Lars Hedlund (January 24, 1949 – June 4, 2016), was 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. These ...
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
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
Strongman
Lars competed in 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 ...
contests, finishing second at the
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and
1980 World's Strongest Man
The 1980 World's Strongest Man was the fourth edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Bill Kazmaier from the United States. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. Lars Hedlund from Sweden finished second after fini ...
, and third in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
.
Lars also won
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 mos ...
in 1981.
Powerlifting
Lars was a European Powerlifting champion in 1980, and the Scandinavian Powerlifting champion in 1979.
He competed twice at the
IPF World Powerlifting Championships in 1977 finishing 6th, and in 1979 finishing third.
Lars set numerous
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 ...
world records throughout his powerlifting career, his best lift was raw in 1980 in
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
Honours
*3rd place
1978 World's Strongest Man
The 1978 World's Strongest Man was the second edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Bruce Wilhelm from the United States. It was his second title. Don Reinhoudt also from the United States finished second, and Lars Hedlund from Sweden t ...
*2nd place
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 ...
*2nd place
1980 World's Strongest Man
The 1980 World's Strongest Man was the fourth edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Bill Kazmaier from the United States. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. Lars Hedlund from Sweden finished second after fini ...
*1st place
1981 Europe's Strongest Man
See also
*
List of strongmen
This list of Strongman (strength athlete), strongmen is a list of people who are renowned for their feats of strength.
Ancient Greeks
* Bybon, early 6th century BC weight lifter
* Milo of Croton, 6th century BC wrestler, reputed to have carried ...
References
External links
Strongestman.billhenderson.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedlund, Lars
Swedish strength athletes
Swedish powerlifters
1949 births
2016 deaths