Berend Veneberg (born 5 November 1963 in

Den Ham Den Ham ɛn ɦɑmis a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Twenterand, about 15 km northwest of Almelo. Den Ham was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became a part of Vriezenveen. It ...

) is a former

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 ...

and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He finished 5th at the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

games in 1993, 9th in 1998, 6th in 1999, 1st at

Europe's Strongest Man Europe's Strongest Man is an annual strength athletics competition which began in 1980. The event is held in various locations throughout Europe, and features exclusively European strongman competitors. Mariusz Pudzianowski holds the record for m ...

in 2000 and won Strongest man of the Netherlands 7 times.

Biography

Veneberg was born in

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

. He managed his first podium finish at the Strongest man of the Netherlands in 1991 where he finished third behind

Ted van der Parre Ted van der Parre (born 21 September 1955) is a former strongman from the Netherlands, who won the World's Strongest Man contest in 1992 and was 4th in 1991. He also participated in 1994 when he finished 8th, having to drop out after the second ev ...

and

Wout Zijlstra Wout Zijlstra (born 4 August 1964, Wolsum) is a former strongman and Highland Games athlete from the Netherlands. He competed in the World's Strongest Man competition on two occasions, winning the 3rd place in 1998 behind Sweden's Magnus Samue ...

. The next year he placed second behind Ted van der Parre. In 1993 he would win the tournament for the first time a feat he would repeat six times. The same year he was invited for the first time at the

in which he finished fifth. He competed several more times the following years and reached the final of the tournament on two more occasions. In 1998 he was injured in the final and finished ninth. In 1999 he competed for the last time and finished sixth. Veneberg competed together with Wout Zijlstra on several occasions in the

World's Strongest Team World's Strongest Team is an annual strongman contest that consists of either 2 or 3 man teams from various countries all over the world. The contest was first held in 1995. In recent years it has been organised by Strongmen Eddie Hall and Glenn R ...

competition and won the tournament in 1998. After this they reached the podium several more times but did not win again. In 2000 Veneberg won

. Berend has won the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

National Powerlifting Championships 6 times. He also runs his own gym in the Netherlands, and has trained some top strongmen such as

Jarno Hams Jarno Hams (born 1974) is a strongman from the Netherlands. He participated in the World's Strongest Man in 2002 and 2003, but failed to qualify for the finals both times. Hams is a 7-time winner of Strongest Ma ...

. Berend competed on American Gladiators.

Honours

*1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (1993) *5th place

(1993) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (1995) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (1996) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (1998) *9th place

(1998) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (1999) *6th place

(1999) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (2000) *1st place

(2000) *1st place Strongest man of the Netherlands (2002) *1st place

(1998)

References

External links

Berend Veneberg on realdutchpower.nl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veneberg, Berend 1963 births Living people Dutch strength athletes People from Den Ham American Gladiators contestants Sportspeople from Overijssel