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) farmers’ 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
1996 Mauritius (Winner: Magnus Ver Magnusson)
As in 1995, the World’s Strongest Man in 1996 was held in an incredible location. Also like 1995, the sound quality was a bit off, with the background music drowning out the commentators.
- Truck pull – not exactly a truck pull this year but a tractor and trailer pull. The trailer was loaded heavily with a massive amount of sugar cane. The tractor tread made it very slow going. Raimonds Bergmanis, a first time WSM-finalist and Latvian weightlifter, ground to an unceremonious halt some way before the finish. Forbes Cowan set a very fast time, wearing rock-climbing boots for extra grip, but this only served as a target for the Gerrit Badenhorst and Magnus Ver Magnusson. Ultimately, newcomer Jorma Ojanaho was faster, though, and took the win.
- Car flip – the competitors had to turn a car over completely. While this is great fun to watch, I don’t think that it’s a particularly safe event. It’s quite easy to list a number of athletes who have been hurt by it over the years, including both Jon Pall Sigmarsson and Bill Kazmaier. Flemming Rasmussen and Riku Kiri set blistering times, racing each other in one heat. Gerrit Badenhorst needed no such competition to win, though, flipping the car so fast the camera barely tracked back to find him before he ran over the finish line.
- Trojan wall – this event is very like the highland games event, weight for height, where the competitors have to swing a block weight over a bar behind them. In this variation, the weight is a large brick, which is held in both hands and thrown overhead. Before the event, both Gerrit Badenhorst and Magnus Ver Magnusson predicted an easy win for Riku Kiri. In the end, they were spot on, as Riku dominated the competition from the very beginning, rarely missing a throw. Magnus scraped into second.
- Hercules’ hold – the hold used two cars this year. Jorma Ojanaho set a good time, as did Forbes Cowan. Gerrit Badenhorst had bad luck as the cars rolled back hard at the beginning and he had to let go early. Going last, however, Riku Kiri sailed past the young upstarts to win the event and moved into the lead overall.
- Cask circle – this is a Zercher carry around a central pole. The competitors’ achievement is measured in degrees or numbers of rotations. Raymond Bergmanis took a nasty knock to his chin as he completed his revolutions and fell forwards, hard. Magnus Ver Magnusson was incredibly relieved to have won his first event at last.
- Farmers’ walk – as in 1995, the farmers’ walk was done in two heats. The competitors carried 265lbs (120kg) weights in each hand. Magnusson Ver Magnusson won his second event running and moved into the overall lead.
- Deadlift – late in the event listings this year, the deadlift seemed harder for the competitors. Flemming Rasmussen failed at 350kg (770lbs). Raimonds Bergmanis did well to go further but failed at 370kg (815lbs). Riku Kiri failed at 390kg (860lbs). Magnus Ver Magnusson failed at 410kg (900lbs) but Gerrit Badenhorst lifted it with only a little slowing down.
- Power stairs – this final event was a new event this year, with the competitors duck walking heavy block weights up several high steps. Gerrit took his time and the tortoise beat the hares. He won the event, which pushed him into third place overall. Unfortunately, the final heat between Magnus Ver Magnusson and Riku Kiri was an anti-climax, as something went wrong for Riku and he had to pull out, leaving the way clear for Magnus to claim the overall competition win.
Not the greatest final ever, mainly on account of a slightly weaker field than in previous years. Gary Taylor and Manfred Hoeberl in particular were sorely missed, as were Heinz Ollesch and Magnus Samuelsson, albeit to a lesser degree.
It was an interesting year, though, if you see it as the triumphant end of the Magnus Ver Magnusson years and in some ways it predicts the beginning of the Jouko Ahola/Magnus Samuelsson/Svend Karlsen years, which bridge the gap up to the next great champion, Mariusz Pudzianowski.
1997 USA (Winner: Joako Ahola)
A new era dawns this year, as Magnus Ver Magnusson retires and some new faces take his place. Also a new era, as the competition returned to the USA for the first time since 1982. And what a place to land, as the competition is held in the sunny city of Las Vegas.
- Truck pull – a 23-tonne pick-up truck takes pole position for the first event in this competition. As in recent years, this truck pull used both a harness and a rope for pulling. However, it was a cruel weight and Mark Philippi, Harold “Iron Bear” Collins and Derek Boyer all failed to finish. Flemming Rasmussen went early and set a fast time that was not to be beaten. Surprisingly, Joako Ahola was only just able to finish the course, struggling hard to pass the final few metres.
- Log lift – the competitors had to lift a 105kg (230lbs) log as many times as possible in 60s. Joako showed his form for the first time and lifted 12 reps to equal Harold “Iron Bear” Collins. Flemming Rasmussen quite clearly locked out with 13 reps but the referee had some sort of inexplicable failure of judgement and disallowed it. As Flemming said himself, he was standing on the stage with the thirteenth rep in the air for about five seconds shouting to the crowd. It was probably one of the best reps in the whole competition.
- Car flip – as the commentators said, this is a great event to watch but not a very safe one for the competitors. There is a risk that the cars can roll back onto their legs. Fortunately, though this was an injury-free year. Magnus Samuelsson, Svend Karlsen and Heinz Ollesch did very well, probably on account of their height. Magnus Samuelsson was very happy to take his first ever win.
- Husafel stone – not regularly seen in World’s Strongest Man, the stone weighs 410lbs (186kg). The competitors carried it at chest height for distance. The last time the stone was carried in a final was 1992, in Iceland, where Ted Van Der Parre beat Magnus Ver Magnusson. Torfi Olafsson (world record holder at 90m) dropped the stone to 60m. Svend Karlsen got very close to this record with 86m. Magnus Samuelsson looked like Ted, as he peered loftily over the top of the stone, wrapping his long arms around it and running past the other competitors’ marks to win. His second win ever and he did it straight after his first.
- Block lift – the block lift is a form of squat where the weight is supported in a frame like a smith machine. Svend Karlsen was out from the beginning as he tore something in his leg. Flemming Rasmussen failed at 380kg (835lbs) but did well enough to keep his lead. Harold “Iron Bear” Collins failed at 387.5kg (853lbs) for second place and Mark Philippi took the win.
- Keg loading – the competitors had to load six kegs weighing 225lbs (102kg) onto a platform. Magnus Samuelsson had bad luck as one of his kegs rolled off the platform once it had been loaded. Flemming Rasmussen went off against Joako Ahola. Joako looked lean and mobile, like Magnus Ver Magnusson in his heyday. But it was Flemming who was dominant and he took the win and extended his lead to four points.
- Silver dollar deadlift – Unfortunately, it was a short-lived moment of triumph for Flemming Rasmussen as he bombed out of the deadlift at 382.5kg (842lbs), which put him into seventh place. Mark Philippi looked dominant with 432.5kg (952lbs) but it was Joako Ahola who won, lifting 435kg (957lbs) with Bill Kazmaier looking on.
- Medley – the medley was a duck walk followed by a tire flip and a car push. Magnus Samuelsson won, flipping the tire easier than most on account of his height. But, with Joako Ahola already in the lead, Joako only needed to ensure that he didn’t finish poorly in this event to win. As consistent as ever, he produced a good time and secured his overall win.
It was a tight competition, despite Flemming Rasmussen leading from the first event through to the penultimate event, the deadlift, where he did very poorly. The final positions were Joako Ahola, Flemming Rasmussen and Magnus Samuelsson. It was Flemming’s best year, though, and if the referee had been wearing his spectacles in judging the log lift, then the final positions might have been closer still.
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