Magnús Ver Magnússon is an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor. He is a four-time World's Strongest Man, having won in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of all time.
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 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.
Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully competed in strongman competitions. However, strongman events also test physical endurance to a degree not found in powerlifting or other strength-based sports, such as carrying refrigerators, flipping truck tires, and pulling vehicles with a rope.
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. Today, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, are composed of a variety of events in which competitors have to move the highest weights possible, the winner being the one having the highest tally across all events.
The 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man was the 29th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Phil Pfister, the first American to win the competition since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. The contest took place between the 14th and 23 September 2006, in Sanya, China.
Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man competitions, and in 2011, became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
The 1999 World's Strongest Man was the 22nd edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Jouko Ahola from Finland. It was his second title after finishing second the previous year. Janne Virtanen also from Finland finished second, and Svend Karlsen from Norway finished third. The contest was held on Malta.
The 2004 World's Strongest Man was the 27th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Vasyl Virastyuk from Ukraine. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. Zydrunas Savickas from Lithuania finished second for the third year in a row. Originally Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland finished third, but was later disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance, thus third place was given to Magnus Samuelsson from Sweden. The contest was held in Nassau, Bahamas. The qualifying heats saw a major format change, going from the traditional 5-6 man heats with the top 2 going to the finals. This year's format was a 12-man round-robin competition taking place over 5 days, with the top six going onto the finals.
The 2000 World's Strongest Man was the 23rd edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Janne Virtanen from Finland. It was his first title after finishing second the previous year. Svend Karlsen from Norway finished second after finishing third the previous year, and 1998 winner Magnus Samuelsson from Sweden finished third. The contest was held in Sun City, South Africa.
The 2002 World's Strongest Man was the 25th edition of the international World's Strongest Man competition, and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. The contest was held in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.
The 2003 World's Strongest Man was the 26th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his second title, and Pudzianowski's record-setting score of 66 points in the Final eclipsed the previous record of 60. His margin of victory was also a record. The contest was held at Victoria Falls, Zambia.
The 2007 World's Strongest Man was the 30th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his fourth and record tying title. Sebastian Wenta from Poland finished second, and Terry Hollands from the United Kingdom finished third after finishing seventh the previous year. 2006 champion Phil Pfister from the United States finished fourth. The contest was held in Anaheim, California.
The 2011 World's Strongest Man was the 34th edition of World's Strongest Man and was held on the campus grounds of Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina, US. The event was sponsored by MET-Rx. The qualifying heats were scheduled for September 15–18, and the finals on September 21 and 22, 2011.
The 2012 World's Strongest Man was the 35th edition of World's Strongest Man. The event was held on the grounds of the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California, US. The event was sponsored by MET-Rx. The qualifying heats were held from September 24–27, and the finals took place Sept. 30 & Oct. 1, 2012. The winner was Žydrūnas Savickas, it was his third WSM title. Vytautas Lalas of Lithuania was second, and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson was third.
The 2016 World's Strongest Man was the 39th edition of the World's Strongest Man competition. The event was held in Kasane, Botswana, from August 13 to 20. Brian Shaw won his 4th World's Strongest Man title, putting him in an elite group of only three other men; Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Magnús Ver Magnússon, and Žydrūnas Savickas. Only Mariusz Pudzianowski holds more titles, with a total of five.
Martins Licis is a Latvian-American professional strongman, notable for winning 2019 World's Strongest Man, 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.
World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brute-strength-centricity and expanded the sport to a wider audience outside of Europe and USA. It also introduced the 'feats of strength' series in 2020, ensuring the continuous expansion of the sport during the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition has a number of rival and parallel competitions, including the World's Strongest Man, the Arnold Strongman Classic and the Giants Live Tour.
The 2021 World's Strongest Man was the 44th edition of the World's Strongest Man competition, an event that took place in Sacramento, California from June 15 to June 20, 2021. The defending champion was Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine, however, he failed to progress to the final after coming fourth in his heat. In so doing, he became the first World's Strongest Man reigning champion to compete at the following year's event and fail to qualify for the final since Magnús Ver Magnússon in the 1997 competition. The contest was won by Tom Stoltman who improved on his second place finish the previous year. Four-time champion Brian Shaw came second, returning to the podium after a 2 year absence, and Canada's Maxime Boudreault came third.
Johan Els is a South African strongman competitor from Christiana, South Africa. He is a 2 x times Africa's Strongest Man Champion and was selected to the World's Strongest Man competition thrice, winning 6th place in the 2018 World's Strongest Man competition held in Manila, Philippines. Els was coached by Ricardo Barreto.
Zambia 
Svend Karlsen 
