Strongman Super Series

World Strongman Super Series

The official logo of World Strongman Super Series 2010
Founded	2001;24 years ago (2001)
Ceased	2010
Last champion	Brian Shaw
Tournament format	Multi-event competition

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.

Typically, ten to twelve athletes take part in each GP, comprising the top six in the international rankings and at least four qualifiers or wildcard entries. The winner of each grand prix receives ten series points, the second placed, nine, and so on. The highest scoring competitor at the end of the series is named World Champion.

World Class Events ("WCE") ran the Super Series in co-operation with the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA") from 2001 to 2004 until IFSA cut ties with WCE and World's Strongest Man and began promoting their own grand prix events and world championships. In 2005, WCE signed a deal with Trans World International ("TWI"), the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming, to have the exclusive rights worldwide to be the only qualifying tour to the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man event for 2005–2008. ^[1] The top four athletes from each Grand Prix competition receive an automatic invitation to WSM.

On April 27, 2009 Giants Live, an arena-based series of live strongman competitions, was named the Official World's Strongest Man Qualifying Tour for 2009–2011, thus taking over from the Strongman Super Series in this regard. The first 2009 qualifying event took place on May 17 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the second event being the Viking Power competition in Norway, and finishing off the 2009 season in Poland. ^[2]

Super Series World Champions

Year	Athlete	Nationality
2001	Magnus Samuelsson	Sweden
2002	Hugo Girard	Canada
2003/4	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland
2004	Žydrūnas Savickas	Lithuania
2005*	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland
2006*	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland
2007*	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Poland
2008*	Derek Poundstone	United States
2009	Brian Shaw	United States
2010	Brian Shaw	United States

*WSM Super Series

2001

See also: International Federation of Strength Athletes

The International Federation of Strength Athletes co-produced the Strongman Super Series events from 2001 to 2004 along with World Class Events (WCE)/Ulf Bengtsson.

The official logo of IFSA World Strongman Super Series from 2001 to 2004

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Netherlands Holland Grand Prix [3]	Wout Zijlstra	Magnus Samuelsson	Svend Karlsen	20 May 2001
Prague, Czech Republic Czech Grand Prix [4]	Hugo Girard	Svend Karlsen	Magnus Samuelsson	18 August 2001
Stockholm, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [5]	Magnus Samuelsson	Hugo Girard	Svend Karlsen	28 October 2001
Overall placings	Magnus Samuelsson (15 points)	Hugo Girard (13 points)	Svend Karlsen (13 points)

2002

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Aberdeen, Scotland Scotland Grand Prix	Svend Karlsen	Hugo Girard	Janne Virtanen	16 June 2002
Stockholm, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [6] [7]	Hugo Girard	Svend Karlsen	Žydrūnas Savickas	23 November 2002
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Hawaii Grand Prix [8]	Hugo Girard	Žydrūnas Savickas	Mariusz Pudzianowski	17 January 2003 [note 1]
Overall placings [8]	Hugo Girard (17 points)	Svend Karlsen (13 points)	Žydrūnas Savickas 9 points)

1. Although held in 2003 the 2002 Hawaii Grand Prix was the final event of the 2002 Strongman Super Series and was not a part of, and had no effect on, the 2003 series. ^[9]

2003

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Hawaii Grand Prix [10]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Raimonds Bergmanis	Žydrūnas Savickas	18 January 2003
Silvolde, Netherlands Holland Grand Prix [11]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Žydrūnas Savickas	Jarno Hams	14 June 2003
North Bay, Canada Canada Grand Prix [12]	Hugo Girard	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Svend Karlsen	1 August 2003
Imatra, Finland Finland Grand Prix [13]	Hugo Girard	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Raimonds Bergmanis	16 August 2003
Columbus, Ohio, United States 2004 Arnold's Strongest Man [14]	Žydrūnas Savickas	Svend Karlsen	Raimonds Bergmanis	5-6 March 2004 [note 1]
Overall placings	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Žydrūnas Savickas	Raimonds Bergmanis

1. Although held in 2004 the 2004 Arnold's Strongest Man was the final event of the 2003 Strongman Super Series and was not a part of, and had no effect on, the 2004 series.

2004

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Moscow, Russia Moscow Grand Prix [15]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Žydrūnas Savickas	Vasyl Virastyuk	11 July 2004
Gothenburg, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [16]	Magnus Samuelsson	Žydrūnas Savickas	Svend Karlsen	5 December 2004
Overall placings	Žydrūnas Savickas	Vasyl Virastyuk	Mariusz Pudzianowski/ Magnus Samuelsson

2005

Beginning in 2005, WSM/WCE cut all ties with IFSA, who had begun promoting their own separate grand prix events and world championships. The Strongman Super Series then became known as the World's Strongest Man Super Series and was the official qualifying tour for World's Strongest Man from 2005 to 2008.

The official logo of World's Strongest Man Super Series from 2005 to 2008

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Los Angeles, California, United States Met-Rx Grand Prix [17]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jesse Marunde	Janne Virtanen	18 June 2005
Malbork, Poland Nautilus Grand Prix [18]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Slawomir Toczek	Jesse Marunde	16 July 2005
Varberg, Sweden Vulkan Grand Prix [19]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Janne Virtanen	Jesse Marunde	30 July 2005
Uncansville, Connecticut, United States Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [20]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jessen Paulin	Don Pope	10 August 2005
Overall placings	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jesse Marunde	Janne Virtanen

2006

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Uncansville, Connecticut, United States Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [21]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jesse Marunde	Josh Thigpen	1 June 2006
Moscow, Russia Moscow Grand Prix [22]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Elbrus Nigmatullin	Jessen Paulin	2 July 2006
Milicz, Poland Poland Grand Prix [23]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jarek Dymek	Sebastian Wenta	12 August 2006
Overall placings	Mariusz Pudzianowski

2007

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Uncansville, Connecticut, United States Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [24]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Kevin Nee	Mark Felix	22 April 2007
Los Angeles, California, United States Venice Beach Grand Prix [25]	Dave Ostlund	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jesse Marunde	16 June 2007
Gol, Norway Viking Power Challenge [26]	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jarek Dymek	Magnus Samuelsson	7 July 2007
Overall placings	Mariusz Pudzianowski

2008

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Uncansville, Connecticut, United States Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [27]	Derek Poundstone	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Terry Hollands	19 January 2008
New York City, New York, United States Madison Square Garden Grand Prix [28]	Travis Ortmayer	Derek Poundstone	Dave Ostlund	21 June 2008
Gol, Norway Viking Power Challenge [29]	Arild Haugen	Sebastian Wenta	Richard Skog	5 July 2008
Lysekil, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [30]	Magnus Samuelsson	Tarmo Mitt	Richard Skog	16 August 2008
Overall placings	Derek Poundstone

2009

Giants Live replaced the World's Strongest Man Super Series beginning in 2009 as the official qualifying tour for the World's Strongest Man. However, Strongman Super Series continued to hold events under the new title of World Strongman Super Series in 2009 & 2010. ^[31]

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Bucharest, Romania Romania Grand Prix [32]	Marshall White	Nick Best	Johannes Arsjo	4 July 2009
Los Angeles, California, United States Venice Beach Grand Prix [33]	Brian Shaw	Stoyan Todorchev	Jason Bergmann	14 November 2009
Gothenburg, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [34]	Brian Shaw	Stoyan Todorchev	Jason Bergmann	5 December 2009
Overall placings [34]	Brian Shaw (27 points)	Stoyan Todorchev (24 points)	Nick Best (21 points)

2010

Name and Location	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Place	Date
Uncansville, Connecticut, United States Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [35]	Derek Poundstone	Brian Shaw	Stoyan Todorchev	25 April 2010
Gol, Norway Viking Power Challenge [36]	Brian Shaw	Johannes Arsjo	Laurence Shahlaei	26 June 2010
Lysekil, Sweden Sweden Grand Prix [37]	Brian Shaw	Nick Best	Laurence Shahlaei	17 December 2010
Overall placings [37]	Brian Shaw (33 points)	Dave Ostlund (19.5 points)	Laurence Shahlaei (16 points)

See also

• List of strongman competitions
• International Federation of Strength Athletes
• World's Strongest Man
• Giants Live
• Arnold Strongman Classic
• World Muscle Power Championships

References

1. WCE AND TWI SHOW STRENGTH IN PARTNERSHIP
2. GIANTS LIVE NAMED OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TOUR FOR WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN COMPETITION Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
3. "2001 Holland Grand Prix". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
4. "2001 Czech Grand Prix". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
5. "2001 Sweden Grand Prix". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
6. "Hugo Girard won the Hammer Strength Grand Prix Stockholm". Super Series. Archived from the original on 26 February 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
7. Strossen, Randall J. "Hugo Girard Handily Wins Stockholm Super Series GP". Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
8. Strossen, Randall J. (18 January 2003). "Hugo: Huge Win in Hawaii". IronMind. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
10. Strossen, Randall J. (19 January 2003). "Pudzianowski Wins 2003 IFSA Hawaiian Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
11. "2003 Holland Grand Prix". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
12. "2003 Canada Grand Prix results". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
13. "2003 Finland Grand Prix results". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
14. "2004 Arnold's Strongest Man Results". arnoldsstrongestman. Archived from the original on 13 April 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
15. Strossen, Randall J. (12 July 2004). "Moscow Super Series: More Results, Bergmanis Sets World Record, "Tremendous Enthusiasm"". IronMind. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
16. Strossen, Randall J. (5 December 2004). "Magnus Samuelsson Wins the Swedish Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
17. Strossen, Randall J. (19 June 2005). "Pudzianowski, Marunde, Virtanen and Filiou Qualify for WSM '05". IronMind. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
18. Strossen, Randall J. (16 July 2020). "Polish Power: Pudzianowski and Toczek Shine in Nautilus WSM Super Series". IronMind. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
19. Strossen, Randall J. (30 July 2005). "Mariusz Pudzianowski Wins WSMSS Vulkan Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
20. Strossen, Randall J. (10 August 2005). "Mariusz Wins Mohegan Sun Grand Prix . . . Paulen, Pope and Thigpen Qualify for WSM". IronMind. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
21. Strossen, Randall J. (1 June 2006). "Mariusz Pudzianowski: Big Win at the Mohegan Sun". IronMind. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
22. Strossen, Randall J. (2 July 2006). "Mariusz Wins WSMSS Moscow Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
23. Strossen, Randall J. (12 August 2006). "WSMSS Poland Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
24. Strossen, Randall J. (24 April 2007). "From the Mohegan Sun to WSM '07". IronMind. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
25. Strossen, Randall J. (16 June 2007). "Dave Ostlund Wins at Muscle Beach". IronMind. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
26. Strossen, Randall J. (9 July 2007). "Mariusz: Marching Toward WSM '07". IronMind. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
27. Strossen, Randall J. (19 January 2008). "Poundstone Wins the Mohegan Sun Grand Prix". IronMind. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
28. Strossen, Randall J. (21 June 2008). "Travis Ortmayer Blossoms in the Garden: The Texan Stone Eater Wins the Super Series Madison Square Garden Grand Prix . . . Qualifies for World's Strongest Man". IronMind. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
29. Strossen, Randall J. (5 July 2008). "Arild Haugen Wins Viking Power Challenge". IronMind. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
30. Strossen, Randall J. (17 August 2008). "Magnus Samuelsson Wins Final Leg of the 2008 WSM Super Series". IronMind. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
31. Official site breaking news
32. Strossen, Randall J. (4 July 2009). "Marshall White Wins WSMSS - Bucharest". IronMind. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
33. Strossen, Randall J. (15 November 2009). "Brian Shaw: Strong Showing at World Strongman Super Series". IronMind. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
34. Strossen, Randall J. (6 December 2009). "Brian Shaw Wins Big at World Strongman Super Series: Takes Swedish Grand Prix and Overall Title". IronMind. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
35. Strossen, Randall J. (25 April 2010). "Derek Poundstone Three-Peats at the Mohegan Sun: World Strongman Series Grand Prix Winner". IronMind. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
36. Strossen, Randall J. (26 June 2010). "Brian Shaw Wins Viking Power Challenge". IronMind. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
37. Strossen, Randall J. (13 December 2010). "Brian Shaw Wins World Strongman Super Series Swedish Grand Prix and Overall Title". IronMind. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2023.

External links

• WSM Super Series Official website to 2008
• World Strongman Super Series Official website from 2009