THE World’s Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition that began back in 1977.
There have been 24 winners of the contest, which takes place in the US in the summer but isn’t aired in the UK until late December.
Who are the winners of the World’s Strongest Man?
Bruce Wilhelm – 1977-1978
Bruce Wilhelm won the first ever World’s Strongest Man contest, which was held at Universal Studios, California, in 1977.
He went on to win the competition again the following year, beating runners-up Bob Young and Ken Patera.
After his wins, Wilhelm helped organise and officiate subsequent contests.
He was also a member of the executive board of the United States Olympic Committee.
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Don Reinhoudt – 1979
Don Reinhoudt was named the World’s Strongest Man in 1979, a year after he placed as a runner-up at the 1978 event.
Despite his win, Reinhoudt would go on to compete only once more, placing ninth in 1980.
Bill Kazmaier – 1980-1982
Bill Kazmaier dominated the World’s Strongest Man contest from 1980 to 1982.
He was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest strength competitors of all-time.
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Geoff Capes – 1983, 1985
Brit Geoff Capes became the first non-American to win the World’s Strongest Man title in 1983.
The former shot putter also had a very successful athletic career and represented both England and Great Britain.
He competed at the Commonwealth games, the European indoor championships, and at three Olympic Games.
Jón Páll Sigmarsson – 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990
Jón Páll Sigmarsson was a strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder from Iceland.
He was the first man to win the World’s Strongest Man four times.
Sigmarsson died on January 16, 1993, after suffering a heart attack while deadlifting.
Jamie Reeves – 1989
After placing third the year before, Jamie Reeves took home the win at the 1989 World’s Strongest Man competition.
The former coal miner, from Sheffield, was also a professional wrestler.
After retiring from competitive sports, Reeves worked as a referee, event promoter and coach for strength contests.
Magnús Ver Magnússon – 1991, 1994-1996
Icelandic strongman Magnús Ver Magnússon dominated the World’s Strongest Man contest for much of the 1990s.
Like his fellow Icelandic competitor Sigmarsson, Magnússon won the competition four times.
Ted van der Parre – 1992
Ted van der Parre won the World’s Strongest Man contest in 1992, with the 6’10” athlete becoming the tallest ever competitor to take the title.
As of 2023, he is the only competitor from the Netherlands to win the competition.
Van der Parre competed again in 1994 but was forced to drop out due to a calf injury.
Gary Taylor – 1993
Welsh strongman Gary Taylor won the title of World’s Strongest Man in 1993.
According to Guinness World Records, 6′ Taylor is the shortest ever winner of the contest.
The sportsman, from Cardiff, has become a commentator and organiser for the annual UK’s Strongest Man contest since retiring from competing himself.
Jouko Ahola – 1997, 1999
Jouko Ahola is a former strongman, powerlifter and actor from Finland.
He won the World’s Strongest Man twice and is also a two time winner of the Europe’s Strongest Man competition.
Ahola has starred in films like Kingdom of Heaven, Bad Day to Go Fishing and War of the Dead.
He also had a role in the History Channel series Vikings.
Magnus Samuelson – 1998
Magnus Samuelsson competed for the title of World’s Strongest Man three times before winning in 1998.
He has been named one of best arm wrestlers in the world and was a European Arm Wrestling champion before moving into strongman competitions.
Samuelson is also an actor and has starred in Swedish crime thriller series Arne Dahl as well as the BBC’s The Last Kingdom.
Janne Virtanen – 2000
Finland’s Janne Virtanen was a runner-up in 1999 but moved up to the top of the podium in 2000.
He also won Finland’s Strongest Man in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, the Helsinki Grand Prix in 2000), and the Turkey Grand Prix in 2002.
Virtanen announced his retirement in 2007 and now works as a carpenter.
Svend Karlsen – 2001
Svend Karlsen became Norway’s first World’s Strongest Man in 2001.
He retired from competing in 2006 and began working in TV.
Karlsen has worked as the presenter and producer of the Norwegian version of the World’s Strongest Man contest, and for the qualifying tour Giants Live.
Mariusz Pudzianowski – 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
Mariusz Pudzianowski is a former strongman competitor and MMA fighter.
The sportsman, from Poland, has the nicknames “Pudzian” and “Dominator”.
Pudzianowski won five World’s Strongest Man titles in seven years, the most in history.
He retired in 2009 and made his debut as an MMA fighter the same year.
Vasyl Virastyuk – 2004
Vasyl Virastyuk won the World’s Strongest Man contest in 2004.
He is one of only two people to defeat Pudzianowski during his seven-year stint at the contest.
Virastyuk is also a politician and in 2021 he was sworn in as a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
Phil Pfister – 2006
Phil Pfister was named the World’s Stongest Man in 2006.
He was the first American to win the title since Kazmaier in 1982.
Pfister came in fourth at the 1998, 2001, 2007, and 2008 contests but retired from the sport in 2009.
Žydrūnas Savickas – 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014
Zydrunas Savickas knocked Pudzianowski off the top spot to claim his first World’s Strongest Man win in 2009.
He went on to win the competition three more times and break over 70 world records.
The Lithuanian hasn’t appeared at the World’s Strongest Man competition since 2018, when he finished tenth.
Brian Shaw – 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016
Brian Shaw is one of Savickas’ fiercest competitors and has also won the World’s Strongest Man competition four times.
The athlete, from Colorado, became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World’s Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year in 2011.
He then replicated this feat in 2015.
Shaw is the fourth most decorated strongman in history and announced his official retirement in August 2023.
Eddie Hall – 2017
Eddie Hall is a former strongman and boxer who won the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2017.
Hall is best known for setting the world-record 500kg deadlift in 2016, widely regarded as one of the most iconic lifts in the history of the strongman sport.
Since retiring from strongman, Hall has revealed plans to move into bodybuilding.
Hafthor Björnsson – 2018
Hafthor Julius Björnsson won the World’s Strongest Man contest in 2018, after missing out by just one point the previous year.
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.
Björnsson is also an actor and is best known for his role as “The Mountain” Ser Gregor Clegane in the HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Martins Licis – 2019
Latvian-American professional strongman Martins Licis had a surprise win at the 2019 World’s Strongest Man event.
He went on to win the 2021 Rogue Invitational and 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic strongman championships.
Oleksii Novikov – 2020
Oleksii Novikov claimed his first World’s Strongest Man title in 2020.
The Ukrainian became the second youngest man to win the competition, triumphing when he was 24 years and 278 days of age.
Sigmarsson is the youngest to have won, clocking in at 24 years and 271 days of age when he gained his title in 1984.
Tom Stoltman – 2021, 2022
Tom Stoltman made history when he became the first Scot to win the World’s Strongest Man title in 2021.
The sportsman won the contest again 2022, becoming only the tenth man in the competition’s history to win the title of World’s Strongest Man twice.
Mitchell Hooper – 2023
Mitchell Hooper claimed the World’s Strongest Man title for the first time in his career in 2023.
Hooper, from Midhusrt Canada, became the first Canadian in World’s Strongest Man history to win.
What is the prize for World’s Strongest Man?
The prize for winning World’s Strongest Man is monetary.
The amounts have changed over the years and the prize pot went up significantly after 2021.
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It has been reported that the 2020 first prize was around £42,000, while in 2021 it increased to just over £117,000.
Runners-up also receive money for their efforts.
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
