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
1994 South Africa (Winner: Magnus Ver Magnusson)
This was another great year for several reasons. Most of all it was fantastic to see Magnus Ver Magnusson and Manfred Hoeberl battling fiercely but with great camaraderie between themselves for the winning place. It was also great to see Gerrit Badenhorst, one of my favourite competitors, fired up by competing in his home country of South Africa. It was only marred by the exclusion of the reigning champion, Gary Taylor, who was pushed out of his heat by Samoan Joe Onosai, who then completely failed to make any impact on the other finalists whatsoever.
- Truck pull – in 1993, the truck pull was done for the first time with both a rope attached to the truck by means of a harness and another rope pulled in the hands. This year was the same set up. It was a tense event, with Magnus Ver Magnusson going first and setting a fast time that nobody else could get close to. Most of the others came one or two seconds slower. Then, Manfred Hoeberl (who also won this new event last year) beat him by over four seconds. The difference was remarkable. Manfred took the lead but more importantly, he put clear blue water between him and everyone else, making his mark on the whole competition.
- Samson’s barrow – Gary Taylor’ favourite event was won this year by Riku Kiri, which was surprising given his poor performance in this event last year. But the real drama came in the last heat, as Manfred and Magnus, already recognising each other as the most dangerous adversary, duelled it out between themselves. A slip near the end nearly cost Manfred his second victory over Magnus but he managed to clinch it. Manfred was still in the lead.
- Rock lift – Gerrit Badenhorst, inspired by performing in his home country of South Africa, set a new world in front of his home crowd with 140kg, even standing on one leg afterwards to show how easy it was. Some called his behaviour arrogance but there was no malice evident, just joyful showmanship. I found it very hard not to warm to him.
- Car walk – introduced in 1993, where the event was won by Gary Taylor, this event saw the competitors wearing Citroen 2CV’s like life-jackets and waddling down a short course. Scotland’s Forbes Cowan, coached by Gary Taylor, did well but again, the real drama came in the last heat, as Manfred and Magnus duelled it out between themselves. Only a slip near the end cost Manfred another victory over Magnus.
- Hercules’ hold – this event was not a kind one but it was another in which Forbes did well, aided by his very strong grip, only to be beaten by the veteran Riku Kiri.
- Silver dollar deadlift – this was another event in which Gerrit Badenhorst stamped his own individual mark on the competition. Gerrit took the silver dollar deadlift in similar style to the rock lift, showing everyone that 440kg (970lbs) was no struggle and that if pushed he could go higher. The others retired gracefully, knowing that further challenge would be fruitless and would just cost them bitter effort. When it came to lifting weights, Gerrit was a Bill Kazmaier for the 1990s.
- The pole push – this event is a traditional highland games event where two men grasp either end of a pole using straps and try to push the other out of a ring. Forbes showed great mastery of this event, even defeating Magnus Ver Magnusson easily. Unfortunately, the heat of the day was severe and many of the competitors retired once the points left to fight over were few. Riku took first without contention from Manfred Hoeberl. It is interesting that these two men were in the final in 1993, together, where it was Riku who had to retire and give Manfred the win on account of a broken ankle
- McGlashan stones – the points going into the McGlashen stones were 42.5 each to Manfred Hoeberl and Magnus Ver Magnusson and 42 to Riku. Gerrit Badenhorst was not far behind. All looked tense for a testing finish. Magnus and Manfred raced each other and there was barely a handful of seconds in it as Magnus just pipped him to the post. Watching it again after all these years, it reminded me of Phil Pfister’s victory over Mariusz Pudzianowski in China.
In summary, another really tense and close competition, more like 1992 than 1993, where Gary Taylor made his mark early on and stayed in the lead throughout.
Here is the great final showdown between Manfred and Magnus on YouTube:
1995 The Bahamas (Winner: Magnus Ver Magnusson)
My copy of this final was poorly dubbed with very loud background music and very quiet commentary, making it very hard to tell what was being said. Fortunately, the interviews with the competitors used a different process and they were easy to hear.
However, while it was sad that Manfred Hoeberl, who had had a severe car crash, was not able to attend, Gerrit Badenhorst stepped up to the plate to give Magnus Ver Magnusson a run for his money and made it a good competition. In fact, if Gerrit had not been injured during the second event, it is very likely that he would have won.
- Truck pull – the first event, as often, was the truck pull. As in 1993 and 1994, the truck was pulled using both a harness and a rope in the hands. The difference this year was that the truck was a 70,000lbs fire truck, which looked as big as a heavy goods vehicle. Apparently, this was one of the heaviest objects ever pulled in world’s strongest man. Gerrit Badenhorst set a fantastic time to win the event, with Magnus Ver Magnusson fighting hard to take second.
- Car flip – in this event, the competitors had to flip cars over. Gerrit Badenhorst once again dominated the competition but sadly injured his back while picking the car up.
- Behind the neck rack press – this immediately showed Gerrit Badenhorst’s injury. He was unable to hold the bar once it was overhead. Magnus Ver Magnusson did well, hitting new personal records of 190kg (420lbs) and 200kg (440lbs). I was amused to watch Jamie Reeves standing behind the competitors. I guess they figured that he was about the only person in the world who could help if they got into trouble. Joe Onosai finally redeemed himself by lifting 205kg (450lbs) for second place and Gary Taylor annihilated everyone by lifting 210kg (460lbs) easily to win.
- Farmer’s walk – the weights in this event were huge. Marko Varalahti and Gerrit Badenhorst were the only two in their heat to finish but Marko was by far and away the fastest. In the other heat, Magnus Ver Magnusson was the only one who could finish and he just beat Gerrit’s time. Gary Taylor got within 6 inches of the finish but he couldn’t drag himself over the line. Fortunately, this was good enough for fourth.
- Caber for height – this was tossing the caber for height. Jamie Reeves was again helping out as the competitors had to run towards the sea, holding the caber, before tossing it over a frame. Phil Martin, the world record holder, was very disappointed to be phased by the incoming tide and went out early. Magnus Ver Magnusson and Gerrit Badenhorst shared first place, showing their experience and ability to adapt their strength to new situations.
- Naval tug of war – this was a curious variation of the tug-of-war with the competitors facing each other. Heinz Ollesch won, Phil Martin came second and Magnus Ver Magnusson and Gerrit Badenhorst shared third place.
- Block lift – Joe Onosai, Gary Taylor, Gerrit Badenhorst and Magnus Ver Magnusson were the only athletes to achieve 352.5kg (775lbs) on the block lift, a form of squat where the weight is supported in a frame like a smith machine. This was an event that we would normally expect Gerrit to dominate but his back injury kicked in at 437.5kg (963lbs) and he was knocked out. Gary Taylor retired at the same weight but Magnus Ver Magnusson lifted it for first place.
- Loading medley – the competitors had to lift a number of oddly-shaped objects onto several platforms of varying heights. However, the highest platform was very high and it was heartbreaking to watch Gary Taylor fail on the first part of the medley because he couldn’t reach the platform. Magnus Ver Magnusson did well as always for second place but Marko Varalahti won the event.
Overall, Magnus Ver Magnusson won the competition, Gerrit Badenhorst came second and Marko Varalahti came third. If Gerrit had not been injured, though, he could have won.
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