After a grueling competition, the other female flutist was dismissed and Munch asked Dwyer to return for a second audition, to which she replied, "No!"

And the prefight taped features would have been skipped, replaced by a grueling competition to see which one could iron his trunks with the sharpest creases.

The grueling competition, however, continues - at a time when consumer confidence is weak.

Competitors of other years look back on the grueling competition with mixed feelings.

Butcher was the second woman to win the Iditarod, the annual 1,150-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, but the first to dominate the grueling competition through the Alaskan wilderness.

Perhaps the most grueling competition was the 108-mile Liberty to Liberty Triathalon, which attracted 353 competitors.

Vadim Repin edged out another 17-year-old, Akiko Suwanai of Japan in the grueling competition, which lasted a month.

This remarkable win in one of bicycle racing's most grueling competitions is a testimony to Mr. Hesjedal's training, endurance, skill and competitive spirit.

And just what is the appeal of such a grueling competition?

This is where it becomes clear that the pilot has failed to establish victory as worth a "grueling" competition.