The title of "world's strongest man" can refer to the winner of the most recent competition or the strongest athlete of all time based on various metrics.
The contest was won by Oleksii Novikov, who set a new partial deadlift record of 537.5 kg (1,185 lbs) during the finals. Tom Stoltman came in 2nd place winning three of six events, while Jean-François Caron came in 3rd. The 2021 edition of the contest took place in Sacramento, California from 15 to 20 June.
Henry proved to be worthy of the title "World's Strongest Man" not only by winning the contest, but also by achieving it in record time.
At the 2025 World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham, England, Björnsson deadlifted 510 kg (1,124 lbs) to break the all-time world record deadlift, surpassing his own previously-held record of 505 kg (1,113 lbs) and becoming the first and only man in history to deadlift more than 500 kg three times.
About the Show
After years of competing as rivals, the four strongest men in the world are teaming up to find out. Eddie Hall, Brian Shaw, Nick Best and Robert Oberst travel the world investigating strongman legends and taking on epic feats of strength in a quest to prove who really is THE Strongest Man in History.
We would say the strongest man in history is Big Z (Žydrūnas Savickas). Big Z has over 80 International wins including 4x World's Strongest Man titles.
In July 2016 Hall broke the deadlift world record under strongman rules (standard bar with figure 8 straps and multi-ply suit) by lifting 500 kg (1,102 lb) at the World Deadlift Championships besting the world record 465 kg (1,025 lb) he previously shared with Jerry Pritchett and Benedikt Magnússon earlier that same ...
During his career as a strongman, Pudzianowski won five World's Strongest Man titles in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008, the most in the 48 year history of the competition.
Hall says his decision to retire from strongman wasn't because something was wrong, yet – but because everything was 'right on the edge. ' 'I didn't want to get to that point where I have a heart attack or stroke and then be like, damn, why didn't I walk away?
Straight to the point: Eddie Hall in his prime (2017 World's Strongest Man, 500kg deadlift) had more raw deadlift power, but Mark Henry had a longer, more versatile career with incredible feats across powerlifting, weightlifting, and strongman. If we're talking sheer one-rep max strength: Eddie Hall edges him.
Seth Beck if you knew anything about strength sports and weightlifting you'd understand it's not a debate but a fact Mark Henry is physically stronger than Brock Lesnar.
World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle def. Mark Henry. Before the Royal Rumble, Mark Henry said that neither strength nor speed nor technical ability could beat him. However, at the end of the Royal Rumble, it was a little bit of chicanery that helped Kurt Angle defeat Henry to retain the World Heavyweight Championship ...
shaw is a more dynamic strongman than eddie hall, and has better strength in his hands specifically, which makes him more broadly effective across strongman events.
Big Z is the GOAT nobody is close. 6 world Title and 8 arnolds 82 international win. He had a run with 98 podium in 99 competion absolute crazy. Mariuz have 3 easy WSM wins when the most of the best athlete compete in IFSA.
Zydrunas Savickas – Powerlifter, Strongman
In our opinion, he's the strongest man of all time. You just can't argue with these numbers: Savickas has won the Arnold Strongman Classic seven times (2003–08, 2014), which is considered a truer test of pure strength than the better-known WSM competition.
In what many strongman fans might consider a shocking upset, British athlete Eddie Hall has beaten his fiercest rivals to claim the 2017 World's Strongest Man title. Hall's win marks the first time since 2009 that someone other than Brian Shaw or Zydrunas Savickas has claimed the title.
Eddie Hall. Eddie Hall (a.k.a. “The Beast”) hails from the UK. He's the only man in history to ever deadlift half a ton. (He holds the world record at 1,102 Pounds).
The greatest weight ever lifted by a human being is 2,422.18 kg (5,340 lb) for two cars with drivers on a platform backlifted by Gregg Ernst (Canada, b.
Eddie Hall's primary "condition" is a rare genetic trait, often called the "Hercules Gene" (Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy), which reduces the myostatin protein that normally limits muscle growth, giving him a significant advantage in building muscle mass. He also experienced severe health issues during his strongman career, including a near-fatal brain bleed after his 500kg deadlift due to extreme blood pressure spikes, leading him to retire from strongman for health reasons.
A Surge in Blood Pressure
Your muscles require more oxygen, making your heart work harder to supply enough. If your blood pressure increases enough during a workout, it may lead to a nosebleed. Sometimes, your blood pressure may rise during exercise and stay high for a few hours, even after your workout is over.
Are powerlifters stronger than strongmen? In a nutshell, no. Strongman wants to see its athletes lift the heaviest thing possible with no limits on how it's done. Powerlifting wants to see how much you can lift under very strict conditions.
The 2025 World's Strongest Man was the 48th World's Strongest Man competition. It was won by Rayno Nel.
Men. On average, strength performance in men is at its peak at the age of 26 years in weightlifting, and at 34 years in powerlifting. Lighter weight class athletes tend to reach their peak performance earlier than athletes competing in higher weight classes.