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Strength athletics in Iceland

(Redirected from Iceland's Strongest Man)

Strength athletics in Iceland refers to the participation of Icelandic competitors and holding national strongman events. 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.

Iceland Iceland
CapitalReykjavík
64°08′N 21°56′W / 64.133°N 21.933°W / 64.133; -21.933
Area
• Total
103,125 km2 (39,817 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 census
377,320[1] (world rank: 180th)
• Density
3.66/km2 (9.5/sq mi)
ISO 3166 codeIS

Iceland 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 Nine World's Strongest Man titles and numerous other international strongman competitions, and is often regarded as 'the strongest nation of the world'.[2][3][4]

History edit

The origin of Icelanders testing each other through feats and tests of strength predates the introduction of strength athletics and in terms of strength based sports there had been a number of noted powerlifters and weightlifters during the twentieth century. However, in the era of strongman competition Iceland has a record that belies the size of the nation's population having won 9 World's Strongest Man titles, second only to the USA who have won 12 titles. Before Iceland had its own national competition, it already had men competing on the international circuit. In 1983, the young powerlifter and bodybuilder, Jón Páll Sigmarsson entered the 1983 World's Strongest Man competition and was only beaten into second place by the experienced Geoff Capes. Sigmarsson went on to win the competition the following year and in total won the World's Strongest Man four times, and became the first man to win the title 4 times. Sigmarsson was also a six times World Muscle Power champion, 2 times Europe's Strongest Man and winner of the Pure Strength title. His contemporary, and good friend Hjalti Árnason, was also competing at this time and as well as podium finishes in World Muscle Power and World Strongman Challenge, he won the highly regarded Le Defi Mark Ten International competition. Magnús Ver Magnússon followed in their footsteps and emulated Sigmarsson's four World's Strongest Man titles, becoming the second man to win the title 4 times. He also won World Strongman Challenge, Europe's Strongest Man and European Hercules competitions. Ver Magnússon and Árnason also won the 1989 Pure Strength team competition. There have also been several other highly acclaimed Icelandic competitors in the top international events including Andrés Guðmundsson, Benedikt Magnússon, Torfi Ólafsson and most notably Stefán Sölvi Pétursson who achieved fourth-place in the 2010 World's Strongest Man competition. The next entire decade of Icelandic Strongman competitions was dominated by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson who won the main National title 10 consecutive times in addition to winning several other national competitions multiple times and also winning 9 Giants Live tours including the Europe's Strongest Man 5 times, 8 Strongman Champions League titles, the Arnold Strongman Classic 3 consecutive times, the World's Strongest Man and the World's Ultimate Strongman becoming the most decorated Icelandic Strongman of All time.[5]

National Competitions edit

Since 1985, Iceland has had its own national competition, Iceland's Strongest Man. There have also been three other major titles contested in Iceland, including Strongest Man in Iceland, Iceland's Strongest Man (IFSA) and Iceland's Strongest Viking; in addition to Westfjord's Viking, Grundarfjord Viking, Highland Viking, Eastfjord Strongman Championships and Thor's Powerlifting Challenge.

Iceland’s Strongest Man edit

Iceland’s Strongest Man
Tournament information
Location  Iceland
Established1985; 39 years ago (1985)
Number of
tournaments
39
FormatMulti-event Strongman competition with 6-10 athletes
Venue(s)Mosfellsbær, Reykjavík, Selfoss
Current champion
Kristján Jón Haraldsson (2023)

In 1985, the very first Iceland's Strongest Man contest was held[6] and it was not for the faint-hearted. Three of the six competitors ended up in hospital.[7] Jón Páll won the competition while Hjalti Árnason emerged second and Magnús Ver third. Thus, in the very first contest the podium finishers would between them go on to win the World's Strongest Man eight times, the World Muscle Power Classic seven times, the World Strongman Challenge, Le Defi Mark Ten International and numerous powerlifting titles including the super-heavyweight IPF World Powerlifting Championships. The contest's profile was immediately internationally renowned and it eventually became an open competition, although if a non-Icelander wins, the title of Iceland's Strongest Man defers to the highest placed Icelander. This has only happened on 2 occasions when the legendary Bill Kazmaier of the United States and Regin Vagadal of the Faroe Islands won. Tom Stoltman, Terry Hollands and Adrian Rollinson of the United Kingdom and Don Pope of the USA have all placed second. Luke Stoltman of the United Kingdom has placed third.

Being held for 39 consecutive years since its inception in 1985, Iceland's Strongest Man is the oldest continuously held strongman competition in the world. With 10 consecutive titles from 2011 to 2020 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson holds the record for the most number of wins while Magnús Ver Magnússon and Jón Páll Sigmarsson have 7 and 5 wins respectively.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
1985   Jón Páll Sigmarsson   Hjalti Árnason   Magnús Ver Magnússon
1986   Jón Páll Sigmarsson   Hjalti Árnason   Magnús Ver Magnússon
1987   Jón Páll Sigmarsson   Hjalti Árnason   Magnús Ver Magnússon
1988   Bill Kazmaier   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Hjalti Árnason
1989   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Hjalti Árnason   Torfi Ólafsson
1990   Jón Páll Sigmarsson   Andrés Guðmundsson   Hjalti Árnason
1991[8][9]   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Hjalti Árnason   Björgvin Filippusson
1992   Jón Páll Sigmarsson   Andrés Guðmundsson   Pétur Guðmundsson
1993   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Andrés Guðmundsson   Pétur Guðmundsson
1994   Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson   Torfi Ólafsson &   Audunn Jónsson
1995   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Torfi Ólafsson   Andrés Guðmundsson
1996   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Hjalti Árnason   Andrés Guðmundsson
1997   Torfi Ólafsson (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
1998   Regin Vagadal   Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson   Torfi Ólafsson
1999[10]   Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson   Audunn Jónsson &   Torfi Ólafsson
2000[11]   Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson   Torfi Ólafsson   Audunn Jónsson
2001   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Magnús Magnússon   Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson
2002[12]   Magnus Magnusson   Audunn Jónsson   Grétar Guðmundsson
2003   Benedikt Magnússon   Audunn Jónsson   Grétar Guðmundsson
2004   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Benedikt Magnússon   Audunn Jónsson
2005[13]   Kristinn Oskar 'Boris' Haraldsson   Adrian Rollinson   Guðjón Gíslason
2006[14]   Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson   Don Pope   Jens Fylkisson
2007[15]   Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson   Terry Hollands   Don Pope
2008   Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Orri Geirsson
2009   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson   Páll Logason
2010   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Benedikt Magnússon   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
2011[16]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Páll Logason
2012   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Páll Logason
2013   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Páll Logason   Ari Gunnarsson
2014   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Páll Logason   Úlfur Orri Pétursson
2015   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Fannar Smári Vilhjálmsson
2016   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Ari Gunnarsson
2017   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Sigfús Fossdal
2018   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Sigfús Fossdal
2019   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Tom Stoltman   Luke Stoltman
2020   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Ari Gunnarsson
2021   Stefán Karel Torfason   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Kristján Sindri Níelsson
2022   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Stefán Karel Torfason   Páll Logason
2023   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Vilius Jokužys   Theodór Már Gudmundsson

Champions breakdown edit

Champion Times Years
  Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson 10 (consecutive) 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
  Magnús Ver Magnússon 7 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004
  Jón Páll Sigmarsson 5 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992
  Kristinn Óskar 'Boris' Haraldsson 4 (consecutive) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
  Gunnar Þór Guðjónsson 3 1994, 1999, 2000
  Stefán Sölvi Pétursson 2 (consecutive) 2009, 2010
  Kristján Jón Haraldsson 2 (consecutive) 2022, 2023
  Torfi Ólafsson 1 1997
  Magnús Magnússon 1 2002
  Benedikt Magnússon 1 2003
  Stefán Karel Torfason 1 2021
  Bill Kazmaier 1 1988
  Regin Vágadal 1 1998

Most podium finishes without winning the title edit

Athlete Times (breakdown)
  Hjalti Árnason 8 (6 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
  Ari Gunnarsson 7 (4 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
  Audunn Jónsson 6 (4 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
  Páll Logason 6 (2 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
  Andrés Guðmundsson 5 (3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
  Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð 3 (3 x 2nd)
  Pétur Guðmundsson 2 (2 x 3rd)
  Grétar Guðmundsson 2 (2 x 3rd)
  Sigfús Fossdal 2 (2 x 3rd)

Strongest Man in Iceland edit

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2010[17]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Benedikt Magnússon   Páll Logason
2011[18]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Georg Ögmundsson
2012[19]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Páll Logason
2016[20]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Ari Gunnarsson   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson
2017[21]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Òskar Pétur Hafstein   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð
2018   Ari Gunnarsson   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   André Bachmann
2019   Ari Gunnarsson   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Kristján Jón Haraldsson
2020   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Stefán Karel Torfason   Òskar Pétur Hafstein
2021   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Tómas Darri Thorsteinsson
2022   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Vilius Jokužys   Theodór Már Gudmundsson
2023   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Vilius Jokužys   Pálmi Guðfinnsson

Iceland's Strongest Man (IFSA) edit

The IFSA organised the Iceland's Strongest Man competition for a number of years before 2005. However, when the IFSA disassociated from the World's Strongest Man competition, Iceland's Strongest Man remained the official qualifier with no IFSA involvement. The IFSA did continue to promote their own version until their financial demise at the end of 2008.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
1999   Andrés Guðmundsson (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2005[22]   Benedikt Magnússon (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2006   Benedikt Magnússon   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Georg Ögmundsson
2008   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Páll Logason   Grétar Guðmundsson

Iceland's Strongest Viking edit

This contest dates back to 1992[23] however, in some years the results of this contest have been combined with those of Iceland's Strongest Man in order to ascertain who qualifies for the World's Strongest Man.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2000   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Audunn Jónsson   Svavar Einarsson
2001   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Guðmundur Otri Sigurðsson   Jón Valgeir Williams
2002   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Jón Valgeir Williams   Magnús Magnússon
2003   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Jón Valgeir Williams   Audunn Jónsson
2004   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Benedikt Magnússon   Jón Valgeir Williams
2005[24]   Magnús Ver Magnússon   Magnus Magnusson   Georg Ögmundsson
2006[25]   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Georg Ögmundsson   Jón Valgeir Williams
2007   Benedikt Magnússon   Pétur Bruno Thorsteinsson and   Georg Ögmundsson
2009   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Páll Logason (To be confirmed)
2010[23]   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Páll Logason   Ari Gunnarsson
2011   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Ari Gunnarsson
2012   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Stefán Sölvi Pétursson   Georg Ögmundsson
2020   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Ari Gunnarsson   Stefán Karel Torfason
2021   Ari Gunnarsson   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Stefán Karel Torfason
2022   Kristján Jón Haraldsson   Stefán Karel Torfason   Kristján Sindri Níelsson
2023   Vilius Jokužys   Kristján Sindri Níelsson   Sigfús Fossdal

Other competitions edit

  • Westfjord's Viking (Vestfjarðarvíkingin)
  • Grundarfjord Viking (Grundarfjarðartröllið)
  • Highland Viking (Upsveitarvíkingin)
  • Eastfjord Strongman Championships (Austfjarðartröllið)
  • Thor's Powerlifting Challenge

Iceland's Strongest Woman edit

Iceland's Strongest Woman has been held since 1995 through different organizers, but from 2019 onwards Sigfús Fossdal took over and holds the competition annually in Akureyri.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
1995   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
1996   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
1997   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
1998   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2009   Jóhanna Eivinsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2010   Thora Thorsteinsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2011   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir   Thora Thorsteinsdóttir   Jóhanna Eivinsdóttir
2012   Bryndís Ólafsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2013   Thora Thorsteinsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2014   Ingibjörg Lilja (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2015   Jóhanna Eivinsdóttir (To be confirmed) (To be confirmed)
2016   Ingibjörg Óladóttir   Anna Björg Hjaltadóttir   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir
  Hún Zane Kauzena
2017   Hún Zane Kauzena   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Berglind Rós Bergsdóttir
2018   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Ellen Lind Ísaksdóttir (To be confirmed)
2019   Ellen Lind Ísaksdóttir   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Lilja B Jónsdóttir
2020   Ellen Lind Ísaksdóttir   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Lilja B Jónsdóttir
2021   Ellen Lind Ísaksdóttir   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Lilja B Jónsdóttir
2022   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Ellen Lind Ísaksdóttir   Erika Mjöll Jónsdóttir
2023   Ragnheiður Jónasdóttir   Erika Mjöll Jónsdóttir   Lilja B Jónsdóttir

Regional Competitions edit

Nordic Strongman Championships edit

Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[26]

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2005   Svend Karlsen   Magnus Samuelsson   Juha-Matti Räsänen
2012[26]   Johannes Årsjö   Lars Rorbakken   Michael Licht
2013   Johannes Årsjö   Ole Martin Hansen   Juha-Matti Järvi

International Competitions edit

Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic edit

Main article: Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic

The competition was organized by Hjalti Árnason to commemorate Jón Páll Sigmarsson, and 3 tournaments were held from 2010 to 2012 with the participation of the top athletes of the world.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2010   Brian Shaw   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Mark Felix
2011   Brian Shaw   Laurence Shahlaei   Páll Logason
2012   Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson   Jarno Jokinen   Mark Felix

Magnús Ver Magnússon Strongman Classic edit

The competition is noted for its vintage events and is held annually outdoors during winter season.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2021   Maxime Boudreault   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð   Sami Ahola
2022   Rongo Keene   Maxime Boudreault   Eyþór Ingólfsson Melsteð
2023   Tristain Hoath   Rongo Keene   Shane Flowers

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Iceland Population (LIVE)". www.worldometers.info. United Nations. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. ^ Tuesday, June 15, 2021, The Giants of Iceland - Strength Beyond Measure by Richard Chapman, Verified Expert - www.guidetoiceland.is
  3. ^ Monday, October 17, 2022, Jamaica makes sprinters. Kenya makes marathoners. And Iceland makes Strongmen! by Greg Merritt - www.guidetoiceland.is
  4. ^ Strossen, Randall J. (May 9, 2007). "The Brotherhood of Stone - "Basically, there are lots of very powerful Icelanders, whom I feel are 'the strongest people in the world' - Dr. Bill Crawford". IronMind Enterprises, Inc.
  5. ^ "Strongman Archives - Athletes". Strongman Archives. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  6. ^ Wednesday, June 17, 2009, Stefán Sölvi Pétursson Wins Iceland's Strongest Man by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., IronMind
  7. ^ Friday, June 19, 2015, Hafthor: 5X Iceland’s Strongest Man by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., IronMind
  8. ^ 2 september 1991, Sterkasti maður íslands 1991: Magnús Ver sigraði
  9. ^ In 1991 Jón Páll Sigmarsson was unable to compete due to injury sustained in Denmark. Andrés Guðmundsson took fourth place
  10. ^ Iceland's Strongest Man 1999, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-03-27
  11. ^ Sunday, June 18, 2000, Gunnar Thor Wins Icelandic Strongest Man... by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. IronMind[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Monday, June 17, 2002, Magnus Magnussson Wins Iceland's Strongest Man by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. IronMind
  13. ^ Saturday, June 18, 2005, Boris Wins Iceland's Strongest Man, Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. IronMind
  14. ^ Tuesday, June 20, 2006, Iceland's Strongest Man Contest: Boris Wins, Qualifies for WSMSS, by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind
  15. ^ Boris Repeats as Iceland’s Strongest Man by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D.
  16. ^ "Hafthor Julius Bjornsson Wins Iceland's Strongest Man". Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  17. ^ "Hafthor Julius Bjornsson Wins 2010 Strongest Man in Iceland". Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  18. ^ "Hafthor Julius Bjornsson Wins the Strongest Man in Iceland". Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  19. ^ "Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Wins Strongest Man in Iceland". Archived from the original on 2013-03-16. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  20. ^ "Hafthor Wins Strongest Man in Iceland".
  21. ^ "Hafthor Wins Strongest Man in Iceland Viking Challenge 2017".
  22. ^ David Horne (7 March 2005). "Iceland's Strongest Man (IFSA)". www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  23. ^ a b Monday, July 12, 2010, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Wins Iceland’s Strongest Viking: Magnús Ver Magnússon Praises His Progress by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind
  24. ^ Ironmind report, 2005 Iceland's Strongest Viking
  25. ^ "Ironmind report, 2006 Iceland's Strongest Viking". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
  26. ^ a b "Nordic Strongman Championships: Viking Loses His Title!". Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
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