Men and women from across Fort Jackson swarmed the Hilton Field Sports Complex May 17 to lift, pull and carry their way to the title of the post's Strong Man/Strong Woman of 2018.
Athletes competed in challenges designed to test their strength and endurance. The annual event hosted by the Directorate of Family Morale Welfare and Recreation was open to all military ID card holders 18 years and older.
Participants were separated by gender and placed in four weight class categories: light weight, middle weight, heavy weight and super-heavy weight.The competition
consisted of various exercises meant to determine a competitor's strength including weight carries, tire flips and a Humvee pull.
For Sgt. Babila Fasel of Bravo Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, the event was a fun way to support Army morale while also reinforcing her workout regimen.
"Everything has been very fun," Fasel said. "Everybody is having a good time supporting Army morale."
This was her first time participating in the strongwoman competition that also helped her train for Fort Jackson's Natural Body Building and Bikini competition coming in June.
"I can see how well I'm actually training because most of the events are things I do in the gym -- like carrying the stone," she said. "I dead lift. With the farmers carry I can see how strong I've gotten because each of those are 75 pounds. The tire flip is basically all legs so I can see how well I'm progressing in my leg exercises that I'm doing at the gym."
Petty Officer 2 Ismael Quinones from the Navy Reserve Center in Columbia, South Carolina said he was "all-in" to win the contest and show that Sailors can be just as strong as Soldiers.
"The tire flip was pretty challenging," he said after flipping a 400 pound tractor tire. "The Humvee pull will probably be the most challenging."
Fasel said she thought the tire flip would be the most difficult for her.
"The most challenging event tonight will probably be the tire flip because I've never done it before," she said.
Quinones said he found the competition invigorating because everyone "is having fun together and being able to have a good time."
For Fasel that meant being able to face the competition with her spouse.
"My husband is here competing, too, so its a couple's thing, like let's get it done together," she said.
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