You better not argue with these guys! 7 strongest people in the world

They are called strongmen – strong people who can move a house, an airplane, keep a car in motion. In general, to surprise with incredible power and colossal strength.

Hafthor Björnsson

Age: 35 years

Height: 206 cm

Weight: 200 kg

Titles: three-time champion of the Arnold Strongman Classic, multiple winner of competitions for the title of “The Strongest Man on the Planet”, 10-time holder of the title “The Strongest Man in Iceland”.

The Icelandic giant is remembered by many for his silent but very impressive role as Grigor Clegane in the TV series “Game of Thrones”. His growth Hafthor explains the heredity – the growth of his parents and grandfather also exceeded two meters.

Hafthor did not aspire to become the strongest man on the planet. He was seriously involved in basketball and planned to build a professional career as a player. But he got an ankle injury and had to forget about big sports. And Hafthor also loved playing chess!

Björnsson decided to take up bodybuilding, because he was quite thin with his tall stature. And, according to him, he looked comical. Power exercises fascinated the guy, he practically never left the gym. Muscle mass began to grow quite quickly, and soon Hafthor was unrecognizable.

One day at one of the trainings Benedikt Magnusson, the former world record holder in deadlift, approached him. He suggested that Hafthor take part in the Westfjord Viking strongman competition. The tournament was to be held the next day, and Hafthor had no opportunity to prepare. But he agreed. Yes, the strongman did not receive any awards at the competition that time. But he came back a year later and set a record that no one has broken to this day. The same year he won the Strongest Man in Iceland and Iceland’s Strongest Viking.

And then came a succession of world competitions, where Hafthor repeatedly won. Björnsson realized that in order to gain impressive mass, training alone was not enough and he needed to change his diet. And that’s where Hafthor ran into a problem. He was used to eating three meals a day, like all normal people. He had to increase his food intake to six times a day, and in the weeks of preparation for the tournaments his daily calorie intake was 10 thousand calories! Here, for example, is Hafthor’s recipe for an unusual and very caloric smoothie. He added sugar to rice, poured boiling chicken broth, chopped steaks in the same place – and drank it all.

“You don’t become like this by eating three meals a day. You have to force-feed yourself to grow into a monster like me. Believe me, it’s very hard,” Hafthor admitted.

Even while filming on the show, Hafthor was fed by the hour – practically from a spoon, as he was in elaborate makeup. “My diet has no days off,” the strongman joked sadly.

In 2018, he set a real record, becoming the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man and World’s Strongest Man tournaments in one year. In the same year, he lifted a weight of 472 kg! However, two years later, the strongman broke his own record by lifting 501 kg.

In 2015, Hafthor broke the thousand-year record of the mythical Viking Orm Storolfsson. According to legend, he lifted a 10-meter log weighing 650 kg and took three steps with it. And collapsed with a broken back. Hafthor carried the log five steps and survived in one piece!

However, the records have literally left a mark on Hafthor’s face. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. From the strain and constant effort, the left side of his face was paralyzed, and Hafthor couldn’t even open his eyes. The athlete underwent treatment and rehabilitation, but the facial prolapse still remained.

During the treatment Hafthor was taken care of by his fiancée – fitness model Kelsey Henson. The media nicknamed this couple “The Giant and Thumbelina”, because Kelsey’s height is only 155 cm. The couple played a wedding in August 2018, they have a son Stormur. Also the strongman has a daughter Teresa growing up from a previous relationship.

In 2020, Hafthor said that he decided to quit his strength career and switch to another sport. “I just got to a point where I felt I had nothing else to do here. I won everything,” the athlete said. Björnsson also explained that he was tired of the heavy weight. He wants to play and run with his children, and at 200 kilograms it is extremely difficult to do so. As a result, Hafthor lost weight to 144 kg, than shocked his fans.

The athlete chose boxing. And in the first fight he defeated armwrestler Devon Laratta. Especially the audience followed the fight between Hafthor Björnsson and Eddie Hall – his longtime rival strongman. These two giants have always competed and strived to break records. That fight has been called “the toughest boxing match in history.” The Icelander knocked Eddie out twice and came out victorious.

In 2023, Bjornsson announced that he was returning to a career as a strongman.

Eddie Hall

Age: 36 years old

Height: 191 cm

Weight: 164 kg

Titles: ‘World’s Strongest Man 2017’, five-time winner of the title ‘Britain’s Strongest Man’.

The British strongman nicknamed The Beast has become Hafthor’s most colorful opponent at tournaments. The strongmen literally couldn’t stand each other, and their agents made sure they didn’t cross paths backstage at tournaments. It is said that the reason for that boxing match was mutual accusations of dishonesty in setting records. Hafthor got angry and challenged Hall to a fight – say, in the ring to prove who is stronger.

Eddie Hall could have been a great swimmer or a rugby player. He excelled at both sports. But Eddie had a bad reputation as a bully. Neither coaches nor teachers could handle him. Hall even had to be educated at home, he was expelled from school because of constant fights.

After graduating from school Eddie got a job as a mechanic at a factory. He did not see any bright prospects for the future. In order not to sink into depression, Hall began to go to the gym. A local trainer, seeing the persistence of a young guy, advised him to take up bodybuilding. And it so happened that all his accumulated aggression Eddie directed to lifting weights. In 2017, Hall became the strongest man on the planet. Almost immediately after receiving the award, he said that he would reduce the loads. The strongman was found to have serious heart and joint problems. Eddie is now performing as a boxer.

Rebel in life turned out to be a great family man. He is happy with his wife Alexandra, daughter Laila and sons Maximus and Tammy.

Zydrunas Savickas

Age: 48 years

Height: 191 cm

Weight: 180 kg

Titles: “World’s Strongest Man” 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014, Lithuanian triathlon champion, recognized 16 times as the strongest man in Lithuania.

Lithuanian powerlifter nicknamed Big Z has always been characterized by impressive mass. He was even called a fat man behind his eyes, and some brave journalists even asked if his huge belly did not prevent him from setting records for the Guinness Book. Apparently, Zhidrunas got fed up with such caustic remarks and lost a lot of weight. The result delighted even his colleagues – for example, Hafthor Björnsson could not resist complimenting him.

Overweight has always been a problem for Zydrunas. It was he who pushed Savickas to take up powerlifting. At the age of 14 he started his first timid steps, and at the age of 17 he already won the national powerlifting tournament. Then followed victories at the international level. Žydrūnas knew how to impress the audience. Once he pulled a whole house on a platform! Or, for example, with two hands on a rope he could hold a racing car with all his might.

Žydrūnas trained six times a week. But he had his own tactics when preparing for competitions. A couple of weeks before the tournaments, on the contrary, he reduced the number of exercises and paid more attention to muscle recovery and relaxation. This approach helped him avoid injuries in the form of torn ligaments and strained muscles.

Zydrunas finished his career in 2015.

Brian Shaw

Age: 42 years old

Height: 203 cm

Weight: 200 kg

Titles: winner of the World’s Strongest Man tournament in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Like Hafthor, American Brian showed great promise in basketball. But he was too massive for the team game, even though he continued to play as a student. Tired of sitting on the bench, Brian decided to go to the gym and lift weights out of boredom. So the passion for powerlifting became the meaning of his life.

In the first tournaments Shaw showed himself the best way. His main opponent was Zydrunas Savickas. To Brian’s annoyance, the Lithuanian surpassed him in strength and beat him at all major competitions. Shaw set himself the goal of beating Zydrunas and proving that he was stronger. Brian succeeded in 2011. He won two tournaments in the same year – the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World’s Strongest Man.

Brian’s diet is a bit scary – he eats about 12 thousand calories a day in seven meals. In this he has surpassed even Hafthor Björnsson.

“I have to eat so much to remain the strongest man on the planet,” complains Brian, for whom such a diet is also not in joy.

By the way, despite his giant appearance, Brian tenderly loves his wife and adores his two sons.

Magnus Samuelson

Age: 54 years

Height: 200 cm

Weight: 156 kg

Titles: World’s Strongest Man 1998, twice won the title of Sweden’s strongest man.

The son of the former Swedish armwrestling champion also participated in tournaments of this sport at first. And even became European champion. One of the competitions almost ended in tragedy. Magnus did not calculate his strength and broke the shoulder bone of his opponent – Australian Nathan Jones. Perhaps it was then that Magnus decided it was better to demonstrate his power in a way that was safer for other people.

Magnus Samuelson is one of the most successful strongmen who has been able to build a media career outside of sports. By the way, Magnus still regrets that he turned down a role in Ridley Scott’s movie “Gladiator”. According to the strongman, he thought it was some passable action movie. And in the end, the picture won an Oscar and became one of the highest-grossing films in the history of cinema. However, Samuelson still fulfilled his dream – he played a warrior in the BBC series “The Last Kingdom”, starred in the Swedish project “Arne Dahl” and in the popular series “The Witcher”. Magnus showed and excellent dancing skills – in 2009 he won the Swedish version of the show “Dancing with the Stars”.

Samuelson is married to a two-time winner of the title “Sweden’s Strongest Woman”. With his wife Kristin, he is raising a son David and a daughter Sarah.

Mitchell Hooper

Age: 28

Height: 191 cm

Weight: 145 kg

Titles: reigning champion and holder of the World’s Strongest Man 2023 title.

The Canadian strongman nicknamed Moose is not just an athlete – he has a degree in physiotherapy. That’s why Mitchell is especially picky about all his training. His main goal is to win without injury. Last year Hooper became the first Canadian in the world to win the title of the strongest man on the planet.

By the way, as a child, Mitchell attended a school for gifted children, and his parents had high hopes for his future. But learning Hooper did not attract. He skipped classes, refused to perform tasks. In the end, the boy almost got kicked out. Mitchell became seriously interested in hockey. In a few months he achieved the status of leader of his team. But even here the young man could not keep his explosive rebellious character and became a kind of record holder for the number of penalty minutes.

Then Mitchell chose a quieter sport (and, it must be said, unexpected) – golf. He was coached by the once famous Tiger Woods! Hooper had a chance to break into the prestigious world tournaments, but the stubborn guy did not want to move to another city.

Then Hooper tried himself in American soccer, then – in basketball. As a result of all sports experiments, Mitchell chose powerlifting and bodybuilding. In general, strength training, the future star engaged in strength training to lose weight. But then he got involved, got a certificate of trainer and began to work with clients. While studying in Australia for a master’s degree in physiotherapy, he first took part in a competition of strongmen. A couple of years later he became the strongest man on the planet!

Mariusz Pudzianowski

Age: 47 years

Height: 186 cm

Weight: 142 kg

Titles: five-time winner of the “World’s Strongest Man” contest

The Polish strongman has been involved in sports since childhood – his love for it was instilled by his weightlifter father Wojciech Pudzianowski. Mariusz became interested in powerlifting early, at the age of 13. At the age of 15 he performed in the ring as a boxer. At the age of 16 he made his professional debut in the Polish bench press competition. He is the world record holder in several World’s Strongest Man competitions. In addition, he played in the rugby team Budowlany Łódź. After the end of his strength career he started to compete in the Polish MMA organization KSW.