 Adrian Smith in 2024 at the Lustleigh Show | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Adrian Smith |
| Born | 18 March 1964 [1] Corby, England |
| Occupation | Strongman Bodybuilding |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Medal record | |
Adrian Smith (born 18 March 1964) is a former strongman competitor from Great Britain. Adrian has competed in both bodybuilding and strongman. [2] He won UK's Strongest Man three times, Britain's Strongest Man once, and placed 5th in World's Strongest Man.
Smith is from Corby and was a photocopier engineer when he started in strongman competitions. [3]
He married Claire in 1998, and has a child, Emily. [4]
Smith was three times winner of UK's Strongest Man in 1992, [5] [6] 1997, and 1998, and winner of Britain's Strongest Man in 1990.
In 1995, Smith took a break from strongman to compete in bodybuilding where he placed 4th in the Mr Britain competition, and invited to compete in the Mr Universe competition that same year. [7]
Missing the 1997 Britain's strongest man through injury, he acted as the commentator for Sky Sports. [5]
He was trained by the legendary Geoff Capes for the 1990 World's Strongest Man competition, his only appearance in WSM, finishing in 5th place. [8] [2] Adrian also competed in Pure Strength IV for team Great Britain along with teammate Brian Bell. Team Great Britain finished in 4th place.
Smith has held the world record for log lifting, managing to press a 200 pounds (91 kg) log above his head 30 times in one minute in 1993, [9] and for brick lifting. [10] [11] [8]
Smith has performed a peripatetic show, initially as "Adrian Smith, Strongman" and latterly as "The Mighty Smith" at various shows around the country. [5] [12] [13] [14] The show consists of feats of strength including tearing up catalogues, bending nails in his teeth, pulling vehicles, and lifting Atlas stones. [15] He offers a £1,000 prize to anyone who can match his strength feats in the arena. [16]
Jón Páll Sigmarsson was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's Strongest Man four times and the first and only man to win the World Muscle Power Classic five times. Jón Páll is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of all time, and is credited with developing Iceland's national identity. He was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1981, and was one of the best-known Icelandic athletes. In 2012, Jón Páll was inducted into the World's Strongest Man Hall of Fame.
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.
Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a British former shot putter, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor.
Svend Viking Karlsen is a Norwegian strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder. Being a winner of the World's Strongest Man, the Europe's Strongest Man, the World Muscle Power Classic and 3 times runner up at the Arnold Strongman Classic, he is regarded as one of the best strongmen in history. He is also well known for shouting his catch phrase "Viking Power!" during competitions.
A strongman is someone who exhibits strength through strength athletics. 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. In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength.
A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions.
William Kazmaier is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During the 1970s and 1980s, he set numerous powerlifting and strongman world records, and won two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships and three World's Strongest Man titles. In the 1980s, Kazmaier became famous for his claim to be "the strongest man who ever lived" by equaling and surpassing spectacular and versatile feats of strength of famous strongmen of the 20th century. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest competitors in strength competitions and was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Terry Hollands is a British bodybuilder and the winner of the 2bros Pro Luke Sandoe Classic Beginners Class 2019 bodybuilding championships. Hollands is also a retired strongman competitor and a past winner of Britain's Strongest Man, the UK's Strongest Man, and England's Strongest Man competitions. He's also a Europe's Strongest Man silver (2010) & bronze (2017) medalist, a two time World's Strongest Man bronze medalist, a two time Arnold Strongman Classic 8th-place winner, a World's Ultimate Strongman 9th-place winner (2018), and the 5th most prolific strongman contestant in history having competed in more than 90 international competitions, winning 4 of them throughout 17 years. With 12 international event wins, Hollands is noted for his vehicle pulling skills, making him the 7th best vehicle puller in strongman history. He was nicknamed Terry 'The Tank' Hollands or 'Big Tel'.
Thomas Inch was a British strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth and Britain's Strong Man.
Gary Taylor is a Welsh former world's strongest man champion (1993). Competing in bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and strongman.
Strength athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of strongman competitions in the 1970s. The ancient heritage of the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland lies in a number of traditional events, the most famous of which is arguably the traditional Highland Games, which itself is a source of many events now practised in modern strongman competitions, such as World's Strongest Man and International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA) sponsored events. However, the traditional events still are popularly contested events today. In the more modern phenomenon that is the World's Strongest Man and its associated competitions, the United Kingdom and Ireland remain well represented with Glenn Ross, Terry Hollands, Eddie Hall and John Ryan Cappalahan, with regular appearances at world finals, and with three men having won the title of World's Strongest Man, as well as Shane Davis Cappalahan appearing in eight final events.
Gregor Edmunds is a Scottish Highland Games competitor and strongman. Gregor is a winner of the World Highland Games Championships, world record holder in Highland games throwing the 28lb weight 95’10.5" Highlander Challenge, and Scotland's Strongest Man.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Europe's Strongest Man, and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year and holds numerous Strongman titles from multiple strength federations, including multiple world records. With 30 international competition wins, he is the third most decorated strongman in history, behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas and Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski, and in terms of pure brute strength and with over 100 world records, many strength analysts and Strongman experts regard Hafþór as "the strongest man to have ever lived".
Commander Grant Edwards is a high-ranking Australian law enforcement officer and former elite athlete and strongman competitor and entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition.
Laine Snook is a former strongman and professional Highland Games competitor. As an athlete he competed internationally but his career was cut short by injury. He went on to specialise in strength based sport and represented both England and Great Britain in various Highland Games and strength athletic events. He also became the world benchpress champion. He has gained international renown in strength sport for being one of the world's foremost exponents of grip strength.
Edward Stephen Hall is a British media personality and retired strongman. He is best known for his world-record setting 500 kg (1,102 lb) deadlift in 2016 which is widely regarded as one of the greatest feats in the history of strongmen. He is also known for winning the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition.
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can include: developing physical strength; promoting health and fitness; competing in weightlifting sports; and developing a muscular and aesthetic physique.
Steve Pulcinella is an American former powerlifter, strongman, and Highland games competitor. He is the owner of Iron Sport Gym in Glenolden, Pennsylvania.
David Pirie Webster, OBE was a Scottish author, historian, and sports promoter living in Glasgow. Webster was the organiser of the Highland Games around the world for over 50 years.
