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| Born | 4 August 1964 Wolsum, Friesland, The Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Strongman Highland Games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wout Zijlstra (born 4 August 1964, in Wolsum) 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.
Zijlstra was born in Wolsum, Friesland. He managed his first podium finish at the Strongest man of the Netherlands in 1991 where he finished second after Ted van der Parre. It took him until 1994 to reach the podium again. This time he finished third after Ted van der Parre and Berend Veneberg. After this he finished several more times on the podium but it would take him until 2001 to finally win the tournament. [2] After this victory he would not compete again and started focusing on Highland Games. He was invited twice to compete in the World's Strongest Man on both occasions he reached the final. In 1998 he competed together with his rival from the Netherlands Berend Veneberg and would finish third in the final. [2] In 2001 he finished eight in the World's Strongest Man competition. [2] Zijlstra competed together with Berend Veneberg on several occasions in the World's Strongest Team competition and won the tournament in 1998. After this they reached the podium several more times but did not win again. He finished the Elfstedentocht twice. [1] Wout won the NK Highland Games in 2003 and 2004 and held the world record for the 56 lb. weight for height [3] for more than a decade until it was finally beaten by Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Zijlstra works as an inspector of meat and does security jobs. [1] He is married and has 3 children. [1]
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. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino, DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.
Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a British former shot putter, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor.
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. Today, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, are 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.
Magnus Samuelsson, is a Swedish actor, former strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco. He has also made it to the World's Strongest Man podium 5 times and the finals 10 times and is regarded as one of the best strongmen in history. 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.
Ted van der Parre is a former strongman from the Netherlands, who won the World's Strongest Man contest in 1992 and was 4th in 1991. He also participated in 1994 when he finished 8th, having to drop out after the second event due to a calf injury. At 2.09 m and 160 kilograms (350 lb), Van der Parre was the tallest man ever to compete in the World's Strongest Man contest, and also has the lowest WSM BMI of 35. He also won the Netherlands Strongest Man contest in 1991, 1992, and 1994.
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 Britain's Strongest Man, the UK's Strongest Man, and England's Strongest Man competitions. He's also a Europe's Strongest Man silver (2010) & bronze (2017) medalist, a two time World's Strongest Man bronze medalist, a two time Arnold Strongman Classic 8th-place winner, a World's Ultimate Strongman 9th-place winner (2018), and the 5th most prolific strongman contestant in history having competed in more than 90 international competitions, winning 4 of them throughout 17 years. With 12 international event wins, Hollands is noted for his vehicle pulling skills, making him the 7th best vehicle puller in strongman history. He was nicknamed Terry 'The Tank' Hollands or 'Big Tel'.
Ab Wolders is a former strongman and world champion Powerlifter from the Netherlands. He was runner-up at the World's Strongest Man competition on two occasions, placing second to Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984 and to Jamie Reeves in 1989. He finished 3rd at the World's Strongest Man games in 1986, 4th in 1988, 1st at Europe's Strongest Man in 1987 and was twice Strongest man of the Netherlands. Ab won the IPF World Powerlifting Championships in 1984 in the 125 kg category.
The Highlander Challenge World Championships is a tournament that marries traditional Highland games with more contemporary strength athletics. It was created to help reinvigorate Highland games in Scotland by giving a modern and aspirational image while maintaining the tradition inherent in the history of the sport.
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge, also known as the Beauty and The Beast World Strongman Challenge was a short-lived annual strongman competition that was notable for the calibre of the entrants it attracted, as well as for the reputation it attained in a short amount of time.
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.
Cees de Vreugd, also known as "Kees de Vreugd" was a butcher, strongman and powerlifter from Katwijk, Netherlands. He finished third at the World's Strongest Man games in 1985.
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/Tétouan, Morocco.
The 1992 World's Strongest Man was the 15th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Ted van der Parre from the Netherlands after finishing fourth the previous year. It was his first title. 1991 winner Magnus Ver Magnusson from Iceland finished second equal with 1989 winner Jamie Reeves from the United Kingdom. The contest was held in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Berend Veneberg is a former strongman and powerlifter from the Netherlands. He finished 5th at the World's Strongest Man games in 1993, 9th in 1998, 6th in 1999, 1st at Europe's Strongest Man in 2000 and won Strongest man of the Netherlands 7 times.
Jimmy Laureys is a Belgian powerlifter and strongman competitor.
Jarno Hams is a strongman from the Netherlands. He participated in the World's Strongest Man in 2002 and 2003, but failed to qualify for the finals both times. Hams is a 7-time winner of Strongest Man of the Netherlands.
Strongest Man of the Netherlands is an annual strongman competition held in the Netherlands and featuring exclusively Dutch athletes. The contest was established in 1979, with Gerard Du Prie winning the inaugural contest. Berend Veneberg and Jarno Hams hold the record for most wins with 7. Kelvin de Ruiter holds 4 wins, Ted van der Parre holds 3 wins, and Ab Wolders and Gerard Du Prie each have 2 wins in the contest.
Wout François Maria Weghorst is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim, on loan from Premier League club Burnley, and the Netherlands national team.
Kelvin de Ruiter is a competitive strongman from the Netherlands and is the reigning four-time Strongest Man of the Netherlands. Having competed in 34 International strongman competitions and winning 7 of them, de Ruiter is among the 50 most decorated strongmen of all time.
