HALL OF FAME
THE FORTISSIMUS™ HALL OF FAME
For centuries, strongmen have captured the public’s awe and admiration the world over. Amazing stories of feats of strength have been turned into everlasting legends. And they have been carried by so many voices from the dark ages to modern times.
But although a number of such strongmen were worthy of all the praise, only a selected few, whose accomplishments were witnessed yet beyond belief, are to be honoured as the best of best.THE STRONGEST MAN EVER
LOUIS CYR
Canada
Louis Cyr's strongman career has extended over 23 years. He has held 50 world records many of which have never been surpassed. And for almost a quarter of a century, the Canadian Superman has stood undefeated. Having toured England, Canada and the United States, Cyr has given more than 2 500 strength exhibitions. He won the first ever Canada's Strongest Man title in 1886 in Quebec City and the World Strongest on the Planet's title in London, UK, on January 19, 1892. ( www.fortissimus.net )
THE STRONGEST MEN OF THE 20TH CENTURY
BILL KAZMAIER PAUL ANDERSON
USA USA
Both men have dominated the world of strength during the 20th century. They have done it in flamboyant fashion, each man shattering record after record, so that, at the end, they both stood out as the symbols of ultimate strength over the entire century.
Paul Anderson clearly dominated the 50's and the 60's. He was world and Olympic weightlifting champion. As a professional strongman he set the modern era standards in such events a standing overhead press, bench press, deadlift and squat.
Bill Kazmaier did the same in the 80's. He won two world powerlifting titles, one World Muscle Power championship and three World Strongest Man titles. For years to come, Bill Kazmaier was the ultimate reference in strongman competition besides his numerous world records in bench press, deadlift and overall powerlifting total poundage.
Paul Anderson and Bill Kazmaier stand on top of the world of strength for the 20 th century.
THE GREATEST STRENGTH ATHLETES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
JON PALL SIGMARSSON
ICELAND
Iceland is, rightfully so, one cradle of strongmen. Tales of feats of strength can be found in profusion in the sagas of the North Seas and the Islandic Sagas.
The name of Jon Pall Sigmarsson was first heard in 1978. A few years later, he was a national hero in Iceland. At the moment of his tragic death, in January of 1993, at the very young age of 33, Sigmarsson had won four World Strongest Man title. The first man ever to accomplish such a feat. He had also won five World Muscle Power championships, the best ever. Over ten years as a competitive strongman, Jon Pall Sigmarsson had become the most recognized figure in strength athletics; the one who gave nobility to that emerging extreme sport.
MAGNUS VER MAGNUSSON
ICELAND
(Used with permission, IronMind Entreprises, Inc.)
Magnus Ver Magnusson, another son of Iceland, took the torch from Sigmarsson and carried it with the same might and honor. In 1996, he became the second strength athlete to make history as he won his fourth World Strongest Man title. The year before he also won the World Muscle Power championship. His remarkable competitive career extended over almost 20 years, during which years he reached other summits in world-class powerlifting.
Thus, between 1980 and 2000, they were only two: Jon Pall, the Iceman, and Magnus Ver, said Magnus the Great. Both men standing for the Viking Power and the greatness of a sport imbeded in history.
THE GREATEST STRENGTH ATHLETES OF THE NEW MILLENIUM
MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI
POLAND
Sigmarsson's and Magnusson's strength feats seemed definitely out of reach when Mariusz Pudzianowski came storming the world of strength athetics in the year 2000. Two years later, in Malaysia, he won the World Strongest Man title although more experienced strongmen were highly favorites. In 2007, he made it four, getting even with the two Icelandic legends of strength. In less than ten years of international competitions, the polish phenom has won almost every strength athletic's championships, was five times world champion of Super Series events and stands as the most notable strength athlete in the world. ( www.pudzian.pl )
ZYDRUNAS SAVICKAS
LITHUANIA
Lithuanian Zydrunas Savickas is one of the most powerful strongman in the history of the sport. Not as flamboyant as his polish rival, which he never defeated in any World Strongest Man contest, he still remains the man who handles best the heaviest events in the sport. Between 2003 and 2007, Savickas has ruled the Arnold Strongman Classic, a contest whose events remain the toughest challenge for extreme lifts. ( www.savickas.lt )
STRENGTH ATHLETE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
SWEDEN
(Used with permission, IronMind Entreprises, Inc.)
He is known as the Giant Swede. He has become a legend in his country and has to be considered as the most prominent ambassador of strength athletics the world over.
Magnus Samuelsson is the most rewarded strength athlete in the history of the sport given his years as an international competitor. He holds the most victories, the highest number of podiums, the most participations at the World Strongest Man, having won the title in 1998 as well as the Super series World champion title. And he has won seven national titles as Sweden's Strongest Man. The Giant Swede stands high and mighty in a world of giants. ( www.magnus-samuelsson.net )
CANADA’S GREATEST STRENGTH ATHLETES
DOUGLAS HEPBURN
BRITISH COLOMBIA
Doug Hepburn, born in Vancouver, British Colombia, on January 16, 1926, had an exceptional career in all aspects of strength athletics.
Between 1948 and 1973, he had established all kinds of records in weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman feats.
Hepburn was a gold medallist at the 1953 World Weightlifting Championships, held in Stockholm, Sweden. He also won a gold medal at the 1954 British Empire Games, adding the US Open and several nationals to his long list of wins.
Hepburn was the first man to push press 500 lbs and the first modern strongman to do a one arm press with over 200 lbs. He also held a number of other so-called strongman records. To this day, Doug Hepburn is the only strongman in Canadian history that was recipient of the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy, as Canada's outstanding athlete of a year.
For such a remarkable career that extended over more than 25 years, Douglas Ivan Hepburn deserves to be recognized as the outstanding strength athlete of the second half of the XX e century.
HUGO GIRARD
QUÉBEC, CANADA
Since 1997, Hugo Girard is a dominant force in Canada. And he turned into one of the three greatest strength athletes in Canada in the modern era.
Girard is the only Canadian to become world champion of Super Series (2002). He has made seven finals at the World Strongest Man, won twice the World Muscle Power, twice the North America's Strongest Man and six times Canada's Strongest Man.( www.hugogirard.com )
TOM MAGEE
MANITOBA, CANADA
(Courtesy Tom Magee)
The 80's saw the rising of an exceptional all around athlete named Tom Magee. In 1984 and 1985, he defeated both Pall Sigmarsson and Bill Kazmaier at the Défi Louis Cyr. In 1982, he became the first Canadian strength athlete to reach the second place at the World Strongest Man. This was the best ranking ever by a Canadian strength athlete. That same year he won the gold medal at the World Powerlifting Championships in Munich. A first ever. And he became the first Canadian powerlifter to exceed the 2 200 lbs (1 000 kg) total.
STRENGTH ATHLETICS OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS AND PROMOTERS
Dr DOUGLAS EDMUNDS
SCOTLAND
Douglas Edmunds is a graduate from Strathclyde University. He is the father of modern strength athletics. From his background as a Highlanders Games champion, he invented a number of strength events. From 1977 and on, these events have fascinated millions of TV viewers the world over.
Along with Dave Webster, a leading historian of strength sports, Douglas Edmunds founded the International Federation of Strength Athletics (IFSA), a gathering of the best strength athletes in the world. That organization was to become a significant promoting tool. The World Strongest Man event was held for the first time in 1977. It has since been staged on all five continents. A tribute to a Great Scot.
DAVID WEBSTER
SCOTLAND
David Webster has been part of the world of strongman for over half a century. First as a performer and since as a leading historian of the sport. He has acted as an international official in strength related sports and has published, amongst other works, a biography of the first sporting superstar of the United Kingdom, Donald Dinnie, and two reference books profiling more than 500 professional strongmen. David Webster has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
RANDALL J. STROSSEN
USA
Randall J. Strossen has earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Standford University. Having written a regular column called "IronMind" in IRON MAN magazine for over twelve years, Randall Strossen is the founder and the president of Ironmind Entreprises .
From 1999 to 2008, IRONMIND news website ( www.ironmind.com ), created and managed by Randall Strossen, has published more than 6 000 news items concerning strength related events and covering all continents. Randall Strossen is the author of a biography of the legendary Paul Anderson.
His contribution to the strength community has allowed legions of fans the world over to increase their knowledge on numerous subjects related to strength activities from past and present, mostly through the founding of MILO magazine, of which Randall J. Strossen is the editor and senior writer.
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