Local Firefighters Compete Among the Best at World Competition
- Abigail Muniz-Garcia
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
(This article was written by Abigail Muniz-Garcia and was featured in the May 2026 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)
From the Rio Grande Valley to a global stage at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio– Harlingen Fire Department’s (HFD’s) very own Gage Richmond and Michael Allen proved they could stand among the strongest firefighters from all over the nation and around the world. Their participation on March 6 and 7 at the World’s Strongest Firefighter competition gave them the opportunity to represent Harlingen on a global platform.
Gage Richmond, who joined the department in March 2024, took home 9th place in his division. He has competed in local Strongman events, but he said competing at this level was different.
“I’ve only been competing in it (Strongman) maybe two years, so going from competing at a local level to competing at the national level is a huge change for me, but I would say regardless of how I feel about how I performed, I placed top ten,” he said.
Strongman is a competitive strength sport that tests an athlete’s endurance and physical strength. It includes various events and unlike powerlifting, athletes must complete different tasks that include not only lifting but movement such as the Farmer’s Walk, where a competitor has to carry heavy objects with handles over a set distance.
“The best way I can describe it is moving extreme amounts of weight in the most unconventional ways,” Richmond said. “It’s not always a barbell; you might have a log, a fire hydrant, a natural stone, Atlas stone… it’s just a bunch of odd objects, really.”
The sport is both physically and mentally challenging and Richmond said there were moments he had to push through to stay in the competition.
“Sometimes you have those doubts about whether you’re going to be able to pick up this weight or that bar, of course I had those doubts,” Richmond said. “There was a point during the competition that I had to stick it out and push through the pain and suffering and finish those events.”
While Richmond admits that he is still “fairly new to the sport,” he is ready to hone his skills and improve. He also plans to compete again next year.
“It’s something that I’m really starting to enjoy,” he said.
Michael Allen, who competed for the second time this year at the event alongside Richmond, also plans to return in 2027.
“And my goal is to win the whole thing – win overall,” Allen said.
Allen, who has been with HFD for two years, said he didn’t always know he would become a firefighter, but he always knew he wanted a career that involved serving others.
“There were signs,” he said. “I’ve always been the type of person to help people… I feel like I fell into the right spot.”
Allen earned 5th place in his division this year. He seriously trained for “a brutal” four months beforehand and said he is already preparing for upcoming Strongman events to be ready for next year’s competition.
“I was pretty close this year. I had a five-second penalty, which threw me into eighth place. I had to claw my way back up to fifth place, but my performance was a second-place performance… it is what it is.”
Before the March competition in Columbus, Allen took part in two other Strongman competitions to be better prepared. He participated in the Strongman Corporation Southwest Regional Championship in Mesquite, Texas in the spring of 2025. After that, he made it to nationals, which was held in Las Vegas in September.
“I’ve always been an athlete,” he said. “This was just another challenge to take up and try my best at. I’m always trying to stay active for my job.”
Both Richmond and Allen share similar sentiments about their roles as firefighters and their service to the Harlingen community.
“That’s what we do. We show up to accidents, fires…” Richmond said. “Sometimes it’s these people’s worst days of their lives. I hope that they (citizens) just have somewhat of an understanding that we are not just doing it for the level of the sport, but for the love of our profession, to represent the department.”
Allen said he also takes pride in having represented the city. He even wore a Harlingen Fire Department beanie throughout the competition.
“It was a good thing to put the Valley and Harlingen on the map– making a name for ourselves and the community,” Allen said. “To inspire the city, let them know that we stay strong for them.”
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