Pocono News Section

Northeast PA Man is "World's Toughest Competitor."

Northeast PA Man is "World's Toughest Competitor." - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 3:50PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Friday, Aug 22, 2008 @ 03:50pm EST
EAST STROUDSBURG - Some of the strongest people in the world competed to find who was the toughest of the tough this week.

The winner is from Northeast Pennsylvania. He beat other police officers, firefighters and military personnel for the title.

Most police officers are tough. But Stroud Area Regional Police Detective John Jakobsen is really, really tough. And he has the gold medal to prove it. Detective Jakobsen won "The Toughest Competitor Alive" competition in Florida Tuesday.

"Right before the competition I could say I'm in the best possible shape I could be in," he said.

Weightlifting is part of the competition. The detective also had to compete in several other events. They included sprinting, shot putting, and an obstacle course.

He battled the competition and Tropical Storm Fay. "It was difficult. It was windy. It was rainy," he said.

For Jakobsen, even first place wasn't good enough. He complained, "I wasn't happy with my score. I could've done better."

It seems the detective doesn't have the big ego to go with his big arms. But his fellow officers never doubted him.

Stroud Area Regional Police Captain William Parrish said, "I would say half the department knew and believed before he even left Pennsylvania that he was gonna come back a winner."

This was the third time Jakobsen won the tough title. But the first time he was able to bring his biggest fan. His 10 year old son Jake cheered him on, just the way his dad cheers for him during school sports.

Jake said, "I was like. He's the best Dad in the world. Nobody can have a better Dad."

A son, a police force, and a community are all proud to call "The Toughest Competitor Alive" their own.

The detective has signed up to be the Toughest Competitor Captain for Team USA. Over the next two years, he'll lead the team in Canada and Japan.

He hopes to recruit a few other Stroud Area Regional Police Officers for his team.