Ever wondered who is the strongest man in the world?
You may have seen many strong men capable of lifting massive weights, but who are the world’s top 25 strongest men as of 2022?
What distinguishes them from the crowd?
Prepare to learn amazing facts about the world’s strongest people.
Table of Contents
1. Tom Stoltman
Tom Stoltman, a British professional strongman competitor and the two-time defending World’s Strongest Man and Britain’s Strongest Man, was born on May 30, 1994. Stoltman, known as “The Albatross” because of his long arms, is renowned for his skills with the Atlas Stones, the most difficult strongman competition.
2. Oleksii Novikov
Oleksii Novikov, a trained strongman from Ukraine born on 11 February 1996. After Vasyl Virastyuk, who won in 2004, he was the second Ukrainian to win the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2020. Despite being in the Ukrainian military, he was crowned Europe’s Strongest Man in 2022.
3. Martins Licis – pic
Martins Licis, a professional strongman who is of Latvian and American descent, was born on September 2, 1990, notable for taking first place in the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic and winning the 2019 World’s Strongest Man contest.
4. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
Thor, commonly known as Hafór Jlus Björnsson, is an Icelandic professional strongman. He was born on November 26, 1988. He owns several championship titles from various strength federations, including many world records, and is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man, and the World’s Strongest Man in the same year.
5. Brian Shaw
Brian Shaw, a professional strongman competitor from the United States, was born on February 26, 1982. Winner of the World’s Strongest Man events in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016, he made history in 2011 by being the first person to win both the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World’s Strongest Man competitions in the same year. He repeated this accomplishment in 2015.
6. JF Caron
Jean-François Caron, a Canadian strongman and powerlifter, was born on June 29, 1982. He is a native of Canada’s Les Hauteurs, Quebec. Caron has participated in the World’s Strongest Man competition eleven times. He has won Canada’s Strongest Man nine times in a row, which is a record.
7. Travis Ortmayer
American professional Strongman athlete Travis Ortmayer was born on August 9, 1981 in Cypress, Texas. Due to his several world records in the Atlas Stone competition, he is known as the Texas Stoneman.
8. Mikhail Shivlyakov
Mikhail Shivlyakov was born on April 30, 1980. He is a former Russian Marine who is now active in strongman competitions. He served in the marines, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Baltic Fleet between 1998 and 2000. After leaving the service, he started powerlifting.
9. Konstantine Janashia
Konstantine Janashia, a pro-strongman Georgian was born on August 30, 1990. Janashia, who represented Georgia for the first time in the World’s Strongest Man final in 2016, finished fourth.
10. Terry Hollands
Terry Hollands, a former British strongman competitor, was born on June 6, 1979. He won England’s and Britain’s Strongest Man. He also won the silver (2010) and bronze (2017) medals at Europe’s Strongest Man, as well as the bronze medal twice at the World’s Strongest Man (in 2007 and 2011). His participation in 89 international competitions over a period of 17 years makes him one of the strongest man in the world. In addition, Terry is renowned for his car pulling.
11. Zydrunas Savickas
Zydrunas Savickas, a professional strongman and powerlifter from Lithuania, was born on July 15, 1975. He is widely regarded as the greatest strength athlete of all time due to his numerous championship victories in all the international strongman contests and his longevity in the sport.
12. Luke Stoltman
Luke Stoltman, a Scottish professional strongman competitor, was born on November 22, 1984. He won Scotland’s Strongest Man five times, and Europe’s Strongest Man in 2021. Luke is a renowned shoulder powerhouse who presently owns the British Log Press record.
13. Adam Bishop
Professional strongman Adam Bishop, born on 7 January 1989, was a previous champion of the Britain’s Strongest Man competition. Despite weighing over 300 pounds, Bishop describes himself in the media as “one of the tiny men” in the sport. Bishop has also participated in skeleton bobsleigh and rugby, where he was a winger.
14. Maxime Boudreault
Maxime Boudreault, a professional strongman competitor from northern Ontario, was born on September 21, 1991. He finished third in the Sacramento, California, edition of the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2021 and took first place in Iceland’s first Magns Ver Magnsson Strongman Classic.
15. Janne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen, a former strongman from Finland who was born on November 16, 1969, earned the title of World’s Strongest Man in 2000. He came in second in 1999 and third in 2001. His other titles include the Finland’s Strongest Man, which he won four times, the Helsinki Grand Prix, and the Turkey Grand Prix in Istanbul in 2002. He declared his retirement after failing to make the World’s Strongest Man final for the second time in a row in 2007, but he returned for the competition’s third qualifying round in 2008.
16. Bill Kazmaier
Bill Kazmaier, an American who was a former powerlifting, strongman, and professional wrestling world champion, was born on December 30, 1953. He won two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships, three World’s Strongest Man championships, and multiple powerlifting and strongman world records throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By matching and surpassing the extraordinary and varied feats of strength of well-known strongmen of the 20th century, Kazmaier rose to fame in the 1980s with his assertion that he was “the strongest man who ever lived.” He is regarded by many as one of the finest strength competition competitors of all time.
17. Evan Singleton
Evan Singleton, born on October 9 1990, better known by his ring moniker T-Rex. He is an American strongman competitor and former professional wrestler. Singleton defeated Oleksii Novikov, the 2020 World’s Strongest Man, to win the Giants Live 2021 World Open in Manchester, England in August 2021. Singleton joined World Wrestling Entertainment when he was 18 and wrestled as “Adam Mercer.”
18. Mariusz Pudzianowski
Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski, also known as “Pudzian” and “Dominator,” was born on February 7, 1977. He is a Polish businessman, former strongman contestant, and active mixed martial artist. He is regarded by many as one of the best strength athletes of all time, with a record 70% international winning percentage during his strongman career. Pudzianowski earned five World’s Strongest Man championships throughout his career, which is the most ever. He also received two second-place finishes in 2006 and 2009. Pudzianowski made his mixed martial arts debut in 2009. In the KSW Heavyweight rankings, he is presently placed third.
19. Derek Poundstone
Born on September 28, 1981, in Woodbridge, Connecticut, Derek Poundstone is a former pro strongman athlete from the United States who finished in second place at the 2008 World’s Strongest Man competition. In addition to being a police sergeant with the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department, Derek Poundstone formerly owned and leased a gym and an apartment building.
20. Manfred Hoeberl
Born on May 12, 1964, Manfred Hoeberl is an Austrian former powerlifter and strongman who was renowned for having the biggest arms in the world in the early to mid-1990s. Hoeberl and Arnold Schwarzenegger, a legend in the world of bodybuilding and a former governor of California, were born in the same town.
21. Ab Wolders
Ab Wolders, a former strongman and world-champion powerlifter from the Netherlands, was born on June 10th, 1951. He finished in second place after Jamie Reeves in 1989 and Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984 in the World’s Strongest Man competition. He placed third in the 1986 World’s Strongest Man competition, fourth in 1988, first in the 1987 Europe’s Strongest Man competition, and twice was the strongest man in the Netherlands. Ab won the 125 kg division in the 1984 IPF World Powerlifting Championships.
22. Svend Karlsen
Svend Viking Karlsen, a former strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder from Norway, was born on October 6, 1967. During tournaments, he is well known for yelling his catchphrase, “Viking Power!”
23. Ted van der Parre
Ted van der Parre, a former strongman from the Netherlands, was born on September 21, 1955. He finished fourth in 1991 and first in 1992 in the World’s Strongest Man competition. He also competed in 1994 but had to withdraw after the second event due to a calf injury, finishing eighth. Van der Parre had the lowest WSM BMI of 35 and was the tallest contestant in the competition’s history. In 1991, 1992, and 1994, he was the winner of the Netherlands Strongest Man competition.
24. Ilkka Nummisto
From the middle of the 1960s through the middle of the 1970s, Ilkka Nummisto, a Finnish sprint canoeist, raced. He passed away on June 29, 2019. He participated in four Summer Olympics and finished fifth in the K-4 1000 m race in Mexico City in 1968, which was his best performance. After his Olympic career was over, Nummisto competed in the World’s Strongest Man competition five times between 1986 and 1992, finishing third in 1990, a personal best. In The World’s Strongest Man in 1986, he was the first person to lift all five McGlashen stones, followed by Geoff Capes and Jon Pall Sigmarson. Ilkka was also three times the strongest man in Finland.
25. Magnús Ver Magnússon
Magns Ver Magnsson, an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor, was born on April 23, 1963. He was the World’s Strongest Man four times, taking the title in 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996. In 1984, Magnus started powerlifting. He took home a silver at the junior world and European championships in 1985.
