Heaviest Known Gripper Closes

[Jared P]

1 minute ago, Cannon said:

Maybe this should be it's own topic. @Jared P What precipitated the survey? It's an interesting move. Joe's video was shot in 1998 on a camcorder during a time that like 14 people were training grip. I don't know how much we can expect. He's on IM's official list. It's weird to make a "who closed the #4" list and not include the 6 people on the official list. 

As another example, what about Tommy Heslep? I'm not saying he should be scrutinized specifically for any particular reason. But is there a good video of him closing a #4? (There is a camcorder video taken of a VHS tape being played which is stated to show the only two closes he ever got on video. It is not good footage by today's standards. The sets take minimal effort, closes happen off camera, nothing is measured or shown clearly, and the closes looked insanely easy.) My only point here is that I think he's on the list above strictly because he's on IM's list. And in that light, how is Kinney different?   

I think this is a can of worms is mainly my point.     

This is why I had Joe Kinney on the above list initially, with an asterisk next to his name, and why I currently have his name in the 'Elite Gripper Athletes' section still - as he is still on IronMind's cert list.

But if I do that, people freak out and call the entire list invalid if I include Joe Kinney's name anywhere at all, even with an asterisk.

Once again, impossible to please everyone. I don't believe Joe Kinney's No. 4 close was legitimate, personally, but I'm not exactly going to try to make that case to IronMind or anyone else. I don't know enough about Heslep to comment, but his video wasn't perfect either. Neither Kinney's nor Heslep's videos would fly as sufficient video evidence by today's standards.

The poll was simply to gauge overall GripBoard sentiment on the topic as it stands in 2024.

[Cannon]

1 minute ago, Jared P said:

But if I do that, people freak out and call the entire list invalid if I include Joe Kinney's name anywhere at all, even with an asterisk.

Just ignore them  He's on IM's list. What do they want from us? 

[Mashmonster268]

3 hours ago, Jared P said:

Been doing further research on the GripBoard and came across these names as well:

- Steve McGranahan
- Josh Dale

(both said to have closed a No. 4 from parallel in a competition called the 'Backyard Bastard Bash', referenced here)

I was a competitor in that contest. Dave Morton also closed a #4 that day. Josh slammed the handles so hard that I could hear them clack together 10 feet away. And I wasn't the only one that commented on how loud the handles smacked together. 

[Mashmonster268]

It's been a long time ago. About 19 years. But I think the #4 RGC rating was 198lbs. 

[Mashmonster268]

Dave Morton also nonchalantly MMS closed an RB330 (not a narrow) for a triple, while seated, and Josh told me it impressed him (Josh) very much. 

[Londonjoseph]

13 hours ago, Jared P said:

Once again, impossible to please everyone. I don't believe Joe Kinney's No. 4 close was legitimate, personally, but I'm not exactly going to try to make that case to IronMind or anyone else. I don't know enough about Heslep to comment, but his video wasn't perfect either. Neither Kinney's nor Heslep's videos would fly as sufficient video evidence by today's standards.

In regards to Tommy heslep, he's been to contests and is legit in my own opinion. His 4 video isn't perfect, and idk if anyone has witnessed him doing actual closes, but I'd wager everything he's legit

[Cannon]

16 minutes ago, Londonjoseph said:

In regards to Tommy heslep, he's been to contests and is legit in my own opinion. His 4 video isn't perfect, and idk if anyone has witnessed him doing actual closes, but I'd wager everything he's legit

I want to make clear that I’m not raising a concern about Tommy. My point is that he should 100% be on a list of #4 closers. He’s one of the few officially certified. 

 

[IROC-Z]

2 hours ago, Londonjoseph said:

In regards to Tommy heslep, he's been to contests and is legit in my own opinion. His 4 video isn't perfect, and idk if anyone has witnessed him doing actual closes, but I'd wager everything he's legit

I'm not doubting Tommy's closes, but I do recall some kind of argument between him and other competitors at a contest in Maryland from maybe 8 -10 years ago.  I don't recall all the details, but somebody had an issue with the way he was closing grippers.  I believe Mike Rinderle ran that contest.

[Alawadhi]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:01 AM, Jared P said:

Someone asked me if I had data on how many people have ever closed a Captains of Crush No. 4 gripper. Here is what I was able to compile.

Confirmed on video, or at competition: 24 people

Aaron Corcorran
Andrew Durniat
Carl Myerscough
Cesare Ricchezza
Dave Morton
David Shamey
Gabriel Sum
Ivan Cuk
Jonathan D. Vogt
Josh Dale
Juha Harju
Magnus Samuelsson
Martin Arildsson-Wahlström
Nathan Holle
Nikita Yurkovets
Paul Knight
Paul Savage
Sergey Daragan
Sergey Sankov
Simon Mahalsky
Steve Gardener
Steve McGranahan
Tommy Heslep
Youichi Okazaki

Rumored to have closed a No. 4 (but no video currently exists that I could find): 7 people

Clay Edgin
Gabriele Ferdinandi
Heath Sexton
Igor Kupinsky
Ioan Cristian Puscasu
Sl-Ghi Choi
Tim Struse

Alternative GHP 9 closers (virtually exact same RGC range as a CoC 4), confirmed on video: 4 people

Artem Ushenko
Qianchen Yang
Sergey Likhutyev
Valery Tolstyh

Total CoC 4 closers (verified+claimed): 24-31 people

GHP 9 closers (who didn't also close the CoC 4): 4 people

It's possible that I have missed a couple of people, or are unaware of them, but this is the most accurate count I was able to come up with. Leg set closes are not counted (Qianchen Yang), because they utilize the power of the legs which essentially act like a choker, especially when performing a deep set.

Even considering any unknowns, I'd wager the total count of people who have ever closed a Captains of Crush No. 4 gripper unassisted (no leg set or choker) is between 25-35 people in history.

 

On 3/25/2024 at 12:05 AM, Jared P said:

Been doing further research on the GripBoard and came across these names as well:

- Steve McGranahan
- Josh Dale

(both said to have closed a No. 4 from parallel in a competition called the 'Backyard Bastard Bash', referenced here)

- Sl-ghi (Morgan) Choi
- Clay Edgin
- Igor Kupinsky

(also referenced here, though not sure whether in competition or video)

- Heath Sexton
- Tim Struse

(referenced here)

Heath closed it in front of Dr. Randall for a IM cert. Dr. Randall did not count it because the set was too deep. I believe Clay Edgin have few witnesses too for his CoC 4 close. I believe Dave Morton closed a CoC #4 for 4 reps on video. Maybe @acorn can confirm it but I guess Wes Peart also closed a #4. As for Tim Stuse, I remember him closing the #4 (rated at 190) for 3 wide reps and almost got the 4th rep. RVJ was witnessed by @Jedd Johnson to close a #4. There were old members here who were know to close a #4 but not sure if they met anyone. One was Patrick and the other was Gorilla Hands who also held a #4 almost closed with 2 fingers. Steve McGranahan closed a #4 in his DVD he was selling back in the days. As for Ioan Puscasu, I remember him getting really close on his #4 cert like 2 mm and he clicked the #4 so hard on video that I am not sure was it the handles or his knuckles pop.

[Jedd Johnson]

2 hours ago, Alawadhi said:

 

Heath closed it in front of Dr. Randall for a IM cert. Dr. Randall did not count it because the set was too deep. I believe Clay Edgin have few witnesses too for his CoC 4 close. I believe Dave Morton closed a CoC #4 for 4 reps on video. Maybe @acorn can confirm it but I guess Wes Peart also closed a #4. As for Tim Stuse, I remember him closing the #4 (rated at 190) for 3 wide reps and almost got the 4th rep. RVJ was witnessed by @Jedd Johnson to close a #4. There were old members here who were know to close a #4 but not sure if they met anyone. One was Patrick and the other was Gorilla Hands who also held a #4 almost closed with 2 fingers. Steve McGranahan closed a #4 in his DVD he was selling back in the days. As for Ioan Puscasu, I remember him getting really close on his #4 cert like 2 mm and he clicked the #4 so hard on video that I am not sure was it the handles or his knuckles pop.

Take note of the specifics:  He attempted a #4 at Strong Arm Tactics.  The judge allowed any set the athlete wanted and Rob got credited with the close.

I don't want anyone thinking I handed him some ridiculously hard #4, and he no set it right in front of my eyes.

 

[Austin Seitter]

just TNS’d a 154lbs GG5. Not enough of a jump to move up the list but hopefully I’ll change that soon I’m annoyingly close to TNSing a 167lbs Powerball 350

[C8Myotome]

Unrated Standard Titanium 2nd Gen close submission, somewhere from 20-30 mm, I've rated this between 184-186 on my own but I don't have a CPW tag so I'll call it unrated. Either way this should replace my 180 CoC 3.5 38 mm current listing since 2nd Gen titaniums are at the very lowest 181+ 

 

Edited April 6 by C8Myotome

[d_blocmann]

Closed my 147lbs #3 TNS yesterday, which made me number 21 on the list (cheers @Jared P) 

 

[Jared P]

Added, nice work boys.

It should be noted that ratings aren't an exact science, and there is even the potential of slight variability within one particular rating system, regardless of how well established and perfected. I include CPW's ratings (RGC lbs) in this list, but also Vano's (RGC kg to lbs), Dmitri's and Murashkin's (roughly converted to RGC lbs from SGR/CXP kg), and various other people's personal ratings. So all ratings should be taken with a grain of salt, but aim mostly to provide a rough estimate of difficulty, and not an exact digital force reading such as from one brand of dynamometer. That's pretty much the best we can currently do.

I might get rid of the decimal places on this list as a result, much like how CPW does not include decimals in their ratings. Ratings aren't accurate enough to begin with to really warrant including decimals.

Edited April 6 by Jared P

[Cannon]

17 minutes ago, Jared P said:

It should be noted that ratings aren't an exact science, and there is even the potential of slight variability within one particular rating system, regardless of how well established and perfected.

Agree. 

[Cannon]

17 minutes ago, Jared P said:

Ratings aren't accurate enough to begin with to really warrant including decimals.

Double agree. 

[C8Myotome]

I just packaged up the standard titanium from my video (& some others) to send to Cannon to get an offical rating that can be added for more accurate information, I've also been meaning to get more official ratings since I am now progressing through the mid 180's (something I never really envisioned) so having objective ratings will make things a little easier, I currently don't know which some of my bridge grippers are heavier at the moment, and don't have the time or patience to keep taking readings on my plate loaded rgc for that heavy to get enough consistent readings to decide on one number at the moment.

[Jared P]

Glad to see Youichi Okazaki back to training. One of the strongest dudes ever, and one of the few to have closed a CoC 4 and GHP 9.

I believe he's had a few injuries over the years, mostly from heavy negative / secret weapon / grip machine training. Gabriel Sum and many others come to mind, who were never able to recover. Which is why I will never touch heavy negatives or a secret weapon.
 

 

[Jared P]

List updated.

- Decimals removed (explained in another thread - ratings aren't accurate enough to warrant using decimals)

- List expanded to 50 entries per set category. This will be needed as the sport continues to see newer athletes with high-level closes (Ben Helms, TrenGrip, Jussi Mutikainen, and Daniel Brechmann are some recently appearing examples), and 30 wasn't enough. I keep 100 entries in my personal files, just in case - but 50 seems like a great number for this list, that both captures what has been done and also allows room for new entrants going forward - of which I expect there will be many.

[C8Myotome]

173 CoC 3.5 ccs

 

[RiotGrip]

Surprised no one mentioned Benny Wennberg's failed cert attempt in 2004.  This happened right around the time IM started the "out of the pack" gripper close rule.  But given some of the other names of #4 closers on this thread, Its more than fair to include Benny in this discussion.

https://ironmind.com/news/Benny-Wennberg-Strong-Hands-Strong-Heart

[Jared P]

7 minutes ago, RiotGrip said:

Surprised no one mentioned Benny Wennberg's failed cert attempt in 2004.  This happened right around the time IM started the "out of the pack" gripper close rule.  But given some of the other names of #4 closers on this thread, Its more than fair to include Benny in this discussion.

https://ironmind.com/news/Benny-Wennberg-Strong-Hands-Strong-Heart

Added Benny to the CoC 4 closers list.

I'd say Odd Haugen and Svend Karlsen are pretty reliable witnesses.

[steeve tremblay]

nice attempt you are at 1 mm I think

[Cannon]

8 hours ago, RiotGrip said:

Surprised no one mentioned Benny Wennberg's failed cert attempt in 2004.  This happened right around the time IM started the "out of the pack" gripper close rule.  But given some of the other names of #4 closers on this thread, Its more than fair to include Benny in this discussion.

https://ironmind.com/news/Benny-Wennberg-Strong-Hands-Strong-Heart

Huh, I have never heard Benny’s name. This was interesting to read!

[RiotGrip]

1 hour ago, Cannon said:

Huh, I have never heard Benny’s name. This was interesting to read!

Well, it was a bit over 20 years ago lol.  Maybe a bit before your time on this board? However, I did a search before I posted last night and there are threads about Benny's miss on this board.  I think this particular close fell into obscurity rather quickly because Benny only competed in professional strongman events from 2002-2004, never won a competition, and never actually competed in the WSM competition. 

Edited April 15 by RiotGrip