Svend 'Viking' Karlsen is a Norwegian former strongman, powerlifter, bodybuilder and 2001 World's Strongest Man.
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 greatest strongmen in history.
Phil Pfister is an American former strongman competitor and winner of the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He was the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. Pfister stands 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and weighs 375 pounds (170 kg).
Terry Hollands is a British bodybuilder and the winner of the 2bros Pro Luke Sandoe Classic Beginners Class 2019 bodybuilding championships. Hollands is also a retired strongman competitor and a past winner of England's Strongest Man, Britain's Strongest Man and UK's Strongest Man competitions.
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.
Strength athletics in Canada refers to the various Strongman events throughout Canada and its provinces in the sport of Strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man. The roots of strongman in Canada go back long before the birth of WSM in 1977, particularly with [Louis Cyr] in the early 1900s, who was deemed the "Strongest Man on Earth" during his lifetime. Four Canadian athletes have finished on the podium, placing 2nd in 1982 with Tom Magee and 3rd in 2005 with Dominic Filiou, Jean-François Caron placing 3rd in 2020, and Maxime Boudreault placing 3rd in 2021. The provinces of Canada hold annual championships with the top 2-4 athletes going on to the National Championships at the end of the year to crown Canada's Strongest Man. Mitchell Hooper's win at 2023 World's Strongest Man makes him the first Canadian to finish in first place.
Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and holding national strongman competitions.
Strength athletics in the United States refers to the various strongman competitions organized throughout United States and North America with the elements of all of strength athletics taken into account. United States 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 twelve World's Strongest Man titles and numerous other international strongman competitions. United States has both amateur and a professional sanctioning bodies.
Strength athletics in Sweden refers to the participation of Swedish competitors and holding national strongman competitions.
Strength athletics in Iceland refers to the participation of Icelandic competitors and holding national strongman competitions. 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.
Denmark's Strongest Man is an annual Strongman contest held in various locations in Denmark, and features exclusively Danish strength athletes. The contest was first held in 1983 with Sven-Ole Thorsen winning the title. Flemming Rasmussen holds the record with 7 wins, while Henrik Henning and Mikkel Leicht share 6 wins each. René Minkwitz and Nikolai Hansen share 5 wins each. Anders Aslak is the current champion.
Krzysztof Radzikowski is a professional strongman competitor from Głowno, Poland. He has competed in 112 International strongman competitions and has won 24 of them, making him the sixth most decorated strongman in history following Žydrūnas Savickas, Mariusz Pudzianowski, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Brian Shaw and Aivars Šmaukstelis.
Matjaz Belsak is a Slovenian professional strongman and powerlifter. Having competed in 64 International strongman competitions and winning 11 of them, Belsak is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.
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.
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.
Odd Erling Haugen is a Norwegian-born American strongman and a grip strength specialist. He has also competed in bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting.
World's Strongest Viking was an annual international Strongman competition organized by Strongman Champions League and held for eight consecutive years from 2014 to 2021 with participation of top strongman athletes in the world. It was held under perilous weather conditions in winter, testing the athletes to their limits.
Håkon Heitmann Kollerød (2024)
