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, and 1996.
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.
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These competitions are now 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.
Jouko Ahola is a Finnish former strongman, powerlifter and actor.
Žydrūnas Savickas is a Lithuanian powerlifter and professional strongman. Due to his multiple championship wins in all major international strongman competitions, as well as his longevity in the sport, he is widely considered by many to be the greatest strength athlete of all time.
Magnus Samuelsson, is a Swedish actor, former strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco. The son of a former Swedish arm wrestling champion, he has also been ranked among the best arm wrestlers in the world and was a European Arm Wrestling champion prior to becoming a professional strongman.
Robert 'Bob' Boyd Weir is a male retired English discus thrower, who is a twelve-time national champion.
Terry Hollands is a former British strongman competitor, Britain's Strongest Man and England's Strongest Man winner. He's also a Europe's Strongest Man silver (2010) & bronze (2017) medalist, a 2 x time World's Strongest Man bronze medalist and the 5th most prolific strongman contestant in history having competed in 89 international competitions throughout 17 years. Terry is also noted for his vehicle pulling.
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.
Wout Zijlstra is a former strongman and Highland Games athlete from the Netherlands. He competed in the World's Strongest Man competition on two occasions, winning the 3rd place in 1998 behind Sweden's Magnus Samuelsson and Finland's Jouko Ahola.
The 1998 World's Strongest Man was the 21st edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Magnus Samuelsson from Sweden. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. 1997 champion Jouko Ahola from Finland finished second, and Wout Zijlstra from the Netherlands finished third. This year had 10 qualifying heats with the winner of each heat going onto the finals. Half the field got injured during the finals of the contest, as well as several heat winners prior to the finals such as Flemming Rasmussen and Gerrit Badenhorst. The contest was held in Tangier, Morocco.
The 1997 World's Strongest Man was the 20th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Jouko Ahola from Finland. It was his first title. Flemming Rasmussen from Denmark finished second after finishing fourth the previous year, and Magnus Samuelsson from Sweden finished third. Three time defending champion Magnus Ver Magnusson, chasing a fourth straight title and record fifth overall, was eliminated in the qualifying heats. The contest was held in Primm Valley Resort, Nevada.
Gerrit Badenhorst is a former WPC world champion powerlifter and professional strongman competitor from South Africa.
Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and events in the field of strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man.
Strength athletics in Iceland refers to the participation of Icelandic competitors and the holding of Icelandic events in the modern phenomenon of strength athletics inaugurated by the World's Strongest Man. The sport's roots have a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of strongman competitions in the 1970s and Iceland has a role in that more ancient heritage. In terms of modern strength athletics, Iceland has held a preeminent position as a nation due to the enormous success of its competitors on the international stage, who between them have won Nine World's Strongest Man titles, and numerous major European and international competitions.
The Húsafell Stone is a lifting stone located in Húsafell, Iceland. The stone weighs 186 kg (410 lb) and was kept near a sheep and goat pen built by reverend Snorri Björnsson over two hundred years ago.
Jean-François Caron is a Canadian strongman and powerlifter from Les Hauteurs, Quebec, Canada.
Matjaz Belsak is a Slovenian professional strongman competitor and powerlifter.
Martins Licis is a Latvian-American professional strongman, notable for winning the 2019 World's Strongest Man competition, the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, as well as the first Rogue Invitational Strongman competition.
Oleksii Novikov is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian World's Strongest Man winner after Vasyl Virastyuk who won in 2004. In 2022, he won Europe’s Strongest Man, despite serving in the military for Ukraine.
