Chances are you've probably seen Sousanh Chanthalangsy doing what she does best in Yellowknife on most days: cooking and serving some of the most popular grub going today from her One Of A Thai food truck on Franklin Avenue.
But what you probably don't know is Chanthalangsy is also into strongwoman competitions and she just competed in her first one last weekend in Selkirk, Man.
And it was very nearly a victorious debut.
Chanthalangsy was one of 11 women that competed in the Novice Strongman/Strongwoman on June 17, where she finished in second place overall, a mere two points behind the winner.
“We were all beginners and it was the first event they held in Selkirk,” said Chanthalangsy. “They wanted to promote strength events and I was told about it by a friend so I decided to give it a shot and try it out.”
Chanthalangsy and her opponents competed in several events, including the atlas stone lift, deadlift, axle clean and press along with a yoke carry and farmer's walk combination. When the points were tabulated, Chanthalangsy saw that she finished in second place and it all came down to a tiebreaker.
“I was actually tied with the woman who won and she got it because she did more reps in the deadlift than I did,” she said.
The farmer's walk portion featured competitors walking – not running as that's banned – a course with two weights of the same value as fast as they can while the yoke carry is one which you would see in CrossFit competitions where a competitor walks with a weighted metal frame on their back as fast as they can. Chanthalangsy finished the course in 17 seconds, good enough for a tie for first place, and admitted it was faster than she thought she could do.
“The weights were almost too light,” she said. “I was expecting a lot heavier but I was able to go faster and finished with a good time.”
Chanthalangsy said the competitors were told the weights for the yoke carry would be 285 lbs. but that's not what it was.
“It was actually 305 lbs.,” she said. “They usually tell you the weight for everything and we were told it would be lighter than what it was but it wasn't a big deal.”
The axle clean and press looks similar to the clean and jerk in weightlifting but instead of just one rep, competitors do as many as they can without dropping the bar below the shoulders.
Chanthalangsy was credited with 12 reps but she actually did 15. Problem was, three didn't count.
“I lost three reps because I didn't listen to the commands,” she said. “There's someone telling you to drop the bar and I did three of them a bit too fast and didn't wait for the command.”
Motivation and support wasn't lacking as Chanthalangsy had several friends and family in attendance cheering her on.
“They came from all over and they were awesome,” she said. “It was great to be able to represent Yellowknife and be able to put our city on the map. Finishing second in my first event was the cherry on top.”
She's caught the strongwoman bug and is now getting ready to train for an event in August in Calgary. This one is a bit more serious than the one in Selkirk as there is prize money up for grabs.
There will also be other events that Chanthalangsy will be competing in that she didn't see in Selkirk.
“There's a truck pull, where people sit in a half-ton truck,” she said. “There's a car deadlift, a press medley with all sorts of different presses, a keg walk and the atlas stone lift. Everything's going to be heavier so I'm starting my training next week.”