Durniat's business about building strength,relationships

  • By Brian Questel
  • December 1, 2010
  • 281
                        
120610 Durniat&friends Promo: These friendships aren't built around lightweights Durniat's business about building strength,relationships By Brian Questel When Andrew Durniat and friends get together, there is always going to be some heavy lifting involved. That’s his business, you see, as Durniat runs Durniat Strength out of Central Tennis and Fitness on Mechanicsburg Road in Wooster. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, Durniat arrived in Wooster in the fall of 2001 to coach lacrosse at The College of Wooster and has made this his home. While he still maintains an interest in lacrosse, he is now making a career out of training athletes (durniatstrength.com) while competing himself in strongman and kettlebell competitions across the country. Recently, he was joined by a pair of friends in Wooster who compete in similar competitions across the country and one, Adriane Blewitt, who is planning to compete for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. Blewitt is the world’s reigning Scottish Highlands Games champion and currently the throws coach at Tiffin University. She graduated from Ashland University as a 13-time All-American, winning seven national championships and finishing runner-up six times in the shot put, discus and hammer events. Matt Vincent’s home is Baton Rouge, La., but he travels the country selling industrial supplies. He did track and field and played football in high school, and then earned a scholarship to Louisiana State University. “I was doing shot and discus and hammer,” said Vincent. “I was OK. I wasn’t doing the Olympics, but I was OK. It’s come naturally for me. Since (graduation) then I’ve gotten into strongman, power lifting and Highlander stuff.” When Vincent’s travels brought him to Columbus, the trio decided to get together in Durniat’s gym to train. “I got to know Matt through a meet in Columbia, S.C., this summer,” said Durniat. “His brother is a professional strongman and Matt emailed me for some grip strength advice. He happened be this way in the Columbus area to meet other professional power lifters. He gave me a call and we thought we would do some training and have some fun.” The Highland Games feature different aspects of strength competition, said Durniat. “They’re best known as the guys and girls in kilts,” he laughed. “They’re the original field events of track and field. There’s the Standing Field Stone throw, where you throw an actual rock. There’s the 28- and 56-pound weight on chain throw for distance, and then you throw the 56-pounder for height. There’s the telephone pole or tree that’s stood on end and tipped over. “They have these events throughout the U.S. and Scotland, and those were some of the events we were training for.” Being able to link up with other athletes in the sport through his travels is what appeals to Vincent, but Blewitt seconded that notion. “I travel a lot. My area is the country other than Texas, so I get to go to plants and see customers,” said Vincent, who is one of the top-ranked amateurs in the country. “Sometimes the meetings run short, so I can train where I want and who I want to train with. I want to get as much knowledge from my peers in the sport as I can, and that’s what led me here. “I was up here doing sales work this week. Andrew and Adriane live within a couple of hours from Columbus … this was an opportunity to talk shop and be able to do it in person. I not only get to know Andrew and Adriane … but I can train with them. I know what drives them and what their goals are.” “This was an opportunity for everyone to get together and have a training date with world-class athletes,” said Blewitt. It’s training sessions like this that have kept her in competition and working toward her Olympic dream. “I thought I was retired and I would do the Highland Games as a hobby,” said Blewitt. “My track career wasn’t going where I wanted, but the Highland Games are a motivator … and my head coach at Tiffin is supportive.” She is preparing for both the collegiate indoor season at Tiffin and the Highland Games in Phoenix, Ariz., this February. “This is by invite only and they may only have nine or 10 athletes to try to keep field manageable,” said Blewitt. “The shot in 2012 is still a possibility. After 2008 I thought I was too old and run down, but I realized I’m about the right age. I have plenty of years of training behind me at this level.” For whatever the reason for the training session, Durniat was glad to have been able to play host. “To be able to get together like this,” he said, “was fun.”


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