International Federation of Strength Athletes

Last updated
International Federation of Strength Athletes
Type Sports federation
Headquarters Glasgow, Scotland
Official language
English
Managing Director
Christian Fennell

The International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA or IFSA Strongman) was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland. [1]

Contents

History

Origins

In 1995, David Webster, a Scotsman who later received an OBE for his services to sport and head coordinator of the World's Strongest Man from its inception, and his colleague Dr Douglas Edmunds, seven-times Scottish shot and discus champion and twice world caber champion, [2] along with representatives from the competitors in strength athletics including Jamie Reeves, Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert formed a governing body called the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA"). IFSA ran its own grand prix events from 1995 to 2001 in cooperation with WSM. IFSA began co-producing the Strongman Super Series events from 2001 to 2004, still in cooperation with WSM. IFSA entered an agreement with World Class Events (WCE), headed by Ulf Bengtsson, to run the Strongman Super Series. The Strongman Super Series was designed to award the annual Strongman World Championship title, but also acted as a qualifying vehicle for the World's Strongest Man contest.

Split with WSM

For almost a decade IFSA and WSM worked in full cooperation, but this changed at the end of the 2004 season when IFSA returned to organizing its own grand prix events and World Strongman Championships from 2005 to 2007. The InvestGroup Ventures' sports rights management arm, InvestGroup Sports Management, invested heavily into IFSA and this led to the creation of IFSA Strongman. The strategy was to acquire most of the international assets and properties relating to the strongman sport. In essence this was a new organization [3] with some, such as Magnus Samuelsson describing it as "a new company...with the same name as our old federation". [4] The attempt at dominance was not well received by TWI/WSM and disagreement ensued leading to a split in the sport. When IFSA and WSM split in 2004, the Strongman Super Series sided with TWI/WSM forming a rival federation to the IFSA. [3] With the WSM being a TWI owned event, IFSA Holdings announced its own World Strongman Championships for 2005, to be held in Quebec, and thus from that point had no involvement in the WSM contest. From this point, IFSA continued to organize the annual IFSA World Strongman Championships and a series of Grand Prix events throughout the year. Between 2005 and 2007 IFSA had their own version of other major events such as a rival IFSA version of Europe's Strongest Man, known as Europe's Strongest Man (IFSA).

Thus, the world of strength athletics became fragmented, with a number of individuals being able to lay claim to be the strongest in the world by virtue of having won mutually exclusive events. Athletes affiliated to IFSA Strongman were not allowed to compete in the World's Strongest Man ("WSM"), which is produced by TWI and thus neither WSM and its associated Strongman Super Series nor the IFSA circuit could claim to have a comprehensive field of the top athletes. Some events did exist that bridged the divide between the major organizations, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic and Fortissimus.

Dissolution of IFSA/birth of SCL

After the 2007 IFSA World Championships in South Korea, news began to circulate of athletes not being paid, and equipment shipping costs not being honored. [5] IFSA eventually ended up owing $63,000 [5] for shipping their equipment from England to South Korea and finally to Philadelphia. When the money was not paid, the equipment was put up for sale and was eventually purchased by other strongman contest promoters. [6] The 2007 IFSA World Championships would be the final contest run solely by, and under the banner of, IFSA.

In 2008 IFSA executives Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert developed the Strongman Champions League and negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. However, the dissolution of IFSA meant that since the end of 2007, the Strongman Champions League still operated independent of IFSA. Gradually, the last vestiges of IFSA influence began to diminish which led to the breaking down of barriers between the various concurrent circuits. Strength athletes were able to compete in more than one circuit and did so, with a cross over of athletes between the Giants Live circuit, the Strongman Champions League and the Strongman Super Series being apparent. The 2009 World's Strongest Man was therefore anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet" [7] because the organisers could ensure invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body.

IFSA Strongman World Championships

IFSA Strongman World Championships
International Federation of Strength Athletes (logo).jpg
Founded2005
Ceased2007
Last
champion(s)
Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk
(2007)
Tournament formatMulti-event competition

2005: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 25 September 2005

Quebec City, Canada Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg 103
2. Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Ukraine.svg 96
3. Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Russia.svg 93.5
4. Andrus Murumets Flag of Estonia.svg 86
5. Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Latvia.svg 84.5
6. Phil Pfister Flag of the United States.svg 82.5
7. Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Lithuania.svg 81.5
8. Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Sweden.svg 69
9. Robert Szczepanski Flag of Poland.svg 67
10. Travis Ortmayer Flag of the United States.svg 64.5
11. Geoff Dolan Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 54.5
12. Karl Gillingham Flag of the United States.svg 43

2006: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 24, 25 November 2006

Reykjavik, Iceland Flag of Iceland.svg

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg 80.5
2. Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Russia.svg 78.5
3. Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Ukraine.svg 72
4. Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Lithuania.svg 70
5. Andrus Murumets Flag of Estonia.svg 55
6. Robert Szczepanski Flag of Poland.svg 46.5
7. Benedikt Magnusson Flag of Iceland.svg 44.5
8. Oli Thompson Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 43
9. Nick Best Flag of the United States.svg 38
10. Travis Ortmayer Flag of the United States.svg 35
11. Saulius Brusokas Flag of Lithuania.svg 33.5
12. Ervin Katona Flag of Serbia.svg 20.5

2007: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 12–15 September 2007

Geumsan, South Korea Flag of South Korea.svg

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Ukraine.svg 57.5
2. Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Russia.svg 52.5
3. Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg 51.5
4. Derek Poundstone Flag of the United States.svg 50.5
5. Andrus Murumets Flag of Estonia.svg 46.5
6. Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Lithuania.svg 41.5
7. Robert Szczepanski Flag of Poland.svg 40
8. Van Hatfield Flag of the United States.svg 32.5
9. Saulius Brusokas Flag of Lithuania.svg 29.5
10. Tom McClure Flag of the United States.svg 26
11. Ervin Katona Flag of Serbia.svg 20.5
12. Jarno Hams Flag of the Netherlands.svg 17.5

Grand Prix events

1995

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark
World's Strongest Viking [8]
Flag of Germany.svg Heinz Ollesch Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen Flag of Iceland.svg Torfi Olaffson
Flag of Lithuania.svg Klaipėda, Lithuania
Lithuania Grand Prix [9]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary Taylor Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Forbes Cowan Flag of Lithuania.svg Stasys Mėčius
Flag of Germany.svg Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Manfred Höberl Classic [10]
Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gary Taylor Flag of Germany.svg Heinz Ollesch
Scandinavia's Strongest Man
Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen

1996

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark
World's Strongest Viking [11]
Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson Flag of Iceland.svg Torfi Olaffson
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
Denmark Grand Prix
Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen
Flag of Lithuania.svg Klaipėda, Lithuania
Lithuania Grand Prix [12]
Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Germany.svg Heinz Ollesch Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson 7 July 1996
Scandinavia's Strongest Man
Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen

1997

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Meerssen, Netherlands
European Open
Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of South Africa.svg Gerrit Badenhorst Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson
Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark
World's Strongest Viking [13]
Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson
Flag of Lithuania.svg Klaipėda, Lithuania
Lithuania Grand Prix [14]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Stasys Mecius Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson
Scandinavia's Strongest Man
Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen

1998

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Finland.svg Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Grand Prix [15]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen 14 March 1998
Flag of Lithuania.svg Klaipėda, Lithuania
Lithuania Grand Prix [16]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Reeves Flag of Lithuania.svg Raimunds Kencivikius Flag of South Africa.svg Wayne Price 1 August 1998
Flag of Hungary.svg Budapest, Hungary
Hungary Grand Prix [17]
Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Denmark.svg Flemming Rasmussen Flag of Hungary.svg László Fekete 2 August 1998
Flag of Germany.svg Arnbruck, Germany
Germany Grand Prix [18]
Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola Flag of Germany.svg Heinz Ollesch 5 September 1998
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands
Atlantic Giant [19]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Riku Kiri Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen

1999

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Finland.svg Helsinki, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [20]
Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola Flag of Finland.svg Sami Heinonen Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen 6 March 1999
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands
Atlantic Giant [21]
Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Regin Vagadal Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson 16 May 1999
Flag of Hungary.svg Keszthely. Hungary
Hungary Grand Prix [22]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Berend Veneberg Flag of South Africa.svg Gerrit Badenhorst Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola 18 July 1999
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hardenberg, Netherlands
Holland Grand Prix [23]
Flag of South Africa.svg Gerrit Badenhorst Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola Flag of the Netherlands.svg Berend Veneberg 24 July 1999
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague, Czech Republic
Czech Grand Prix [24]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Jouko Ahola Flag of American Samoa.svg Joe Onosai 14 August 1999
Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland
Viking of the North [25]
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Hugo Girard Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen 17 October 1999
Nordic Strongman Championships
Flag of Finland.svg Matti Uppa

2000

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Finland.svg Helsinki, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [26]
Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen 18 March 2000
Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
Ireland Grand Prix [27]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen 30 April 2000
Flag of Poland.svg Sopot, Poland
Poland Grand Prix [28]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek 25 June 2000
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands
Atlantic Giant [29]
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Regin Vagadal Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson 2 September 2000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague, Czech Republic
Czech Grand Prix [30]
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan Bartl Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Germany.svg Martin Muhr 2 September 2000
Flag of Romania.svg Bucharest, Romania
Romania Grand Prix [31]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz 16 September 2000
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Panyu, China
China Grand Prix [32]
Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Hugo Girard Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen 8 October 2000

2001

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Poland.svg Sopot, Poland
Poland Grand Prix [33]
Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen 10 March 2007
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands
Atlantic Giant [34]
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Regin Vágadal Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek 28 July 2007
Flag of Finland.svg Kokkola, Finland
Strongman World Record Breakers [35]
Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wout Zijlstra Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz 26 August 2007

2002

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Poland.svg Szczyrk, Poland
Winter Cup International [36]
Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Hugo Girard 9 February 2002
Flag of Finland.svg Vantaa, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [37]
Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Matti Räsänen 20 April 2002
Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey Grand Prix [38]
Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wout Zijlstra Flag of Austria.svg Bernd Kerschbaumer18 May 2002
Flag of Finland.svg Mariehamn, Finland
Åland Grand Prix [39]
Flag of Sweden.svg Jorma Paananen Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz Flag of Finland.svg Harri Simonen10 August 2002
Flag of Finland.svg Imatra, Finland
Nordic Championships [40]
Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Matti Räsänen Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz Flag of Sweden.svg Anders Johansson17 August 2002
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Panyu, China
China Grand Prix [41]
Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Matti Räsänen Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas 20 October 2002

2003

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Poland.svg Inowrocław, Poland
Poland Grand Prix [42]
Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepański Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis 12 April 2003
Flag of Finland.svg Vantaa, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [43]
Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Matti Räsänen 17 May 2003
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Winnipeg, Canada
All Strength Challenge [44]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddy Ellwood Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of the Netherlands.svg Peter Baltus15 June 2003
Flag of Finland.svg Ylitornio, Finland
Ylitornio Challenge [45]
Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Finland.svg Janne Virtanen Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis 28 June 2003
Flag of Poland.svg Gdynia, Poland
Strongman World Record Breakers [46]
Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Poland.svg Jarek Dymek Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson 24 August 2003
Flag of Hungary.svg Sopron, Hungary
Hungarian Strongman Challenge [47]
Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona Flag of Hungary.svg Ádám Darázs Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Lotta 15 November 2003

2004

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Latvia.svg Jūrmala, Latvia
Baltic Strongest Man [48]
Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg Vilius Petrauskas22 May 2004
Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey
Turkey Champions Trophy [49]
Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Lotta Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen 22 May 2004
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Doetinchem, Netherlands
Holland Champions Trophy [50]
Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas 13 June 2004
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
Ukraine Grand Prix [48]
Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas 20 June 2004
Flag of Lithuania.svg Šiauliai, Lithuania
CEKOL Cup [48]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Poland.svg Tomasz Nowotniak3 July 2004
Flag of Latvia.svg Riga, Latvia
All Strength Challenge [48]
Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk 18 July 2004
Flag of Hungary.svg Szeged, Hungary
International Gold [51]
Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona Flag of Lithuania.svg Saulius Brusokas Flag of South Africa.svg Ettiene Smit 11 September 2004

2005

Beginning in 2005, IFSA cut all ties with World's Strongest Man and Strongman Super Series and began hosting their own grand prix events and world championships from 2005 to 2007.

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Hungary.svg Szeged, Hungary
Hungary Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz Flag of South Africa.svg Ettiene Smit 1 May 2005
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Lotta Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepański Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets 19 May 2005
Flag of Russia.svg Moscow, Russia
Russia Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev 6 June 2005
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Doetinchem, Netherlands
Holland Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Lotta Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Hams Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz 12 June 2005
Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary
West European Championships [52]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Hams Flag of Hungary.svg Ádám Darázs Flag of Slovakia.svg Jan Křeháček25 June 2005
Flag of Latvia.svg Riga, Latvia
European Championships [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Lotta Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets 17 July 2005
Flag of Norway.svg Kristiansand, Norway
Nordic Championships [52]
Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Samuelsson Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Matti Räsänen 6 August 2005
Flag of Brazil.svg São Paulo, Brazil
World Open [53]
Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Norway.svg Svend Karlsen Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepański 20 August 2005
Flag of Brazil.svg São Paulo, Brazil
Pan American Championships [54]
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Pfister Flag of the United States.svg Travis Ortmayer Flag of the United States.svg Karl Gillingham 21 August 2005
Flag of Lithuania.svg Šiauliai, Lithuania
CEKOL Cup [55]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg Vilius Petrauskas Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets 27 August 2005
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
Denmark Grand Prix [54]
Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz Flag of the United States.svg Van Hatfield Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Pekka Aitala20 November 2005

2006

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Ukraine.svg Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian Open
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Denmark.svg Rene Minkwitz Flag of South Africa.svg Ettiene Smit 18 April 2006
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Geoff Dolan Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets 24 April 2006
Flag of Russia.svg Moscow, Russia
Russia Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas 14 May 2006
Flag of the United States.svg Tulsa, Oklahoma
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of the United States.svg Derek Poundstone Flag of the United States.svg Jon Andersen 21 May 2006
Flag of Spain.svg Salou, Spain
Spain Grand Prix [56]
Flag of Finland.svg Juha-Pekka Aitala Flag of Syria.svg Simon Sulaiman Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Hams 5 June 2006
Flag of Hungary.svg Eger, Hungary
Hungary Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of the United States.svg Travis Ortmayer 5 June 2006
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Terborg, Netherlands
Holland Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of the United States.svg Jon Andersen Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Hams 10 June 2006
Flag of Latvia.svg Riga, Latvia
Latvia World Cup [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev 18 July 2006
Flag of Finland.svg Tornio, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [54]
Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepanski Flag of the United States.svg Steve MacDonald 5 August 2006
Flag of Ukraine.svg Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukraine Grand Prix
Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Ukraine.svg Oleksandr Pekanov 29 December 2006

United Strongman Series

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Ukraine.svg Kyiv, Ukraine
USS Kyiv [54]
Flag of Poland.svg Sebastian Wenta Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pedan Flag of Ukraine.svg Viktor Yurchenko18 April 2006
Flag of Cyprus.svg Limassol, Cyprus
USS Cyprus [52]
Flag of the United States.svg Travis Ortmayer Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pedan Flag of Latvia.svg Raimonds Bergmanis 28 May 2006
Flag of Serbia.svg Belgrade, Serbia
USS Belgrade [52]
Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Geoff Dolan Flag of Poland.svg Sebastian Wenta 20 June 2006
Flag of Russia.svg Moscow, Russia
USS Moscow [57]
Flag of Poland.svg Sebastian Wenta Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pedan Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona 1 July 2006
Flag of Lithuania.svg Marijampolė, Lithuania
USS Lithuania [54]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pedan 19 August 2006

2007

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Latvia.svg Riga, Latvia
Latvia Grand Prix [52] [58]
Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis 17 March 2007
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ulft, Netherlands
Holland Grand Prix [52] [59]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Hams Flag of South Africa.svg Ettiene Smit Flag of Iceland.svg Georg Ögmundsson17 June 2007
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepanski Flag of Finland.svg Janne Illikainen Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona 23 June 2007
Flag of Ukraine.svg Kyiv, Ukraine
European Championships [52] [60]
Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Virastyuk Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis 22 July 2007
Flag of Lithuania.svg Klaipėda, Lithuania
Lithuania Grand Prix [52]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Finland.svg Janne Illikainen28 July 2007
Flag of Finland.svg Oulu, Finland
Finland Grand Prix [52] [61]
Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Finland.svg Janne Illikainen Flag of Poland.svg Robert Szczepanski 2 September 2007

Strongman Champions League

Developed by Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert, the Strongman Champions League was launched in 2008 as "a new episode in strongman". It negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. Since the end of 2008, the Strongman Champions League still operates independently after the dissolution of IFSA:

2008

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Flag of Latvia.svg Riga, Latvia
SCL Latvia [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of the United States.svg Travis Ortmayer Flag of Latvia.svg Agris Kazelniks 22 March 2008
Flag of Serbia.svg Subotica, Serbia
SCL Serbia [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets 10 May 2008
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Varsseveld, Netherlands
SCL Holland [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of the United States.svg Travis Ortmayer 1 June 2008
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Sofia, Bulgaria
SCL Bulgaria [62]
Flag of Estonia.svg Andrus Murumets Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona 21 June 2008
Flag of Lithuania.svg Vilnius, Lithuania
SCL Lithuania [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg Vidas Blekaitis Flag of Lithuania.svg Saulius Brusokas 2 August 2008
Flag of Romania.svg Constanța, Romania
SCL Romania [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona Flag of Ukraine.svg Oleksandr Lashyn 16 August 2008
Flag of Finland.svg Kokkola, Finland
SCL Finland [62]
Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona 29 August 2008
Overall placings [62]
Flag of Lithuania.svg Žydrūnas Savickas
130 points
Flag of Serbia.svg Ervin Katona
72 points
Flag of Latvia.svg Agris Kazelniks
60 points

Events were planned in the following locations but cancelled: Dubai, Germany and Hungary

UK Regional Competitions

British Championships (IFSA)

YearChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
2005 Flag of England.svg Mark Felix Flag of England.svg Oli Thompson Flag of England.svg Andrew Raynes

UK Championship (IFSA)

YearChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
1997 Flag of Scotland.svg Stuart Murray Flag of England.svg Steve Brooks Flag of England.svg Russ Bradley
1999 Ulster Banner.svg Glenn Ross Flag placeholder.svg TBCFlag placeholder.svg TBC

IFSA England's Strongest Man

YearChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
2005 Flag of England.svg Eddy Ellwood Flag of England.svg Mark Felix Flag of England.svg Oli Thompson

See also

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The Strongman Super Series, known from 2001 to 2004 as the IFSA World Strongman Super Series, from 2005 to 2008 as the World's Strongest Man Super Series, and reverting in 2009 to the World Strongman Super Series, is a sequence of grand prix events in the sport of strength athletics. It was introduced in 2001 in response to concerns that, unlike other individual sports such as golf or tennis, there was no recognized international "tour" in strength athletics. The Strongman Super Series ensures that there are a number of high-profile, professionally run contests during the year, with competitors' placings being used to decide the overall Super Series Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Žydrūnas Savickas</span> Lithuanian strongman

Žydrūnas Savickas is a Lithuanian retired strongman and powerlifter. Due to his 84 international wins in major international strongman competitions including four World's Strongest Man championships, eight Arnold Strongman Classic championships, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as the greatest strongman of all time.

Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and serves as a qualifying event for the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") competition, also a TWI production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrus Murumets</span> Estonian strongman

Andrus Murumets is an Estonian strongman and entrant to the World's Strongest Man contest. He reached 5th in the World Rankings according to the IFSA rankings in 2008. Andrus competed in the IFSA World Championships in 2005 finishing 4th, 5th in 2006 and 5th in 2007. Andrus has competed in the Arnold Strongman Classic 3 times, his best finish was 3rd in 2007. In 2009 he became the overall champion of the Strongman Champions League. He has been described by Svend Karlsen as having the strongest grip in the world. Having competed in 40 International strongman competitions and winning 6 of them, Andrus is among the 50 most decorated strongmen of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Felix</span> British strength athlete

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 numerous 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. Having competed in over 100 international competitions throughout 19 years, Felix is the 3rd most prolific strongman contestant in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNC Grip Gauntlet</span>

The GNC Grip Gauntlet is a strength athletics contest that tests the grip strength of competing individuals over three disciplines, each designed to test one of the three recognised facets of hand strength: crushing; pinching; and supporting. It was developed by Wade and Brad Gillingham and became an internationally recognised contest featured at some of the world's most prominent strength athletics events and expos, including the Arnold Strongman Classic and the various WSM Super Series Grand Prixs. The last time the GNC Grip Gauntlet was run in a competitive format was the 2010 Arnold Classic. Since that time the challenge has changed to an informal challenge with no official results maintained. Prizes are still awarded for successful completion of the challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strongman Champions League</span> Strongman competition

The Strongman Champions League is a Strongman competition circuit, with several Grand Prix events throughout the year and the Strongman Champions League overall champion title going to the overall winner at the end of the season. Competitors include legends in the sport, including Žydrūnas Savickas, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Mikhail Koklyaev, Matjaz Belsak, Ervin Katona, Dainis Zageris, J.F. Caron, Nick Best, Andrus Murumets, Martin Wildauer, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Aivars Šmaukstelis, Vytautas Lalas, Dennis Kohlruss, Rauno Heinla, Travis Ortmayer, Laurence Shahlaei and Terry Hollands.

The World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") was a worldwide organisation within strength athletics that claimed to be the sport's organising body with the aim of making "the Strongman Sport more popular and accessible for a wide range of the people." Its motto was "be strong". It was also a charity. The Federation organised the World Strongman Cup one of the main competitions in the field of strength athletics boasting participation from some of the foremost strongmen around the globe. It was a separate competition from the World's Strongest Man, the Strongman Super Series and the IFSA World Championship). It has since been replaced by the World Strongman Federation's World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortissimus</span> Defunct strength athletics event

The Fortissimus is a defunct event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" and was a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth". It was set up to bring together the strongest competitors on the planet independent of the organisations to which they were signed, and also as a tribute to the nineteenth-century Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, which gave it many similarities to Le Defi Mark Ten International which last took place in Canada in the early 1990s. After its first airing in 2008, the strength athletics magazine Milo described it as the ultimate strongman competition ever held. Despite a successful edition in 2009, a reported lack of a major sponsor for 2010 resulted in the competition being suspended, no future contests have been announced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giants Live</span>

Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Muscle Power Classic</span>

The World Muscle Power Classic (WMPC) was one of the most enduring annual strongman competitions, running for twenty years and in that time attaining the position of the second most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man. It was notable for that reason and for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included every winner of the World's Strongest Man competition from 1980 onwards including Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier from the 1980s right up to the five time WSM champion Mariusz Pudzianowski and four time WSM champion Žydrūnas Savickas, both of whom were never able to capture the WMPC title.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Sadler</span>

Darren Sadler is a British former strongman competitor, winner of the World Strongman Challenge in the under 105 kg category, and notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man despite his comparatively small stature. He is also the co-founder of the Giant's Live Tour together with Colin Bryce.

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 holding national strongman events. The sport's roots have a long and ancient history going back many centuries with the legends of Orm Storolfsson and Grettir Ásmundarson to the 19th century traditional strongmen including Snorri Björnsson, Brynjólfur Eggertsson and Gunnar Salómonsson; before the televisation of modern strongman competitions in the late 1970s.

Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson is an Icelandic former strongman competitor who won the title of Iceland's Strongest Man, and competed at the World's Strongest Man and then went on to become a champion bodybuilder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Westaby</span>

Mark Westaby is a British strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Strongman Federation</span>

The "World Strongman" International Union of associations and clubs ("WSM") is a worldwide organization within strength athletics, founded by Vlad Redkin, a prominent figure in the history of the International Federation of Strength Athletes and World Strongman Cup Federation. The WSF has organised a number of grand prix events and national championships featuring some of the world's leading strength athletes including 5 time World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski, Brian Shaw, Mikhail Koklyaev, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Tarmo Mitt, Kevin Nee, Stefan Solvi Petursson, Laurence Shahlaei and Mark Felix. The WSF's flagship programme is the WSF World Cup.

The World Log Lift Championships is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, competing exclusively in the log clean and press. Created initially as part of the Strongman Champions League, it has since been part of Giants Live and the championship has been present in both series, Giants Live running one version of the championship and the World Log Lift Federation taking over the Strongman Champions League's variant of the championship.

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