Andrés Guðmundsson (born 17 April 1965) is a prominent former international

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

competitor and Highland Games competitor, and former holder of the World Strongman Challenge title.

Biography

Andrés Guðmundsson began his career in sport in the world of track and field athletics. After turning his attention to professional sport he became involved in

strength athletics Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully ...

. His time in strength athletics coincided with the careers of fellow Icelandic strongmen

Jón Páll Sigmarsson Jón Páll Sigmarsson (28 April 1960 – 16 January 1993) was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's Strong ...

and

Magnús Ver Magnússon Magnús Ver Magnússon (born 23 April 1963) is an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor. He is a four-time World's Strongest Man, having won in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of ...

and thus to an extent was overshadowed by their careers. His competition experience ranged from

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, discus and shot put to the traditional Scottish Highland Games. His discus career resulted in him being in fourteenth place on the Icelandic all-time list with a throw of 53m (in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

for the Ármann club on 3 September 1991). In 1994 he was also ranked as Iceland's number 2 shot putter (and 87th in the world) with a put of 18.63 meters.

Strength athletics

In 1994 he reached the peak of his strength athletics career, winning the World Strongman Challenge,

European Hercules European Hercules was an annual strongman contest which consisted of international athletes from various countries. The event was held annually in Finland. Event Placings {, class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; borde ...

and coming second in the European Muscle Power Championships. Both the European Musclepower Championships and the Highland Games World Championships were held on a weekend on the same field in Callander,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. At this time, he was widely regarded as one of the top dual threats in Highland Games and strongman competition, but was sidelined by a career threatening injury, a tear of his pectoral muscle. For a while this looked to have been a career-ending injury in and Andrés began focusing his experience in other directions. He opted to share his experience with Icelandic fitness people and emerging strongmen, and as a result developed ''Skólahreysti'' (School Fitness) together with his wife Lára Helgadóttir, which quickly became one of the most popular and well known school sporting events in Iceland.Skólahreysti (School Fitness) - background
In 1999, he looked to be making a comeback. He was reported to have won

Iceland's Strongest Man Strength athletics in Iceland refers to the participation of Icelandic competitors and the holding of Icelandic events in the modern phenomenon of strength athletics inaugurated by the World's Strongest Man. The sport's roots have a long and ancien ...

competition in 1999. In August 1999 he had a podium finish in the Bison Highland Games and in 2000 he was added to the list of competitors for the IFSA Helsinki Grand Prix 2000. Despite a top international field such was his reputation that he was placed 5th in the betting to win, so soon after his comeback began. However, a recurrence of the pec tear forced him to pull out.

Skólahreysti

The Helsinki Grand Prix in 2000 was his last major international competition and from that point on he focused almost entirely on the Skólahreysti project. The first Skólahreysti contest was held in 2005 with six schools participating. Its goal was to encourage children to take part in a wide-ranging sports experience based on the criteria used in their general physical education. The 2009 season saw 110 schools participate with the final broadcast live by

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...

, and audience surveys showed that around 49% of Icelanders tuned in.

Personal life

Andrés has two sons who play football, Axel Óskar Andrésson and Jökull Andrésson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guðmundsson, Andrés Icelandic strength athletes Icelandic male shot putters Icelandic male discus throwers Living people 1965 births