Jesse Marunde (September 14, 1979 – July 25, 2007) was an American

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 ...

athlete who placed second in the

2005 World's Strongest Man The 2005 World's Strongest Man was the 28th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his third title. Jesse Marunde from the United States finished second, and Dominic Filiou from Canada third. The ...

competition. He is the brother of mixed martial artist Bristol Marunde.

Early life

Originally from

Glennallen, Alaska Glennallen (''Ciisik’e Na’ '' in Ahtna) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Copper River Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 439, down from 483 in 2010 ...

, he later moved to

Sequim, Washington Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains. The 2010 census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic ...

. He was a high-school athlete, playing several sports, including

Olympic lifting Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

. He received an athletic scholarship to Montana State University, to play football. At age 18 he officially closed the No. 3 Captains of Crush Gripper, a hand gripper with 280 lb (127 kg) of resistance, and is the youngest person to achieve certified "Captain of Crush" status.

Strongman

In 2002, at age 22, Marunde was the youngest American ever to qualify for the

2002 World's Strongest Man The 2002 World's Strongest Man was the 25th edition of the international World's Strongest Man competition, and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. The contest was held in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Sou ...

. His second-place finish in 2005 made him the first American to place in the top two competitors since

O.D. Wilson Oders Dell Wilson Jr. (September 12, 1954 – October 29, 1991) was an American world champion powerlifter and world champion strongman competitor. Strongman/Powerlifting "O.D." Wilson came very close to being the first Am ...

finished second in 1990, behind

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 ...

Death

On July 25, 2007 Marunde died following a workout in

. The cause of his death was a genetic heart defect, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a leading cause of

sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

in young athletes. Jesse's widow Callie Marunde is now married to professional strongman competitor

Nick Best Nick Best (born November 3, 1968) is an American professional strongman competitor and world champion powerlifter. Powerlifting Prior to competing in strongman, Best won the USAPL National Powerlifting Championships in the 125 kg class in 1 ...

References

External links

Jesse Marunde's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marunde, Jesse 1979 births 2007 deaths Sports deaths in Washington (state) People from Sequim, Washington American strength athletes Sportspeople from Alaska