William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During his illustrious career, he set over 40 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 greatest strength athletes of all-time,[5] and was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.[6]
Kazmaier is of German ancestry.[7] A star athlete in high school, he played football for two years at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before dropping out in 1974 to concentrate on lifting weights at the Madison YMCA.[8] There he learned the fundamentals of powerlifting. Kazmaier then struggled to earn a living as an oil rigger, a bouncer, and a lumberjack.[8]
Powerlifting career
At the 1978 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships in Los Angeles, California, Kazmaier squatted 782lb (354.7kg), bench pressed 534lb (242.2kg), and deadlifted 804lb (364.7kg) in the 275-pound weight class, which immediately placed him in the top rank in his first national powerlifting appearance.[8] In 1979 at age 25, he set a world record with a bench press of 622lb (282.1kg) on the way to winning his first IPF World Powerlifting Championship in Dayton, Ohio.[8] His winning lifts included an 865lb (392.4kg)squat, the 622lb (282.1kg)bench press and an 804lb (364.7kg)deadlift for a 2,291lb (1,039.2kg) total.[4] He repeated the success in 1983 by first winning the United States Powerlifting Federation (USPF) National Powerlifting Championships in July and later the IPF World Championship in November for a second time.[4] He won this IPF World Championship despite two major injuries. He had a severe pectoral injury, from which he never recovered completely,[9] and shortly before the IPF Championships, had torn his hip flexors in the squat.[9]
The world record bench press in early 1979 was 612lb (277.6kg), held by Sweden's Lars Hedlund. Kazmaier moved the world record stepwise up from 617.3lb (280.0kg) in July, 1979 to 622.8lb (282.5kg) in November 1979 to 633.8lb (287.5kg) in May, 1980 and finally to 661.4lb (300.0kg) at the USPF West Georgia Open Powerlifting Championships, held in Columbus, Georgia on January 31, 1981.[8] In this competition, Kazmaier officially became the first human to bench press 300kg (661.4lb)[7] (raw) in an IPF-sanctioned meet[a] and recorded his lifetime best three-lift-total of 2,425lb (1,100.0kg),[4][10] a powerlifting world record that remained unsurpassed for more than a decade.[8] His winning lifts were: a 925.9lb (420.0kg) squat, the 661.4lb (300.0kg) bench press and an 837.7lb (380.0kg) deadlift.[4] The bench press and deadlift were done raw (unequipped), while the squat was performed with wraps and a marathon squat suit.[8] This powerlifting performance is regarded as one of the best of all time.
In November 1981, Kazmaier became one of the few lifters in history to hold world records in three of the four powerlifting events at the same time by setting a new deadlift world record at 886lb (401.9kg) in competition.[4][9] From 1981 onwards Kazmaier's career was affected by multiple muscle tears and injuries, preventing him from setting the bar even higher. He sustained chest, shoulder and triceps injuries, ruling out further records in the bench press.[9]
Strongman career
Kazmaier competed in six World's Strongest Man contests. In 1979 World's Strongest Man, he came in third after leading throughout much of the competition and beating powerlifting icon Don Reinhoudt in the car lift by deadlifting a 2,555lb (1,159kg) car. In the following years, he dominated the competitions in 1980, 1981, and 1982, winning all by significant margins.[11] He was the first man to win the WSM title three times and to this day, remains one of only two men ever to win it three times in a row.[11]
In his 1980 World's Strongest Man title win, Kazmaier won five of ten events and tied for first in another. He won the log lift, engine race, steel bar bend, playboy bunny squat lift, silver dollar deadlift, and the final tug of war. The runner-up in the competition Lars Hedlund, was over 28 points behind.[b]
During Kazmaier's title defense at the 1981 World's Strongest Man he won the squat event with 969lb (439.5kg) (on a smith machine) for a world record, just after tearing his pectoralis major muscle while bending cold rolled steel bars in the bar bend event before.[c] Kazmaier made the iconic quote "These legs, are the strongest legs, right here!" following the performance. In the next event he went on to win the silver dollar deadlift with a 940lb (426.4kg) lift. After his opponent Dave Waddington failed to make the final lift, Kazmaier lifted the weight for two consecutive reps despite needing only one rep to secure the win. Of 11 events he had five wins, two second places, one third and a fourth. His wins included the log lift, deadlift, squat, loading race and engine race.
In the 1982 World's Strongest Man competition Kazmaier won the first three events. A notable performance in this WSM was his 1,055lb (478.5kg) joint-world record silver dollar deadlift alongwith Ernie Hackett.
Despite being the reigning 3x time champion, the organizers controversially decided not to invite Kazmaier to compete in the following four WSM competitions, with Kazmaier self-claiming the reason was because he was "too dominant".[12][13] His absence cleared the way for Kazmaier's main rival, Geoff Capes, to win the title in 1983. Capes and upcoming Jón Páll Sigmarsson dominated the competition during the next several years.
He returned to the World's Strongest Man Contest in 1988, where he won three of eight events: the log press, deadlift and sack race; and took two second places including the truck pull, but was disqualified for moving his hands in the sausage forward hold, so the time was stopped prematurely. With two events to go, he was leading the field by 1 point over Jón Páll, and was the favorite to win the following Weight over bar event, in which a 56lb (25.4kg) weight has to be thrown over a bar. He was the reigning world record holder of this event from 1987 Pure Strength with a height of 5.34 metres (17ft 6in). The event took place on water with boats floating around and Kazmaier's concern about his orientation on water was borne out. Although he threw the weight way higher than the bar, he failed to get the trajectory right, failing at 4.60 metres (15ft 1in). Jón Páll won the event with a clearance of 5.05 metres (16ft 7in) and with four contestants coming in-between the two, Kazmaier was trailing Jón Páll by four points, a deficit which cost him too much to catch up at the final event McGlashen Stones, eventually emerging runner-up to Jón Páll.[11]
In Kazmaiers' final WSM appearance at the 1989 World's Strongest Man, he severely injured his ankle in the first event and already had a ripped biceps. He came in fourth.[11] In addition to WSM contests, Kazmaier also competed in the second and third most prestigious contests World Muscle Power Classic and Le Defi Mark Ten International alongwith several other tournaments, such as the Scottish Power Challenge, Strongbow Strongman Challenge and Pure Strength. He ended his career as a competitive strongman in 1990.[8]
With three Worlds Strongest Man titles, Kazmaier is one of the most successful competitors in the history of the contest. Strength historian David P. Webster called him "the greatest American strength athlete of all time", and a 2008 poll of experts rated him as top superheavyweight lifter of all time and "one of the strongest men who ever lived."[8] He was featured in Flex magazine in May 2008, in which a top ten list of the strongest men in history was published where Kazmaier was voted "the third strongest man that ever lived", just behind Mark Henry and Žydrūnas Savickas.[14][15]
Professional wrestling career
Inspired by Jim Thorpe, Kazmaier sought to transfer his talents to other sports, trying out for the NFL's Green Bay Packers in 1981.[8] He also trained as a wrestler with Verne Gagne and Brad Rheingans, and entered professional wrestling in 1986, with a WWF match in Calgary, Alberta on November 10, 1986, defeating David Barbie.[16] During the 1980s, he had wrestled for promotions such as Stampede Wrestling in Canada and Continental Championship Wrestling in America. He would also wrestle for Fighting Network RINGS in Japan in early 1991.
Kazmaier opened a fitness club, Kaz Fitness Center, in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1980s. The gym closed in 2005. Kazmaier then opened, and continues to operate, S.W.A.T. gym in Opelika, Alabama.[8] Both served as a place for him to train and as headquarters for DynaKaz Inc., Kazmaier's own exercise equipment import-export company,[7] which markets fitness products worldwide.[8]
Kazmaier considers his most important contributions to public life to be his work as a motivational speaker for 3D Sports Tech, addressing school and YMCA groups. "I can and I will" is the message he conveys to inspire young people to lead healthier and more productive lives.[8]
Personal life
Bill Kazmaier's nickname is "Kaz". He is the youngest child of William Bartholomew and Florence Louise Steinhoff Kazmaier. He had one brother, two sisters, and a half brother. His father owned soda water bottling plants in Burlington and Kenosha, Wisconsin.[8]
In 1974 Kazmaier read a Bible verse in Psalm 40 while at the Madison YMCA[8] and subsequently became a devoted Christian, crediting much of his success and exceptional strength to "the power of Jesus Christ."[9][17]
→ former IPF world record in SHW class (+regardless of weight class) (stood until Lars Norén's 892.9lb (405kg) in 1987)
→ former all-time world record deadlift in SHW class (+regardless of weight class) (stood until Dan Wohleber's 904lb (410kg) in 1982)
Total – 2,425lb (1,100kg)(925.9 + 661.4 + 837.7lb (420 + 300 + 380kg))raw except for the squat which was equipped (Jan, 1981)[4]
→ former IPF world record in SHW class (+regardless of weight class) (stood until John Ware's 2,427lb (1,101kg) in 1989, which was equipped with an 80s marathon squat suit and also a bench shirt)
Strongman
Deadlift – 915lb (415kg)Raw, with wrist straps (1981 Highland Games)[21] (Unofficial World Record)
→ Initially measured 891lb (404kg) but later declared to be the above mentioned weight. Judged by Douglas Edmunds. This lift was not surpassed until Jón Páll Sigmarsson did 942.5lb (427.5kg) in 1987. However both were not considered official deadlift records because the weights and setup used did not allow the bar to stay at the standard 9 inches off the floor, making them slightly elevated deadlifts
Silver Dollar Deadlift – 1,055lb (478.5kg)18 inches off the floor (1982 World's Strongest Man) (Former Joint-World Record)
→ Kazmaier held this record a total of 3 times ever since he did it first with 346lb (157kg) in 1980 World's Strongest Man. These wooden logs of the era were awkward in shape with a larger circumference than what are used today in mainstream Strongman. They were not machined and were highly unbalanced in weight. Kazmaier pressed these logs strict, without using leg drive
Dumbbell press – 120lb (54kg) dumbells x 17 reps (1980 World Strongbow)
Weight over bar – 56lb (25.4kg) over 5.34 metres (17ft 6in) (1987 Pure Strength) (Former World Record)
Stone block throw – 55lb (25kg) for 7.86 metres (25ft 9in) (1987 Le Defi Mark Ten International) (World Record)
Other
Inch dumbbell press – 172lb (78kg)first man to press the legendary dumbbell overhead (World Record) and also the fifth man to lift it above the knee (1990)[9]
Inver Stone press – 260lb (118kg)first man to press the original Inver stone overhead (World Record)
Seated military press – 448lb (203kg) x 3 reps (1988) (Unofficial World Record) Previous record was 407lb (185kg) by Chuck Ahrens
Dumbbell shoulder press – 165lb (75kg) dumbbells x 5 reps and 155lb (70kg) dumbbells x 10 reps (1981)[22]
Barbell cheat curl – 441lb (200kg) (1985) (Unofficial World Record)[22]
Side laterals with Louis Cyr dumbbells (with a slight hold) – 100 + 90lb (45 + 41kg) dumbbells x 6 reps (1988)[22]
Career aggregate powerlifting total – 2,473.3lb (1,122kg)(925.9 + 661.4 + 886.0lb (420 + 300 + 402kg)) (1981) (equipped except for the bench press which was performed raw)
Achievements
Professional Competitive Record – [1st (18),2nd (4), 3rd (4) – Out of Total(29)] International winning percentage of 44.5%
Professional
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
INJ
DNQ
Total
American or other Nationals
10
1
11
International
8
4
3
3
18
Combined
18
4
4
3
29
COMPLETED CONTESTS
Pure Strength 4 Team Challenge – winner (1990)
World's Strongest Man – 4th place (1989)
Pure Strength 3 Team Challenge – 2nd place (1989)
Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1989)
World's Strongest Man – 2nd place (1988)
World Strongman Challenge – 3rd place (1988)
Pure Strength 2 Team Challenge – winner (1988)
World Muscle Power Championships – winner (1988)
Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1988)
Pure Strength – Ultimate Challenge – 2nd place (1987)
Le Defi Mark Ten Challenge – winner (1987)
Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1987)
Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1986)
World Muscle Power Championships – 3rd place (1985)
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.
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.
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American former powerlifter, retired professional wrestler, strongman, and Olympic weightlifter. He is best known for his 25-year career in WWE.
Riku Kiri is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been referred to as: "the strongest man never to win World's Strongest Man."
Paul Edward Anderson was an American weightlifter, powerlifter and strongman. He was an Olympic gold medalist, a world champion, and a two-time national champion in Olympic weightlifting. Anderson contributed significantly to the development of competitive powerlifting and is widely considered one of the strongest humans in history.
Jamie Reeves is a British former coal miner, strongman and professional wrestler. As a strongman, he won the 1989 World's Strongest Man, was World Muscle Power champion, and also had numerous other titles including Europe's Strongest Man and Britain's Strongest Man. Following retirement from competitive sport he continued to be involved in strength athletics as a referee, event promoter and coach.
Donald C. Reinhoudt was an American powerlifter and strongman. He won the IPF World Powerlifting Superheavyweight Championship four consecutive times (1973–1976), and won the World's Strongest Man in 1979.
Glenn Ross known by his nickname "The Daddy", is a Northern Ireland former international strongman and powerlifter who has represented Northern Ireland and the UK in several World's Strongest Man competitions and various World Grand Prix and European Team competitions. Ross is the founder of the UK Strength Council and Scotland Strength Association and the creator of the UK's Strongest Man competition, as well as several regional and national qualifying events.
Mikhail Viktorovich Koklyaev is a Russian weightlifter, powerlifter, strongman and boxer. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile strength athletes of all time.
Anthony Wayne Clark was an American powerlifter, holder of the world record for the reverse-grip bench press and member of the York Barbell Hall of Fame.
Thomas Magee is a Canadian former world champion powerlifter and strongman competitor from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was also a bodybuilder and a professional wrestler from 1985–1990.
Edward Ignatius "Ed" Coan is an American powerlifter. He is widely regarded throughout the powerlifting world as the greatest powerlifter of all time. Coan has set over 71 world records in powerlifting.
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.
Gerrit Badenhorst is a former WPC world champion powerlifter and professional strongman competitor from South Africa.
Oders Dell Wilson Jr. was an American world champion powerlifter and world champion strongman competitor. Wilson was known by the nickname "the Nightmare", due to his size.
Brian Cameron Siders is an American world champion powerlifter and regular participant in the Arnold Strongman Classic. Brian is regarded as one of the strongest men to ever walk the planet, especially in press-movements.
Hjalti 'Úrsus' Árnason, is an Icelandic former strongman competitor and world champion powerlifter. Known by the nickname 'The Great Ursus', Hjalti first began in strength sports by competing as a junior powerlifter in 1983. He also coached Jón Páll Sigmarsson and won the 1988 Le Defi Mark Ten International. Hjalti also competed with Magnús Ver Magnússon in Pure Strength team competitions in 1989 & 1990.
James Talbot Williams was a record holder professional competitive powerlifter from the United States of America. He competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). During the early 1970s he set bench press national and world records in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). On November 9, 1972, he performed bench press of 675 lbs. Jim Williams was the first man to bench press 300 kg (661.41 bs) in competition the international governing body for the sport of powerlifting.
Michael Hall is a retired American powerlifter, who is perhaps best known for being a pioneer of the drug-free movement in powerlifting. Hall is considered the first African American Super Heavyweight powerlifter to win a World Powerlifting Championship.
Listed below are the progressions of 7 deadlift world records across powerlifting, strongman and armlifting, and ultimately, the all-time progression across all strength sports.
References
↑ Jim Williams had bench pressed 675.5lb (306.4kg) (raw) earlier than Kazmaier in 1972 just prior to the formation of the IPF. But his lift was performed with ace bandage elbow wraps, which were later outlawed so it wouldn't count as the official IPF world record.
↑ The scoring system however was an anomaly in this contest where additional points were given for the final event (tug of war). Contrary to the standard 10 points for each event win, Kazmaier got 20 points, runner-up of the event Geoff Capes got 10 points while third place of the event and overall runner-up Lars Hedlund got only 5 points. None of the remaining athletes received a single point in this event.
↑ After this tear, he lost more than one-hundred pounds off his bench press, making his 1983 IPF world championship win all that much more significant.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
American 
United States 
