William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion

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 ...

, world champion

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

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. During the 1970s and 1980s, he set numerous powerlifting and strongman world records, and won two

International Powerlifting Federation The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The IPF was founded in 1972, and comprises member fe ...

(IPF) World Championships and three

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 ...

titles. In the 1980s, Kazmaier became famous for his claim to be "the strongest man who ever lived" by equaling and surpassing spectacular and versatile feats of strength of famous strongmen of the 20th century. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest competitors in strength competitions.

Early career

Kazmaier is of

German ancestry , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. A star athlete in high school, Kazmaier played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for two years at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

before dropping out in 1974 to concentrate on lifting weights at the Madison

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. There he learned the fundamentals of powerlifting. Kazmaier then struggled to earn a living as an oil rigger, a bouncer, and a lumberjack.

Powerlifting career

At the 1978

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) National Championships in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Kazmaier squatted 782 lbs, bench pressed 534 lbs, and deadlifted 804 lbs in the 275-pound weight class, which immediately placed him in the top rank in his first national powerlifting appearance. In 1979 at age 25, he set a world record with a bench press of 622 lbs on the way to winning his first IPF World Powerlifting Championship in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. His winning lifts included an 865 lbs squat, the 622 lbs

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

and an 804 lbs

deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...

for a 2291 lbs total. He repeated the success in 1983 by first winning the United States Powerlifting Federation (USPF) National Powerlifting Championships in July and later the IPF World Championship in November for a second time. He won this IPF World Championship despite two major injuries. He had a severe

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectorali ...

injury, from which he never recovered completely, and shortly before the IPF Championships, had torn his

hip flexors A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when one ...

in the squat. The world record

in early 1979 was 612 lbs, held by

Lars Hedlund Lars Hedlund (January 24, 1949 – June 4, 2016), was a former strongman and powerlifter from Sweden. Strongman Lars competed in three World's Strongest Man contests, finishing second at the 1979 and 1980 World's Strongest Man, and third in 1978 ...

. Kazmaier moved the world record stepwise up from 617.3 lbs in July, 1979 to 622.8 lbs in November 1979 to 633.8 lbs in May, 1980 and finally to 661.4 lbs at the USPF West Georgia Open Powerlifting Championships, held in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

on January 31, 1981. In this competition, Kazmaier officially became the first human to bench press 300 kg (661.4 lbs) (raw) ''in an IPF-sanctioned meet''* and recorded his lifetime best three-lift-total of 2425 lbs (1100 kg), a powerlifting world record that remained unsurpassed for more than a decade. His winning lifts were: a 925.9 lbs (420 kg) squat, the 661.4 lbs (300 kg) bench press and an 837.8 lbs (380 kg) deadlift. The bench press and deadlift were done raw (unequipped), while the squat was performed with wraps and a marathon squat suit. His powerlifting performance is regarded as one of the best of all time. In November 1981, Kazmaier became one of the few lifters in history to hold world records in three of the four powerlifting events at the same time by setting a new deadlift world record at 402 kg (886.7 lbs) raw in competition. From 1981 onwards Kazmaier's career was affected by multiple muscle tears and injuries, preventing him from setting the bar even higher. He sustained chest, shoulder and triceps injuries, ruling out further records in the bench press. : * Jim Williams had bench pressed 675.5 lb (306.2 kg) (raw) earlier than Kazmaier in 1972 just prior to the formation of the IPF. But his lift was performed with ace bandage elbow wraps, which were later outlawed so it wouldn't count as the official world record.

Strongman career

Kazmaier competed in six

contests. In

1979 World's Strongest Man The 1979 World's Strongest Man was the third edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Don Reinhoudt from the United States. It was his first title after finishing second the previous year. Lars Hedlund from Sweden finished second after fin ...

, he came in third after leading throughout much of the competition and beating powerlifting icon Don Reinhoudt in the car lift by deadlifting a 2555 lbs car. In the following years, he dominated the competitions in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, winning all by a large margin. He was the first man to win the WSM title three times and remains one of only two men ever to win it three times in a row. In his

title win, Kazmaier won five of ten events and tied for first in another. He won the log lift, the engine race, the steel bar bend, the girl squat lift, the silver dollar deadlift, and the final tug of war. The runner-up in the competition,

, was over 28 points behind. During Kazmaier's title defense at the 1981 World's Strongest Man he won the squat event with 969 lbs (440 kg) (on a

smith machine The Smith machine is a weight machine used for weight training. It consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Some Smith machines have the barbell counterbalanced. The machine can be us ...

) for a world record, just after tearing his

pectoralis major muscle The pectoralis major () is a thick, fan-shaped or triangular convergent muscle, situated at the chest of the human body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast. Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor, a ...

while bending

cold rolled steel Cold-formed steel (CFS) is the common term for steel products shaped by cold-working processes carried out near room temperature, such as rolling, pressing, stamping, bending, etc. Stock bars and sheets of cold-rolled steel (CRS) are common ...

bars in the bar bend event before. After this tear, he lost more than one-hundred pounds off his bench press, making his 1983 IPF world championship win all that much more significant. Following his win in the squat he went on to win the silver dollar deadlift with a 940 lbs (426.4 kg) lift. Of 11 events he had five wins, two second places, one third and a fourth. His wins included the log lift, deadlift, squat, loading race and engine race. In the 1982 World's Strongest Man competition Kazmaier won the first three events. A notable performance in this WSM was his 1055 lbs silver dollar deadlift. Despite being the reigning champion, the organizers decided not to invite Kazmaier to compete in the following four WSM competitions, with Kazmaier claiming it was because he was "too dominant". His absence cleared the way for Kazmaier's main rival, Geoff Capes, to win the title in 1983. Kazmaier continued to compete in lesser known strongman tournaments, such as the Scottish Power Challenge and the Le Defi Mark Ten International. He returned to the World's Strongest Man Contest in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, where he won three of eight events – the log press, the deadlift and the sack race – and took two second places including the truck pull, but he was disqualified for moving his hands in the sausage forward hold, so the time was stopped prematurely. With two events to go, he was leading the field and was the favorite to win the following "weight over the bar event", in which a 56 lbs weight has to be thrown over a bar. He was holding the World Record in this event from the Highland Games 1984 with a height of 18 feet 3 inches. The event took place on water for the first time and Bill's concern about problems with his orientation on water were borne out. Although he threw the weight at least 3 feet higher than the bar, he failed to get the direction right. So he dropped out at only 15 feet 1 inch. With Kazmaier's closest rival

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 Stronge ...

winning the event with a throw over 15 feet 7 inches, Kazmaier came in overall second to Jón Páll. Kazmaier had defeated Sigmarsson in 1987 at the Le Defi Mark Ten event in Canada, and also prior to WSM in 1988, at the World Musclepower Classic. In Kazmaiers' final WSM appearance at the

1989 World's Strongest Man The 1989 World's Strongest Man was the 12th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Jamie Reeves from the United Kingdom. It was his first and only title after finishing third the previous year. Ab Wolders from the Netherlands finished seco ...

, he severely injured his ankle in the first event and already had a ripped biceps. He came in fourth, directly behind Jón Páll Sigmarsson. Kazmaier was the first man to press the "unliftable"

Thomas Inch Thomas Inch (27 December 1881 – 12 December 1963) was a British strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth and Britain's Strong Man. Early life Thomas Inch was born on 27 December 1881 in Scarborough, a seaside town o ...

dumbbell* and became only the fifth person to lift it above the knee, setting this record on October 13, 1990. In addition to WSM contests, Kazmaier also competed in other

competitions successfully, such as the Strongbow Strongman Challenge, the Scottish Power Challenge, Le Defi Mark Ten Challenge, the World Muscle Power Championships and the

Pure Strength Pure Strength was a strongman competition held from 1987 to 1990 which was created by Tjalling van den Bosch. Event History The first year of the event was known as "Pure Strength Challenge" and it was a single man competition featuring only Bil ...

contest. He ended his career as a competitive strongman in 1990. With three Worlds Strongest Man titles, Kazmaier is one of the most successful competitors in the history of the contest. Strength author David Webster called him "the greatest American strength athlete of all time", and a 2008 poll of experts rated him as top superheavyweight lifter of all time and "one of the strongest men who ever lived." He was featured in Flex magazine in May 2008, in which a top ten list of the strongest men in history was published where Kazmaier was voted "the third strongest man that ever lived", just behind

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...

and

Žydrūnas Savickas Žydrūnas Savickas (; born ...

Professional wrestling career

Inspired by

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

, Kazmaier sought to transfer his talents to other sports, trying out for the NFL's Green Bay Packers in 1981. He also trained as a wrestler with

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

and

Brad Rheingans Brad Rheingans (born December 13, 1953) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold med ...

, and entered professional wrestling in 1986, with a WWF match in Calgary, Alberta on November 10, 1986, defeating David Barbie. During the 1980s, he had wrestled for promotions such as

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

in Canada and

Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

in America. He would also wrestle for Fighting Network RINGS in Japan in early 1991. His biggest national exposure came when he debuted for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

in the summer of 1991. He received several shots at

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

but failed to win the title. He also briefly teamed with

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American real estate broker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was ...

, only to lose to The Enforcers in a tournament final for the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...

. At

Halloween Havoc 1991 The 1991 Halloween Havoc was the third annual Halloween Havoc professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on October 27, 1991, from the UTC Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ...

, in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, he beat Oz by submission. At the 1991 Starrcade Battlebowl: The Lethal Lottery, Kazmaier and his partner Jushin "Thunder" Liger defeated

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. In the course of his wrest ...

and Mike Graham in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. While in WCW, Kazmaier also wrestled for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

. In NJPW, his theme music was " Poundcake" by

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Life after competition

Kazmaier opened a

fitness club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

, Kaz Fitness Center, in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

in the early 1980s. The gym closed in 2005. Kazmaier then opened, and continues to operate, S.W.A.T. gym in

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

. Both served as a place for him to train and as headquarters for DynaKaz Inc., Kazmaier's own exercise equipment import-export company, which markets fitness products worldwide. Upon retiring from active competition in the 1990s, Kazmaier was hired as a co-commentator for the American

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

broadcast of the annual

competition along with Todd Harris and 2006 World's Strongest Man winner

Phil Pfister Phil Pfister (born May 15, 1971) is an American former strongman competitor and winner of the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He was the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. Pfister sta ...

. He also comments in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

broadcast. Kazmaier considers his most important contributions to public life to be his work as a motivational speaker for 3D Sports Tech, addressing school and YMCA groups. "I can and I will" is the message he conveys to inspire young people to lead healthier and more productive lives.

Personal life

Bill Kazmaier's nickname is "Kaz". He is the youngest child of William Bartholomew and Florence Louise Steinhoff Kazmaier. He had one brother, two sisters, and a half brother. His father owned soda water bottling plants in

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

and

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

. In 1974 Kazmaier read a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

verse in Psalm 40 while at the Madison YMCA and subsequently became a devoted

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, crediting much of his success and exceptional strength to "the power of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

." He lives in

and has a son, Eric.

Records

Powerlifting records

''performed in 1981 in official powerlifting full meets'' * Squat – 420 kg (925.9 lbs) ''in 80s marathon squat suit'' *

Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

– 300 kg (661.4 lbs)ALL TIME HISTORICAL MEN AND WOMEN'S POWERLIFTING WORLD RECORDS
''raw'' :→ former IPF world record in SHW class (+regardless of weight class); surpassed by

Ted Arcidi Theodore Arcidi (born June 16, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler, actor and powerlifter from the United States of America. He is known to be the first man in history to bench press over 700 pounds in competition, establishing an ...

's 666.9 pounds (raw) in 1984 *

Deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...

– 402 kg (886.7 lbs)* ''raw'' :→ former IPF world record in SHW class (+regardless of weight class); surpassed by Doyle Kenady's 903.9 pounds (equipped in deadlift suit) in 1986 * Total – 1100 kg (420.0/300.0/380.0) / 2425.08 lbs (925.9/661.4/837.8)* ''in 80s marathon squat suit'' :→ former IPF world record in SHW class (+regardless of weight class); surpassed by John Ware's 2427 pounds (equipped with squat suit and bench shirt) in 1989 * ''former all-time world records set in 1981'' Career aggregate total (3 best official lifts) – 1122 kg (420 + 300 + 402) / 2474,0 lbs (925.9 + 661.4 + 886.7) ''performed in 1983 Powerlifting Exhibition'' * Deadlift – 410 kg (903.9 lbs) ''with wrist straps''

World's Strongest Man records

* Deadlift – 415 kg (914.9 lb) ''Raw, without wrist straps, at 1981 Highland Games. This lift was officially 404 kg (890.6 lb) but later weighed out to be 415 kg (914.9 lb). Judged by

Douglas Edmunds Dr. Douglas Morris Edmunds Ph.D. (29 May 194430 October 2020) was a Scottish Highland Games competitor and strongman. Known as the "Godfather of Strongman", he was a two-time world champion of the caber toss and co-founded and acted as referee ...

.'' * Car Lift (Deadlift) - 1159 kg (2555 lbs) car – ''winning lift 1979'' (lifting two tires off the ground) * Cement Block Lift ( Squat on

Smith Machine The Smith machine is a weight machine used for weight training. It consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Some Smith machines have the barbell counterbalanced. The machine can be us ...

) – 440 kg (969 lbs) ''winning lift, WSM 1981'' * Silver Dollar Deadlift – 478.5 kg (1055 lbs) ''winning lift WSM 1982'' (18" off the floor with wrist straps) * Overhead Log Lift – 170 kg (375 lbs) ''winning lift WSM 1988'' (awkward wooden log with great circumference) ''It has been noted that in 1988 logs used for the Log Lift were not machined as they are in modern competitions, and were extremely unbalanced in weight. Bill pressed the log with ease, using absolutely no leg drive.'' * Hungarian Farm Cart Deadlift – 510 kg (1124 lbs) ''winning lift WSM 1988''

Other Feats

* Seated Military Press – 203 kg (448 lb) for 3 reps.

Achievements

Professional Competitive Record – st (18),2nd (4), 3rd (4) – Out of Total(29)''
International winning percentage of 44.5% COMPLETED CONTESTS * Pure Strength 4 Team Challenge – winner (1990) * World's Strongest Man – 4th place (1989) * Pure Strength 3 Team Challenge – 2nd place (1989) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1989) * World's Strongest Man – 2nd place (1988) World Strongman Challenge – 3rd place (1988) * Pure Strength 2 Team Challenge – winner (1988) World Muscle Power Championships – winner (1988) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1988) * Pure Strength – Ultimate Challenge – 2nd place (1987) * Le Defi Mark Ten Challenge – winner (1987) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1987) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1986) World Muscle Power Championships – 3rd place (1985) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1985) * Scottish Power Challenge – winner (1984) * World's Strongest Man – winner (1982) * World's Strongest Man – winner (1981) * Strongbow Superman Contest – winner (1981) * Strongbow Strongman Contest – winner (1980) * World's Strongest Man – winner (1980) * World's Strongest Man – 3rd place (1979)

Career statistics

''These are just a few of his accomplishments in his life:'' Second, shortly before the IPF Championships, he tore his hip flexors in the squat. ''mentioned world records are records at that time'' * Junior National Powerlifting Champion-275 Pound Class-(760-512-760-2033) in 1978 * Senior National Powerlifting Champion-275 Pound Class-(782-534-804-2121) in 1978 * World Record-Bench Press-Superheavyweight-617 lbs in 1979 * World's Strongest Man Contest-Third in 1979 * World Powerlifting Champion-Superheavyweight-(865-622-804-2292 lbs) in 1979 * World Record-Bench Press-Superheavyweight-622 lbs in 1979 * Strongbow Superman Contest-Winner-374 Clean and Jerk, 837 Deadlift, 120sX17 Dumbbell Press in 1980 * World Record-Bench Press-Superheavyweight-634 lbs in 1980 * World Record-56 lb Weight Toss Over Bar-Scottish Highland Games-Height: 16 feet and 3 inches in 1980 * World's Strongest Man Contest-Winner in 1980 * Strongbow Superman Contest-Winner in 1981 * World Record-Bench Press-Superheavyweight-639 lbs in 1981 * Powerlifting Competition-Best Squat-Superheavyweight-926 lbs lbs in 1981 * World Record-Bench Press-Superheavyweight-661 lbs in 1981 * World Record-Powerlifting Total-Superheavyweight-(926-661-837-2424 lbs) in 1981 * World Record-Dumbbell Press in Exhibition-a Pair of 155sX10 repetitions; a Pair of 165sX5 repetitions in 1981 * World's Strongest Man Contest-Winner in 1981 * World Record-Deadlift-Superheavyweight-887 lbs in 1981 * No.2 All-Time Squat in World's Strongest Man Competition of 969 lbs in 1981 * World's Strongest Man Contest-Winner in 1982 * Senior National Powerlifting Champion-Superheavyweight Class-(870-540-837-2248) in 1982 * No.3 All-Time Deadlift in World's Strongest Man Competition of 1055 lbs in 1982 * World Powerlifting Champion-Superheavyweight Class-(848-501-799-2149) in 1983 * Powerlifting Exhibition Best Deadlift-Superheavyweight-904 lbs in 1983 * World Record-56 lb. Weight Toss Over Bar-Scottish Highland Games-Height: 18 feet and 3 inches in 1984 * World Record-Barbell Curl-440 lbs in 1985 * Ultimate Challenge-Runner up in 1987 * Le Defi Mark Ten International-Winner in 1987 ''defeating Jon-Pall Sigmarsson'' * World Record-Seated Barbell Press-(Previous Record: Chuck Arens-407) 448 lbsX3 in 1988 * World Muscle Power Classic-1st Place in 1988 ''defeating Jon-Pall Sigmarsson'' * World Record Log Press-375 lbs in 1988 * World's Strongest Man Contest-Runner up in 1988 * Pure Strength II Team Competition-1st Place with Stuart Thompson as his partner in 1988 * McGlashen Stones-First Man to Ever Lift all Five Stones in Competition in 1988 * Louis Cyr Dumbbell Side Raise and Hold-(Louis Cyr-88 lbs in one hand and 97 lbs in the other); 89 lbs in one hand and 101 lbs in the other for 6 reps. in 1988 * Pure Strength II Team Competition-2nd Place with partner with OD Wilson in 1989 * Louis Cyr Dumbbell Front Raise and Hold-(Louis Cyr-131 lbs. for 1 rep.) 210 lbs for six reps. * World's Strongest Man Competition-4th Place in 1989 * No.2 All-Time Loglift in World's Strongest Man Competition of 363 lbs in 1989 * World Record-Dumbbell Press-100 lbs.X40 reps in 1989 * Guinness Book of Records-Member of 10 Man Team that Pulled a 14-ton Tractor and Attached Caravan for 2 Miles * Pure Strength III Team Competition-1st Place with O.D. Wilson as his partner in 1990

References

External links

Online World Of Wrestling profile
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kazmaier, Bill 1953 births American people of German descent American powerlifters American male professional wrestlers American strength athletes Living people Sportspeople from Auburn, Alabama People from Burlington, Wisconsin Professional wrestlers from Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football players Stampede Wrestling alumni