Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their high intense and gruelling nature, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limits. The winners are selected based on a relative scoring system, where participants gather points for each individual event. An athlete who engages in the sport of strongman is also called a 'strongman'. They are often regarded as some of the strongest men of the world.
59-557: Pure Strength was a vintage Strongman competition held from 1987 to 1990 in Scotland and England which was created by Tjalling van den Bosch . The first year of the event was known as "Pure Strength Challenge" and it was a single man competition featuring only Bill Kazmaier , Geoff Capes and Jón Páll Sigmarsson . The event was held at Huntly Castle in Aberdeenshire , Scotland . Jón Páll won 8 out of 10 events to become
118-403: A 5th podium finish as the runner up, as Hall continued his steady rise to finish 3rd, despite placing last in the first event. In the 2017 contest, two four-time winners ( Brian Shaw and Žydrūnas Savickas ) competed head-to-head for the first time since the 2015 contest, but Eddie Hall won his first title over runner-up Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson by 1 point and was the first person to win for
177-563: A TWI owned event, IFSA Holdings announced its own World Championships for 2005, to be held in Quebec, and thus from that point had no involvement in the WSM contest. The split with IFSA, which banned its registered athletes from competing at WSM, meant that not all the recognized best strength athletes in the world were eligible to compete. However, the reputation of WSM as the premier event maintained its lure for broadcasting purposes. In recent years,
236-480: A day. Though competitive strongman events are ever-changing, there are a number of staples that frequently appear on the international stage, including: The strongmen are listed according to the chronological order of their birth. The following 75 strongmen have reached the podium (1st, 2nd or 3rd place) of World's Strongest Man since 1977 and/or World Muscle Power Classic from 1985 to 2004 and/or Arnold Strongman Classic since 2002. They are listed according to
295-544: A possible 70 points, and 20 ahead of runner up Savickas. 2003 was also the first appearance of Ukrainian Vasyl Virastyuk , who finished 3rd. In 2004, Savickas and Virastyuk were tied for the lead heading into the final event, the Atlas Stones. Virastyuk would defeat Savickas to claim the title, with the Lithuanian finishing as runner up for the 3rd year in a row. Originally, Mariusz Pudzianowski finished in 3rd but
354-860: A rough, unbalanced log. This eventually earned him a place in the WSM Hall of Fame. After Kazmaier left, his nearest rival, former Olympian Geoff Capes from the UK, traded wins with the Icelandic powerlifter Jón Páll Sigmarsson , with Capes winning in 1983 and 1985, and Sigmarsson in 1984 and 1986. Sigmarsson raised the popularity and awareness of the event to new levels. He died three years after winning his 4th and final WSM in 1990. In 1987, Sigmarsson would defeat Capes and Kazmaier in Pure Strength. Kazmaier returned to WSM in 1988, but could not dethrone Sigmarsson, who won his 3rd title. The only other man to claim
413-487: A typical gym, training with a strongman regimen requires equipment not typically found in a gym. Some equipment used in a strongman competition would have to be found custom-made or at a strongman gym. Some of these equipment includes natural stones, tree trunk logs, farmers walk frames, yokes, kegs and various sorts of vehicles. Another part of a strongman's training is its intense diet regime. The biggest strongman competitors would need to ingest around 8,000 - 10,000 calories
472-401: Is Worlds Strongest Man - Thirty Years Of Pain from 2008, celebrating the 30th anniversary. In 2017, a series of videos were released in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the contest. The concept behind "The World's Strongest Men", as it was originally named, was developed in 1977 for CBS by Langstar Inc. David Webster , a Scot who later received an OBE for his services to sport, was
531-624: Is a man who performs remarkable feats possessing enormous amounts of strength. In the 19th century, the term 'strongman' was referred to an exhibitor of strength during circus performances. In the first half of the 20th century, strongmen performed various feats of strength such as the bent press (not to be confused with the bench press , which did not exist at the time), supporting large amounts of weight held overhead at arm's length, steel bending, chain breaking, etc. They needed to have large amounts of wrist, hand, and tendon strength for these feats, as well as prodigious oblique strength. In
590-567: The Arnold Strongman Classic or Fortissimus are the true strongest man competitions. However, it is routinely described as "the Worlds" by top strongman competitors and despite the critics, it is the leading brand name in the field. No other strongman contest commands close to the WSM's levels of TV exposure. The World's Strongest Man claims a viewership of 220 million. In the early 1990s, Magnús Ver Magnússon (Iceland) won
649-506: The Log Lift with a lift of 220 kg (490 lb). Shaw would regain his title in 2013 , ahead of Savickas (2nd) and Björnsson (3rd). The 2014 contest was one of the closest battles in WSM history, with these three men separated by just two points going into the Atlas Stones. Savickas clinched the title by just half a point ahead of Björnsson, and just 3 ahead of Shaw, becoming the fourth man to win four titles. This victory made Savickas
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#1732783774716708-843: The 1987 champion. Some strength historians and analysts regard it as the replacement for World's Strongest Man in that year. In 1988, the event became a 2-man team competition held at Allington Castle in Allington, Kent England . The teams were from the United States , Great Britain , the Netherlands and Australia . Team USA would eventually win in 1988, with team members Bill Kazmaier and Stuart Thompson. In 1989, Team Iceland claimed victory with team members Hjalti Árnason and Magnús Ver Magnússon . Kazmaier would win again in 1990 for Team USA along with teammate O.D. Wilson . Strongman Many sources state that strongman
767-419: The 1998 title, becoming the only man to defeat Ahola in a WSM contest. Following Ahola's retirement, fellow Finn Janne Virtanen would improve on his 1999 runner up finish and take the title for himself in 2000. The final Scandinavian in this group to take the title was Norwegian Svend Karlsen , who did so in 2001. The early to late 2000s were dominated by five-time Polish winner Mariusz Pudzianowski , earning
826-476: The Deadlift event for first place and then won the crucial Plane Pull to narrow the gap. Pudzianowski and Poundstone then battled for the title of World's Strongest Man in the last event, the Atlas Stones. Pudzianowski blistered through the event and was able to keep pace with the heavier Poundstone. On the final stone, Pudzianowski was able to capitalize on Poundstone's drop and clinched his fifth title. In 2009,
885-415: The UK around the end of December each year. Competitors qualify based on placing in the top three at the four to eight Giants Live events each year. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace , Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino , DAF Trucks , Tonka , MET-Rx , and PartyPoker.com . The competition has been won by 24 men representing 13 nationalities. Three of
944-443: The UK since Welshman Gary Taylor in 1993. Hall also set a new strongman deadlift world record with a regular bar at 472.5 kg (1,042 lb) performed with just straps. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson won the 2018 after three 3rd place and three 2nd place finishes and became the first Icelander since Magnús Ver Magnússon in 1996 to win the title. Mateusz Kieliszkowski of Poland finished second and four-time winner Brian Shaw of
1003-520: The United States third. Žydrūnas Savickas , also a four-time winner, finished tenth after withdrawing in event four due to an injury. The 2019 contest was held in Bradenton, Florida . The contest was won by Martins Licis of the United States who defeated defending champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson of Iceland. Björnsson suffered an injury, plantar fasciitis , in the qualifying heats but
1062-424: The WSM was not held for the only time since its inception. In that year, the first and only non-team Pure Strength competition was held, but it was not part of the WSM franchise. For the first several contests, American color commentators and analysts were used on the network broadcast. These included Brent Musburger , Tom Brookshier , and acknowledged strength authority, journalist and author Terry Todd . Todd
1121-545: The World's Strongest Man, and became one of 7 men to hold the title at least 3 times. Previous champion Mitchell Hooper came 2nd and Evan Singleton finished 3rd. For a complete timeline, see the official WSM site: Initially, eight men representing various sports and strength disciplines were invited to compete against each other in unique events designed to test each individual to the fullest extent. The earliest events were relatively crude, but new ideas were introduced over
1180-422: The World's Strongest Man. In one of the closest contests in the competition's history, just 1 point separated Ted in 1st from Magnús and Jamie Reeves , who tied for 2nd. Conversely, in 1993, Welshman Gary Taylor became the shortest man to ever win the contest at just 6 feet tall, defeating Magnús and Riku Kiri of Finland. Magnús would finally get his second title in 1994, defeating Austrian Manfred Hoeberl in
1239-514: The champions, Bill Kazmaier , Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Brian Shaw have been inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame . The competition also has several rival and parallel competitions with which it is sometimes confused, including the Arnold Strongman Classic , Rogue Invitational and Strongest Man on Earth . There are now several documentaries available that chart the history of WSM. The first major one
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#17327837747161298-561: The chronological order of their podium appearance. 24 of them have won the World's Strongest Man (WSM), 11 have won the World Muscle Power Classic (WMPC) and 9 have won the Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC). 7 men have won both WSM & WMPC (Kazmaier, Capes, Sigmarsson, Reeves, Magnússon, Ahola, Karlsen). 5 men have won both WSM & ASC (Savickas, Shaw, Björnsson, Licis, Hooper). Additionally,
1357-407: The closely fought contest, with Kiri finishing 3rd for the second year running. He retained his title the following year, with South African Gerrit Badenhorst and Finland's Marko Varalahti completing the podium. In 1996, Magnús made it to three titles in a row, with his closest competitor Kiri pulling out of the final event due to injury, but still finishing in second. Badenhorst made the podium for
1416-496: The closest finish in WSM history. Top IFSA competitor and fan favorite Mikhail Koklyaev finished third in his WSM debut. Savickas set a new world record in the Giant Wooden Log Lift with a lift of 210 kg (460 lb). In 2011 , Brian Shaw and two-time defending champion Žydrūnas Savickas were tied on points going into the final event. Shaw defeated Savickas in the Atlas Stones, winning his first title. Over
1475-563: The competition has been broadcast on ESPN , ESPN2 , TSN , Televisa Deportes and Five , and currently CBS Sports Network in the US. The longevity of the contest in strength athletics and its high levels of TV exposure over the years has led to it being described as "the granddaddy of all strongman contests" . In recent years, to curb injuries, the contest events have included a certain amount of athleticism rather than being about raw strength. This has led some critics to say that contests such as
1534-414: The competition since 1982, and the first American ever to win the competition outside the United States. Pudzianowski regained his crown in 2007 , winning the contest with an event to spare. Fellow Pole Sebastian Wenta claimed 2nd place, with Britain's Terry Hollands rounding out the podium. In 2008 , Derek Poundstone had a large lead over Mariusz Pudzianowski after 3 events but Pudzianowski tied
1593-446: The competition. He dominated the sport to such an extent from 1980 to 1982, winning by a record 28 points in 1980. He reportedly was excluded from the competition for five years, after becoming the first man to win three consecutive WSM titles. He set prodigious marks with a 478.5 kg (1055 lb) silver dollar coin deadlift, 439.5 kg (969 lb) squat (smith machine), and a then-record 165.6 kg (365 lb) log lift with
1652-837: The competitors including Jamie Reeves , Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert formed a governing body called the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA"). The IFSA began organizing bespoke events, such as the IFSA European Championships and also took the lead in working with the BBC and with TWI to organize the World's Strongest Man competition. For almost a decade, the IFSA and WSM were inextricably mixed, but this changed in 2004. The InvestGroup Ventures' sports rights management arm, InvestGroup Sports Management, invested heavily into IFSA and this led to
1711-506: The contest was held at Myrtle Beach , South Carolina for the first time. Mitchell Hooper continued his rapid rise after his debut the previous year and secured 1st Place with 4 events wins in the Final. 2 time Champion Tom Stoltman finished 2nd and 2020 Champion Oleksii Novikov came 3rd. The 2024 contest was once again held at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina . After finishing 1st in 3 finals events, Tom Stoltman reclaimed his title as
1770-401: The creation of IFSA Strongman. The strategy was to acquire most of the international assets and properties relating to the strongman sport. In essence, this was a new organisation with some, such as Magnus Samuelsson , describing it as "a new company ... with the same name as our old federation". The attempt at dominance was not well received by TWI and disagreement ensued leading to a split in
1829-405: The crowd during intermission and perform strength feats like card tearing, nail bending, etc. to demonstrate strength as well as symmetry and size. World%27s Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG , a subsidiary of Endeavor , it is broadcast in the US during summers and in
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1888-536: The final. The 2019 competition saw the return of Last Man Standing, but instead of featuring the remaining four competitors, only the second and third place competitors square off to determine the second finalist. Australia , Bulgaria , Estonia , the Faroe Islands , Fiji , France , Georgia , Germany , Grenada , Hungary , Iran , Israel , Italy , Kenya , Namibia , New Zealand , Nigeria , Samoa , Serbia , and Slovenia as of 2019 have all placed in
1947-500: The finals. Tom Stoltman came in 2nd place winning 3 of 6 events, while Jean-François Caron came in 3rd. The 2021 edition of the contest took place in Sacramento , California from 15 to 20 June. Defending champion Novikov failed to advance from his qualifying heat, after finishing 4th in a tightly fought group which saw just one point separating 1st and 4th position. Tom Stoltman would improve on his second place finish
2006-578: The first non-Europeans to reach the podium of WSM since O.D. Wilson in 1990. The 2006 competition ended in dramatic fashion: in the final, Mariusz Pudzianowski started well by coming tied-1st in the Deadlift and winning the Power Stairs easily; but by then winning the last 5 events in a row, Phil Pfister edged out the Pole in the final event, the Atlas stones. Pfister became the first American to win
2065-446: The first time in WSM history, none of the podium finishers from the previous year (Mariusz Pudzianowski was originally a podium finisher in 2004 before failing a drugs test) would compete in the contest. (Both Licis and Kieliszkowski were injured, whereas Björnsson had retired to focus on his boxing match with Eddie Hall). The contest was won by Oleksii Novikov , who set a new partial deadlift record of 537.5 kg (1,185 lbs) during
2124-469: The following 50 strongmen have reached either 4th or 5th places of World's Strongest Man and/or World Muscle Power Classic and/or Arnold Strongman Classic : Active Retired - As of 24 November 2024 Strongman is often incorrectly used to describe a person who does powerlifting , weightlifting or bodybuilding . Due to the circus and entertainment background, nineteenth-century bodybuilders were expected to mingle with
2183-414: The fourth and fifth place competitors, until only one remains; that competitor is declared the winner of the event and secures the second place in the final for the qualifying group. The 2018 competition used the Atlas Stones event to determine the second finalist. The three lowest scorers were eliminated from the competition, and the second and third place finishers squared off with the winner advancing to
2242-503: The gym and training with competition implements to gain familiarity. In the gym, it is necessary to train the entire body for strength, especially with variants of the squat , deadlift , and overhead press . Explosive power is also important, which is developed by weightlifting style lifts and cardiovascular conditioning. Additionally, grip strength must be developed and it is also imperative to improve mental toughness and pain tolerance. Although you can do general strength training, at
2301-461: The head coordinator of the competition from its inception. Douglas Edmunds , seven-time Scottish shot and discus champion and twice world caber champion, worked with Webster and when Webster retired, Edmunds took over. These two men were responsible for inviting the competitors and choosing the events. In the meantime, in 1982, CBS sold the rights to the BBC , who in turn sold the rights to TWI . In 1987,
2360-931: The late 20th century, the term strongman evolved to describe one who competes in strength athletics – a more modern eclectic strength competition in which competitors display their raw functional strength through exercises such as deadlifts, squats, overhead log lifts, lifting stones, toting refrigerators, pulling heavy vehicles and tossing or loading weights. Some of the most famous competitions of this type are World's Strongest Man , Arnold Strongman Classic , Europe's Strongest Man , Strongman Champions League , World's Ultimate Strongman , World's Strongest Viking , World Muscle Power Classic , Fortissimus , Pure Strength , Rogue Invitational , Shaw Classic , Giants Live , IFSA World Championships , Strongman Super Series and World Strongman Challenge . More than 30 countries also hold national-level strongman competitions. Training for strongman involves building overall strength in
2419-488: The long-running IFSA/WSM split had ended resulting in finally having all of the top strongmen from around the world all in the same contest. Two-time IFSA World Champion Žydrūnas Savickas would return to the contest after 5 years, and claimed his first WSM title, with defending champion Mariusz coming in second in his final ever WSM contest. Another up and comer Brian Shaw placed third. Žydrūnas Savickas repeated his victory in 2010, winning by countback against Brian Shaw in
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2478-402: The next four years, the pair would trade the title back and forth. Going into the 2012 contest, Shaw suffered from nerve damage in his hands and slipped down to fourth place. This opened the door for Savickas to capture his third WSM title, with fellow Lithuanian Vytautas Lalas coming in second and the Icelandic giant Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson finishing third. Savickas set a new world record in
2537-420: The nickname: "The Dominator". Looking muscular and defined, he temporarily redefined what a strongman was in the world's eyes. At about 142 kg (313 lb) at max weight, he routinely beat men much bigger than he was. He combined speed and massive strength in one package. Indeed, he was so dominant, that three of his five championships ( 2003 , 2005 and 2007 ) were won with an event to spare. His final win
2596-424: The oldest athlete to ever win the title at the age of 38 years and 8 months. Shaw would defeat Savickas once again in 2015 , with the title coming down to the two of them in the final event for the 4th time. Björnsson finished on the podium yet again, with Britain's Eddie Hall coming in 4th. Savickas didn't compete in 2016 , as Shaw successfully defended his title and joined Savickas on four titles. Björnsson made
2655-465: The second finalist of the group, a new event called Last Man Standing was added. An Atlas Stone is placed at the center of an octagon and, one at a time, the competitors must lift the stone and drop it over a 55-inch metal bar. They each have twenty seconds to do this, and once one cannot complete the drop, he is eliminated and the next highest scoring competitor entering the event takes his turn. The competition continues in stepladder fashion, beginning with
2714-507: The second year in a row. Remarkably, none of these three men would make the final the following year. The late 1990s saw Scandinavian countries taking control of the title, and this lasted until 2002. The relatively small 125 kg (275 lb) but dynamic Jouko Ahola from Finland won two titles in three years during this period. He later became a referee in WSM/strongman events and an actor. Sweden's Magnus Samuelsson would claim
2773-540: The sport. Previously, in 2001, the IFSA in its former guise had entered an agreement with World Class Events (WCE), headed by Ulf Bengtsson, to run the Super Series. This Super Series was designed to award the World Championship title, but also acted as a qualifying vehicle for the WSM. When strongman split in 2004, the Super Series sided with TWI forming a rival federation to the IFSA. With the WSM being
2832-430: The title four times (1991, 1994–1996) and became the second and only man along with the legendary Bill Kazmaier to win three consecutive titles. He came into the 1991 contest as the reserve and ended up winning the show, and is the only man to do so. Magnús would also finish 2nd in both 1992 and 1993. The 1992 contest was won by Dutchman Ted van der Parre , who at 7 feet tall, is the tallest man ever to win or compete at
2891-480: The title in this era was Jamie Reeves , which he did in 1989. Reeves was injured in 1990, as Sigmarsson narrowly claimed his 4th title ahead of O.D. Wilson , who was leading by 5.5 points going into the final event, a controversial 200m race with 100 kg on the back. Sigmarsson won the event, and the much larger Wilson finished way down the field, meaning Jon Pall became the first man to claim four titles. In 1995, Edmunds and Webster, along with representatives from
2950-692: The usual 5+. The final was reduced to 5 events and took only one day. The new format was designed to streamline the editing for a quicker television turnaround. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 contest, initially planned to be held in May at Bradenton, was postponed to November instead. In place from May through July was a special series called "World's Strongest Man: Home Edition" on Snapchat Discover, where participating strongman athletes filmed themselves at home recreating strongman events in creative ways, and fans could vote for their favourites. The series
3009-406: The year before to claim his first title after defeating four-time champion Brian Shaw head-to-head in the Atlas Stones, and became the first Scotsman to win the title. Shaw would finish second, his best placing since his 4th title in 2016, and his first podium finish since 2018, while Canada's Maxime Boudreault would place third in his first WSM final. The 2022 contest held in Sacramento again
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#17327837747163068-413: The years. Some events had a basis in both powerlifting and Highland Games heavy events, and others were created based on mythological feats of strength. There are a number of events that make up each competition. Beginning in 2017, the qualifying format was changed. After five events, the leader clinches a spot in the final while the last place competitor is eliminated from the competition. To determine
3127-474: Was a former powerlifting world record holder himself and went on to establish the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports in 1990. He also was asked to establish the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2002 by Arnold Schwarzenegger . During this early period, the contest ranks consisted mostly of American football players, powerlifters, and bodybuilders and were held in American locations until it
3186-430: Was able to complete the competition and finish 3rd on the podium, with Mateusz Kieliszkowski finishing as the runner up for the second consecutive year. This year also saw brothers Tom and Luke Stoltman both qualify for the final, becoming the first brothers to both reach the final in history. A new format which included only 25 instead of 30 competitors was used and the entire competition only ran for 4 days instead of
3245-422: Was hosted by Eddie Hall . Rongo Keene was declared the winner, earning him a $ 10,000 prize. The 2020 contest was to be held on Anna Maria Island from 11 to 15 November, with no physical spectators allowed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because of bad weather conditions brought about by Hurricane Eta , the first two days were instead pushed back a day, removing the rest day planned on 13 November. For
3304-418: Was in 2008 as bigger and taller men came into the sport. Pudzianowski's first title was in 2002, as the era of Scandinavian dominance came to end, with Lithuanian Žydrūnas Savickas and Latvian Raimonds Bergmanis completing the podium. He would defend his title in 2003 in spectacular fashion. He won 4 of the 7 events, and claiming two 2nd places and a 3rd place in the remaining events to finish with 66 out of
3363-420: Was later disqualified after failing a drugs test, meaning Magnus Samuelsson would once again finish on the podium. Following the split of IFSA and WSM, most of the athletes would stick with IFSA. Pudzianowski was, in fact, the only athlete from the 2004 contest to compete at WSM in 2005. He would win the contest with an event to spare ahead of runner up Jesse Marunde , who with 3rd place Dominic Filiou became
3422-401: Was moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1983. Two-time winner Bruce Wilhelm (USA) retired and was succeeded by Don Reinhoudt in 1979, a 162 kg (357 lb) heavyweight powerlifter of the US. Reinhoudt still holds several unequipped world records in powerlifting. In 1979, newcomer and legendary powerlifter Bill Kazmaier (USA) made his appearance, coming in 3rd after leading much of
3481-430: Was shaping up to be one of the best contests yet, with 2019 champion Martins Licis returning, and 4 former champions in the competition. Unfortunately, Mateusz Kieliszkowski was once again forced to withdraw due to injury. Tom Stoltman successfully defended his title, winning by 10.5 points over Licis (in 2nd) and Oleksii Novikov , who placed 3rd despite winning 3 of the 6 events in the final. The 2023 edition of
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