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| Nationality | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 September 1991 New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Strongman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 155–160 kg (342–353 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mathew 'Matt' Ragg (born 21 September 1991) is a Strongman from New Zealand [1] and a six-times winner of New Zealand's Strongest Man competition. [2]
Ragg started his sporting career as a sprinter but a recurring shin injury caused him to move towards weight training. [2] In 2013, he started competing in local strongman competitions and broke some national records in the process. This paved him to join 2016 Arnold Amateur World Championships, where he secured third place behind Zach Hadge and Evgeny Markov, resulting in his pro debut.[ citation needed ]
Following a hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic, [3] Ragg competed at 2022 Official Strongman Games and won third place which qualified him for the World's Strongest Man. [4] At 2023 World's Strongest Man, he qualified for the finals, finishing in 9th place. At the 2023 Giants Live World Tour Finals, he won second place behind Tom Stoltman and ahead of the reigning World's Strongest Man champion Mitchell Hooper.[ citation needed ]
In 2024, he won the Beasts of Burden competition by scoring 41 of a possible 45 points. [4] Ragg found further success in the 2024 season, coming fourth place at the 2024 World's Strongest Man and Giants Live Strongman Classic. He was also invited to compete in the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth competition (coming 12th out of 16) and the 2024 Rogue Invitational (coming 7th out of 10).
Ragg is of Samoan descent. [5] He works full time as a shift supervisor at McDonald's. [2]
Winning percentage: 8.33%
Podium percentage: 25.00%
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International competitions | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
Svend Viking Karlsen is a Norwegian former strongman, powerlifter, bodybuilder and 2001 World's Strongest Man.
Mark Felix is a Grenadian-English retired strongman competitor. 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.
Laurence Cristiaan David Shahlaei is an English YouTuber, strength sports commentator, analyst, coach, and a retired strongman and powerlifting competitor. He is most noted for winning the 2016 Europe's Strongest Man competition.
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.
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 31 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".
Jean-François 'JF' Caron is a French-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.
Edward Stephen Hall is a British media personality and a retired strongman. He is best known for his world-record setting 500 kg (1,102 lb) deadlift in 2016. He is also known for winning 2017 World's Strongest Man competition.
Graham Hicks is an English strongman and powerlifter. He won the 2019 Britain's Strongest Man competition and placed second in 2014 and 2018. He is also a two time Europe's Strongest Man bronze medalist.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski is a Polish strongman competitor, notable for winning the 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman competition. He is also a two-time World's Strongest Man runner-up, three-time Arnold Strongman Classic runner-up, one time Europe's Strongest Man runner-up, and five-times Poland's Strongest Man.
Martins Licis is an American professional strongman, notable for winning the 2019 World's Strongest Man, the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and the 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.
Tom Ryan Stoltman is a British professional strongman competitor, from Invergordon, Scotland. He is a three time winner of the World's Strongest Man in 2021, 2022, and 2024. He also won the national title of Britain's Strongest Man on the same years. Nicknamed "The Albatross" due to his sizeable arm span, Stoltman is known for his prowess with the Atlas Stones. In 2020, Stoltman broke the world record for the 5 Atlas Stones 100–180 kilograms (220–397 lb), completing them in just 16.01 seconds; he also holds the world record for the heaviest Atlas stone ever lifted over a 1.22 metres (4.0 ft) bar at 286 kilograms (631 lb).
Adam Bishop is a professional strongman and two-time winner of the Britain's Strongest Man competition. Bishop refers to himself in the media as "one of the little guys" in the sport, despite weighing over 300 lbs. Bishop has also competed in rugby, where he played as a winger, and in skeleton bobsleigh.
Mikhail Vasilyevich Shivlyakov is a Russian professional strongman and former Russian Marine
Oleksii Novikov is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian to win the title since Vasyl Virastyuk in 2004, and at 24 years, 278 days, he is also the second youngest winner in history, being only seven days older than Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984. He is also a two time World's Ultimate Strongman, the 2022 Rogue Invitational champion, and the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.
Evan Singleton is an American strongman competitor and former professional wrestler who carries the nickname T-Rex. In the WWE, he wrestled under the name Adam Mercer.
Jerry 'Iron Outlaw' Pritchett is an American Strongman and a regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition winning 4th place in 2020 and 3rd place in Master's category in 2021. He is also America's Strongest Man in 2017 and won All-American Strongman Challenge back to back in 2013 and 2014. Jerry has competed in 42 International strongman competitions and is widely regarded as one of the best deadlifters of all-time.
Rob Kearney is a retired American professional strongman competitor. He won the Giants Live North American Open in 2017 and the Arnold International World Series Australia in 2019. He is also a four time qualifier for the World's Strongest Man competition, and a three time participant in the Arnold Strongman Classic. He is also a two-time American log lift record holder, with a competition best of 476 lbs in 2020.
Mitchell Hooper is a Canadian strongman and kinesiologist. He secured 1st place at the 2023 World's Strongest Man competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he also became the first Canadian to win the title of World's Strongest Man. He is also the winner of both the 2023 and 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic events. In 2023, he became the fourth person to win both the World’s Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman Classic competitions in the same year. As of the 2024 strongman season, Hooper is the only athlete to have won the World's Strongest Man, Arnold Strongman Classic, Rogue Invitational, and Strongest Man on Earth competitions.
Charles "Trey" Mitchell III, nicknamed The Big Thicket, is a professional strongman from Lumberton, Texas. He is most notable for winning the Shaw Classic strongman championship two consecutive times in 2021 and 2022.
Pavlo Nakonechnyy is a Ukrainian professional strongman and powerlifter. He is best known for his prowess in deadlifting, having pulled 390 kg in powerlifting and 453.5kg in strongman standards.
