reader question Mateus Siqueira Lessa, Posse, GO
illustrates Alberto Rocha
edition Felipe van Deursen
It is the American Brian Shaw, winner of the 2015 edition of the World’s Strongest Man. The tournament has been held every year since 1977 and has several categories, some inspired by Greek and Celtic mythologies. The country with the most titles is the United States, with ten, followed by Iceland (eight). But the biggest in the category are a Pole, Mariusz Pudzianowski, with five titles, and a Lithuanian, Žydrūnas Savickas, with four.
Labors of Hercules
The toughest categories of the tournament
atlas stones
The contestant must lift five spherical stones and place each one on five platforms. The stones increase in weight. Whoever completes it in the shortest time wins.
Stone weight – 100 to 160 kg
Platform height – 1.3 m
Record – Jouko Ahola (1999) – 187 kg
barrel release
The competitor throws eight barrels, backwards, over a plate. He needs more skill in body positioning than arm strength to propel the barrel.
Weight of barrels – 15 to 24 kg
Plate height – 4.42 m
Plate distance – 3 m
Record – Benjamin Hedermann (2011) – 7.30 m
Farmer’s Walk
Five competitors must travel a certain distance carrying two anvils. Whoever completes the test first wins. The route varies according to the weight of the anvils
Anvil weight – 160 kg
Minimum distance – 20 to 30 m
Record – Laurence Shahlaei (2011) – 150 kg in each hand for 20 m in 6.71 s
Steps
Strength and speed are needed to win this race. Contestants must climb a ladder carrying three cans, one at a time. Strength in the arms, resistance in the hands and the support of the legs make the difference
Stairs – 5 steps
Cans – 180 to 273 kg
Record – Hafthór Björnsson – 36.82 s
Fingal’s Fingers
The name refers to a hunter and fighter in Celtic mythology. The test consists of lifting several poles (the “fingers”). You have to lift each pole by hand until it falls to the other side. The time and number of pieces knocked down determines the winner.
Weight of poles – 200 to 300 kg
Pole length – 3 to 5.5 m
Record – Brian Shaw (2014) – 4 posts in 22 s
trunk lifting
Competitors must lift a tree trunk, fitted in a support. Whoever lifts the piece above their head the most times in a given time wins.
Trunk weight – 380 kg
Time – 60s
Record – In the absence of an official record, we elected a tiny Icelander (more on him below)
Pillars of Hercules
In Greek mythology, Hercules had to literally hold the weight of the world to get the help of the titan Atlas in one of his tasks. Here, participants must remain standing and in a fixed position, with their arms outstretched, while holding two pillars for as long as they can.
Pillars – 3 m, 160 kg
Record – Jouko Ahola (1997) – 197 kg, 45.7 s
pulling vehicle
With a belt attached to the body and a rope, the competitor must pull a vehicle, which can be a car or even a plane! This choice is often a reference to the last champion or the location hosting the tournament.
Distance traveled – 3 m
Time – 40 to 60 seconds
Record – Kevin Fast (2009) – 188.83 ton plane in 8.8 m
Strongholds in action
They’re not just athletes lifting hundreds of pounds. One became a famous actor, another is a politician who defends bicycle lanes.
The Strongest in Westeros
Icelandic actor Hafthór Julius Björnsson became famous for playing Mountain in game of Thrones. Known in his country for his displays of extraordinary strength, he was ranked second in the World’s Strongest Man in 2014 (and third in two editions). At 2.05 m and 180 kg, he broke a record in Scandinavian mythology when he managed to take five steps while carrying a 650 kg tree trunk
The strongest of the cycle path
Marcos Mohai was outraged to see a Uno parked on top of a bike path in São Paulo. Six times champion of the strongest person tournament in Brazil, he removed, with his arms, the car, weighing 800 kg, from the road. Mohai is a councilor in Peruíbe, SP
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SOURCES Sites World’s Strongest Man, Strongman, All things Gym, Lift, Starting Strongman, Guinness World Records, Muscle and Fitness, UOL, O Globo