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 greatest strongmen in history. He is also well known for shouting his catch phrase "Viking Power!" during competitions.
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.
Žydrūnas Savickas is a Lithuanian retired strongman and powerlifter. Due to his 84 international wins in strongman including four World's Strongest Man titles, eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as the greatest strongman of all time.
Magnus Samuelsson, is a Swedish actor, former Strongman and the 1998 World's Strongest Man. Known as the 'king of the stones', he made it to the World's Strongest Man podium 5 times and the finals 10 times and is regarded as one of the best strongmen in history.
Vasyl Virastyuk, is a Ukrainian politician and former strongman competitor. He is a brother of Roman Virastyuk. Virastyuk was the winner of World's Strongest Man 2004. In a 28 March 2021 parliamentary by-election, Virastyuk was a candidate for Servant of the People. On 15 June 2021, he was sworn in as a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
Derek Arturo Poundstone is an American police officer, former professional strongman and strength coach from Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was the runner-up at the 2008 World's Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion, and a three-time winner of America's Strongest Man. Poundstone is also a high-ranking officer for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department and is the former owner and landlord of an apartment complex and gym.
Travis Ortmayer is an American professional Strongman athlete from Cypress, Texas. He is nicknamed the Texas Stoneman due to his many world records in the Atlas Stone event.
Nick Best is an American strongman and powerlifter.
Mark Felix is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships, 2016 WSF World Cup India and has won several international grip contests, including the Rolling Thunder World Championships in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Vice Grip Viking Challenge in 2011 and 2012.
The Arnold Strongman Classic is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, determining who is the Strongest Man in the World. Created by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Lorimer and Terry Todd, it is an offshoot of the Arnold Sports Festival which takes place annually in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge, also known as the Beauty and The Beast World Strongman Challenge was a short-lived annual strongman competition that was notable for the calibre of the entrants it attracted, as well as for the reputation it attained in a short amount of time.
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet." The anticipation was based on the organisers ensuring invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body. In previous years, the schism between the International Federation of Strength Athletes and the organisers of WSM had meant that certain athletes were forbidden to compete, undermining the credentials of the competition.
Benedikt "Benni" Magnússon is an Icelandic strongman and powerlifter, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest deadlifters of all-time. He held the raw deadlift world record from 2011 to 2022 with 460.4 kg (1,015 lb), and it remains the heaviest raw deadlift ever done in conventional stance.
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, making him one of only five men to win the World’s Strongest Man four times or more. In 2011, Shaw 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. Shaw has also set more than 25 world records in deadlifting, stonelifting, keg-tossing, grip related movements and more.
Ervin Katona is a Serbian strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed in 99 International strongman competitions and have won 17 of them, making him the seventh most decorated strongman in history.
Üksnurme is a village in Saku Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia.
Jean-François 'JF' Caron is a Canadian strongman and powerlifter from Les Hauteurs, Quebec, Canada. Having competed in 73 International strongman competitions and winning 10 of them including World's Strongest Viking twice, Caron is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.
Mike Burke is an American strongman and a grip strength specialist from Aurora, Colorado. Before becoming a strength athlete, he worked as a construction worker.
Martins Licis is an American professional strongman, notable for winning 2019 World's Strongest Man, 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.
Rauno Heinla is an Estonian professional strongman competitor. He is a specialist in the deadlift events and is regarded as one of the best deadlifters in the world.
