World’s Strongest Man: 1993

As well as the box set of the 1980’s World’s Strongest Man finals, I was fortunate enough to receive the box set of the 1990’s for my birthday in January.  I’ve been working my way through them on the odd evening that I get home in time to do more than pay a visit to my garage gym and then hit the sack.  So I’ve done a few reviews of the episodes but before I get to them, here are a few pointers and resources…

Strongman resources

I have posted about strongman before and I often have links to useful sites.  If you’re interested, check out my top 10 website resources for strongman.  I also love watching World’s Strongest Man on television – it’s probably the highlight of my televiewing year – and I enjoy using strongman equipment in my workouts, especially when the weather is nice and I can use the garden.  And not only has it been an enjoyable experience for me, training wise, it’s produced some fun blog posts too, including:

• how to make simple farmers’ walk bars;
• how to make (more complicated) farmer’s walk bars;
• how to make a cheap sandbag;
• training with sandbags (lifting and loading);
• how to make a fat bar (for axle deadlifts, cleans and presses).

However, please note that I don’t compete and I don’t profess to any inside knowledge.  That aside, I hope you enjoy this article.  If you want to buy the DVD, you can find it here.

1993 France (Winner: Gary Taylor)

After the extremely tight competition last year, this was another great year for the competitors.  The competition was held in the great amphitheatre in the little city of Orange.  The reigning champion was knocked out in the Dutch qualifiers by Berend Venenberg but it was good to see Manfred Hoeberl (and his 26” arms) back after his hiatus in 1992.

Truck pull – the Tonka truck pull this year was heavier, at 7 tonnes, and there was a rope to help pull with the arms.  Manfred Hoeberl won the event, with Gary Taylor not far behind. 

Leviathan lift – this is a 110kg (240lbs) incline bench press with a wooden log for reps in 60s.  Manfred Hoeberl went first and hit a brilliant 19 reps.  Gary Taylor tucked in behind him with 18 reps.  Magnus Ver Magnusson was uncomfortable with the lift and stated that it didn’t fit his body and only managed 14 reps.  Riku Kiri tied with Manfred Hoeberl for 19 reps but Harold “Iron Bear” Collins took the win with 20 reps.

Samson’s barrow – a wheelbarrow loaded with 10 people weighing 1,000kg had to be pushed for 25m as fast as possible.  Gary Taylor went first and hit a brilliant time with 12s.  One of his favourite events, he set a new world record.  Magnus Ver Magnusson came second.  This put Gary into the lead for the first time in the competition.

Pole push – Gary used his considerable experience and fire-breathing commitment to win the first round against Berend Venenberg and went through into the final after beating Magnus Ver Magnusson easily.  Gary then won the final by default as the semi-final between Manfred Hoeberl and Riku Kiri led to injury for Riku and exhaustion for Manfred.  Sadly, Gerrit Badenhorst, one of my favourite competitors, was seriously injured and had to withdraw from the overall competition.  Fortunately, he was able to compete again in 1994.

Car carry – the competitors carried a Citroen 2CV weighing over 2,000lbs for 25m across the stage on the amphitheatre.  Magnus Ver Magnusson went first and found that the car wobbled significantly.  He only managed 20m before he dropped it.  Nobody else beat Magnus until Gary stormed past to win, using a very wide hold on the bonnet to keep the car balanced. 

Hercules hold – this event involved holding handles attached by cables to two huge 300lbs barrels.  Gary used a slightly different technique from the others, choosing to look down instead of ahead, but it was not enough to take a high placing.  Riku Kiri won with a staggering time of about 20s longer than anyone else.  This put Riku into second behind Gary Taylor.

Trojan Wall – the competitors had to throw a concrete block over a 5m wall.  Gary Taylor did poorly, surprisingly.  Magnus Ver Magnusson finished in third, Riku Kiri in second and Manfred Hoeberl won.  That put Gary Taylor with only a 2.5 point lead ahead of Magnus.

Atlas stones – as always, the competitors had to put granite spheres onto high kegs.  Berend Venenberg had to compete against a reserve (who I suspect was Forbes Cowan but I can’t prove it) as Gerrit Badenhorst had retired due to serious injury.  Manfred Hoeberl went head-to-head with Magnus Ver Magnusson.  Gary Taylor steamed through the event and won.

And here someone has very kindly put together an appreciation of Gary Taylor’s win:

I write a post every day so don’t forget to subscribe or you’ll miss out