (November, 2003)
* Deadlift ''(Raw)'' – (November, 2003)
''Done at RPS New England Revolution''
* Squat ''(Raw w/wraps)'' – (Mar, 2015)
Achievements
Professional Competitive Record – st (6), 2nd (6), 3rd (3) – Out of Total(19)''
Performance Metric – .923 merican – .931 International – .915''
* Arnold Strongman Classic – Columbus, Ohio – 1st Place (March 6–8, 2010
* America's Strongest Man (USA National Championship) Morgantown, W. Virginia – Winner – (7/24-7/26/09)
* Fortissimus – Louis Cyr Strength Challenge Montmagny, Quebec, Canada – 2nd place (6/24-6/25/09)
* Giants Live (World's Strongest Man Qualifier) – Uncasville, Connecticut, US – 1st Place(5/17/2009)
* Arnold Strongman Classic – Columbus, Ohio – 1st Place (March 6–8, 2009)
* World's Strongest Man – Charleston, West Virginia, US – 2nd Place (September 2008)
* Sweden Super Series (World's Strongest Man Qualifier) – Sweden – 4th place (8/16/2008)
* Fortissimus – Louis Cyr World Strength Challenge – Notre-Dame-Du-Rosaire, Quebec, Canada – winner (6/28-29/2008)
* Madison Square Garden Super Series (World's Strongest Man Qualifier) – New York, US – 2nd place (6/21/2008)
* Arnold's Strongest Man – Columbus, Ohio, US – 2nd
* Mohegan Sun Super Series (World's Strongest Man Qualifier) – Uncasville, Connecticut, US – winner (1/19/2008
* World vs. Lithuania Team Competition – Vilnius, Lithuania – 2nd (10/27/2007)
* IFSA 2-Man Team World Championship – Vilnius, Lithuania – 3rd (10/7/2007)
* IFSA World Championship – Geumsan, South Korea – 4th (2007
* World's Strongest Nation Team Competition – Ukraine – 2nd (2007
* World Highland Games – Callander, Scotland – winner (7/29/2007)
* USA vs. World Team Competition – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US – winner (2007
* America's Strongest Man (USA National Championship) – Charlotte, North Carolina, US – winner (2007
* St. Patrick's Strongman (USA National Championship Qualifier) – Columbia, South Carolina – winner (200
* USA vs. Lithuania Team Competition – Lithuania – 2nd (2006
* World's Strongest Nation Team Competition – Kyiv, Ukraine – 3rd (2006
* America's Strongest Man (USA National Championship) – Charlotte, North Carolina, US – 5th (2006
* World Strongman Challenge (USA Grand Prix) – Tulsa, Oklahoma, US – 2nd (5/19/2006
* St. Patrick's Strongman (USA National Championship Qualifier) – Columbia, South Carolina, US – 5th (3/17/2006
* Florida Pro–Am – Florida, US – 3rd (2005
* Northeast Regional Strongman Showdown – Wilmington, Massachusetts, US – winner (2004) ''earned ASC Professional Strongman card''
* Connecticut State Powerlifting Champion
References
External links
Derek Poundstone's official site
Official ASC Professional Athlete Profile of Derek Poundstone
Official YouTube web site of Derek Poundstone
Derek Poundstone - The Viper YouTube compilation, courtesy Garrick Daft
Photos from Callander Games, courtesy Jammach_UK
Derek Poundstone profile at MHPSTRONG.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poundstone, Derek
American powerlifters
American strength athletes
1981 births
Living people
American municipal police officers
Law enforcement officials from Connecticut
Sportspeople from Waterbury, Connecticut
American landlords