Ervin Katona (
Serbian Cyrillic: Ервин Катона; born 5 January 1977) is a
Serbian
strongman competitor and regular entrant to the
World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed in 99 International strongman competitions (fourth highest in history) and have won 17 of them, making him the seventh most decorated strongman in history.
Biography
Ervin Katona was a junior national
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
Glory champion in his youth. He later moved into the field of
Strength athletics, and started weight training at the age of 25. He had soon won a number of
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
titles and became the winner of the Serbia's Strongest Man title.
Katona became a member of the
International Federation of Strength Athletes and following the latter's schism with
World's Strongest Man could not compete in that event. He did compete, however, in the IFSA version in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he was a major figure on the
Strongman Champions League circuit and consistent podium finishes earned him the overall runner-up spot behind his great friend
. In early 2009 in the
Strongman Champions League event in his hometown Katona suffered a torn
biceps
The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...
. Despite this, Katona was able to recover in time to compete in the prestigious
2009 World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promisin ...
event in
Malta, he was unable to qualify for the finals. In 2010, Katona was able to qualify for the World's Strongest Man finals and finished in 7th place. Katona also won 3
Strongman Champions League events in
Bulgaria, Serbia and
Slovakia in 2010. Katona finished second overall for the 2010 SCL season behind
Terry Hollands.
Katona owns a gym in his home town of
Subotica
Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...
, which he cites as his greatest personal achievement. He entered in Big Brother VIP 2010 house and finished in fifth place after 28 days. Katona set a
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
on 25 April 2009 for longest time to restrain a vehicle weighing 980 kg (2,156 lbs) in
Milan, Italy. His time was 1 minute 2 seconds.
Katona won the
Strongman Champions League overall title for the 2011–2012 season, he had previously finished in 2nd overall in 2008 and 2010.
Personal records
*
Squat – 400 kg (880 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 ...
– 300 kg (660 lbs) (equipped)
*
Deadlift – 400 kg (880 lbs)
*Log press – 195 kg (423 lbs) (gym record)
*Farmer's walk – 360 kg (794 lb) (40 meter course) in 23.26 seconds (Raw grip) (2012 SCL Serbia) (World Record)
*Atlas Stone – over 4 ft bar (2009 Arnold Strongman Classic)
Competition record
* 2004
** 7. –
Europe's Strongest Man 2004
* 2006
** 3. –
World Strongman Cup Federation 2006: Vienna
** 12. –
IFSA Strongman World Championships 2006,
Reykjavík, Iceland
* 2007
** 3. –
Europe's Strongest Team 2007
** 6. –
Europe's Strongest Man (IFSA) 2007
** 3. – European Strongman Team Cup 2007
** 11. –
IFSA Strongman World Championships 2007,
Geumsan, South Korea
* 2008
** 2. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Serbia
** 1. –
Europe's Strongest Team 2008
** 4. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Holland
** 3. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Bulgaria
** 12. –
Fortissimus
The Fortissimus is a defunct event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" and was a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth". It was set up to bring together the strongest compe ...
, Canada
** 5. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Lithuania
** 2. – European Strongman Cup KBI 2008
** 2. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Romania
** 3. –
Strongman Champions League 2008: Finland
** 5. –
World Log Lift Championships 2008,
Vilnius, Lithuania
* 2009
** 8. –
Arnold Strongman Classic,
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, Ohio USA
** 4. –
Strongman Champions League 2009: Serbia (injured)
** 1. –
Strongman Champions League 2009: Spain
** 4. –
World Log Lift Championships 2009,
Vilnius, Lithuania
*2010
** 1. –
Strongman Champions League 2010: Bulgaria
** 3. –
Strongman Champions League 2010: Holland
** 1. –
Strongman Champions League 2010: Serbia
** 7. –
2010 World's Strongest Man
The 2010 World's Strongest Man was the 33rd edition of World's Strongest Man held at Sun City, North West, Sun City, South Africa from Sept. 15–22. Zydrunas Savickas won his second title, Brian Shaw (strongman), Brian Shaw placed second moving u ...
,
Sun City, South Africa
** 1. –
Strongman Champions League 2010: Slovakia
*2011
** 5. –
World Log Lift Championships 2011,
Vilnius, Lithuania
** 3. –
Strongman Champions League 2011: SCL Iceman Challenge
** 1. –
Strongman Champions League 2011: Serbia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Ervin
1977 births
Living people
Serbian people of Hungarian descent
Sportspeople from Subotica
Hungarians in Vojvodina
Serbian strength athletes