Henry wins first Strongman contest

By Sam Waller

Albany’s Parker Henry made his first foray into strongman competition a successful one, winning his weight class in the Big Country Showdown.

The event was held Saturday, Dec. 17 in Abilene, hosted by Riley Rodriguez of Heathen Training.

Henry won the 220- pound class, competing in events such as Atlas Stone, Viking Press, Truck Pull, Wagon Wheel Deadlift, and Hercules Grip.

And he won despite being bumped up a weight class.

“I was supposed to be in 198 and below,” Henry said. “I was 190 at the time, and I beat out a guy who was 28 pounds heavier than me.”

Henry, a 2021 Albany High School graduate, got into the sport as he pursues becoming a firefighter/EMT. He graduated from the Texas A&M “TEEX” Fire School last May and is currently attending Texas EMS school.

He has been weight lifting since middle school but began training with heavier weights about 16 months ago before beginning a different lifting philosophy of strongman five months ago. He works with personal trainer Cy Wilson of Cychedelic Athletics.

“Training for strongman competitions helps me get better at firefighting,” Henry said. “That job involves a lot of lifting in awkward positions, and strongman has a lot of lifting in awkward positions.”

In winning the Abilene competition, Henry qualified for the USS Strongman National Championship, scheduled for June 3 in Dallas.

“I wasn’t expecting to do too well and was surprised to do as well as I did,” he said. “This was intended to get a baseline on where I am and what my weak points are. My weakest point was my deadlift form.”

With a trip to nationals secured, Henry said he doesn’t expect to compete much until June.

“I might do some filler events just to see more what the whole process is,” he said. “There’s a contest in Abilene that is a fundraiser for breast cancer, but I don’t think it’s a major competition.”