Strength athletics in Finland

(Redirected from Finland's Strongest Man)

Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and events in the field of strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man.

History edit

Finland had enormous success on the international stage in the 1990s and early 2000s, having won 3 World's Strongest Man titles, and numerous major European and international competitions. In particular, Jouko Ahola was the 1997 World's Strongest Man & 1999 World's Strongest Man champion, Janne Virtanen won the 2000 World's Strongest Man, and Riku Kiri was a 3 time consecutive Europe's Strongest Man champion from 1995-1997. In recent years Finland has struggled in the major international scene, having not made the finals of WSM since 2002, and not having any major international victories.

National competitions edit

Finland's Strongest Man edit

Finland's Strongest Man
2011
Tournament information
LocationFinland
Established1987
FormatMulti-event competition
Current champion
  Mika Törrö

Finland's Strongest Man is an annual Strongman competition held in Finland and featuring exclusively Finnish athletes, to determine who the strongest Finn of the year is. It was first held in 1987.[1]

Both Janne Virtanen and Jani Illikainen hold the record with four wins, while Ilkka Nummisto and Riku Kiri hold three wins each as well.[1]

Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier and Hjalti Arnason were guests in the competition but their placings were not included in the final results.[1]

Top 3 placings edit

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
1987   Arto Lyytikäinen   Markku Suonenvirta   Jari Leino/Kari Pötrönen
1988   Riku Kiri
1989   Markku Suonenvirta   Ilkka Nummisto
1990   Ilkka Nummisto   Markku Suonenvirta
1991   Ilkka Nummisto   Markku Suonenvirta
1992   Ilkka Nummisto   Jukka Laine   Marko Varalahti
1993   Riku Kiri   Marko Varalahti   Jarmo Ruotsalainen
1994   Riku Kiri   Harri Simonen   Jorma Ojanaho
1995   Marko Varalahti   Sami Heinonen   Jukka Laine
1996   Jorma Ojanaho   Jouko Ahola   Marko Varalahti
1997   Jouko Ahola   Sami Heinonen   Jorma Ojanaho
1998   Janne Virtanen   Matti Uppa   Jukka Laine
1999   Janne Virtanen   Sami Heinonen   Juha-Matti Räsänen
2000   Janne Virtanen   Sami Heinonen   Juha-Matti Räsänen
2001   Janne Virtanen   Juha-Matti Räsänen   Pasi Paavisto
2002   Juha-Matti Räsänen   Sami Heinonen   Harri Simonen
2003   Juha-Matti Räsänen   Esa Qvintus   Tomi Lotta
2004   Tomi Lotta   Juha-Matti Räsänen   Jani Illikainen
2005   Jani Illikainen   Matti Uppa   Juha-Pakka Aitala
2006   Jani Illikainen   Juha-Matti Räsänen   Esa Qvintus
2007   Jani Illikainen   Jani Kolehmainen   Janne Hartikainen
2008   Jani Illikainen
2009   Juha Matti Jarvi
2010[2]   Pedro Karlsson
2011[2]   Jarno Jokinen   Pedro Karlsson
2014[3]   Arto Niemi-Nikkola   Jarno Kirselä   Juha Jokinen
2021   Mika Törrö   Henry Ollila   Severi Allonen
2022   Mika Törrö   Jarkko Mehtälä   Teemu Pohto
Repeat champions edit
Champion Times
  Janne Virtanen 4
  Janni Illikainen 4
  Riku Kiri 3
  Ilkka Nummisto 3
  Juha-Matti Räsänen 2
  Mika Törrö 2

Regional Competitions edit

Nordic Strongman Championships edit

The Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[4]

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place Location
2005   Svend Karlsen   Magnus Samuelsson   Juha-Matti Räsänen   IFSA Nordic Championships Kristiansand, Norway
2012[4]   Johannes Årsjö   Lars Rorbakken   Michael Licht   Nordic Championships Harstad, Norway
2013   Johannes Årsjö   Ole Martin Hansen   Juha-Matti Järvi   Giants Live Nordic Championships Norway

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "David Horne's World of Grip". Davidhorne-gripmaster.com. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  2. ^ a b Finland’s Strongest Man, Woman: Jarno Jokinen, Kati Luoto Win
  3. ^ "Finland's Strongest Man: The Next Generation". Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Nordic Strongman Championships: Viking Loses His Title!