Derek Poundstone just confirmed for IronMind that he has been forced to withdraw from the Arnold strongman contest, due to an injury.

“Suffered a compression/stress fracture on T8 while prepping for the Arnold,” Poundstone told IronMind. “I pushed through the pain and had a specialist from NYU do 4 epidurals on Feb 18th.

“It helped a ton but last week while training, I severely aggravated my back while doing a few sets with a 1000-lb. frame carry.

“I rested the weekend and gave it a good shot this week, I just can't do it. I'm extremely disappointed.

“Despite the pain, I still recently hit a 910-lb. raw deadlift, a 250-lb. dumbell clean and press and carrried a 1000-lb. frame 65'! The ladder is what aggravated my back, but we know how to fix it: REST,” said Poundstone.