Wout Zijlstra (born 4 August 1964, Wolsum) 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 Highland Games athlete 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 competed in 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 Decem ...

competition on two occasions, winning the 3rd place in 1998 behind Sweden's

Magnus Samuelsson Magnus Samuelsson (born December 21, 1969), is a Swedish actor, former strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco. He has also made it to the World's Strongest Man podium 5 times and the finals 10 times and is rega ...

and Finland's

Jouko Ahola Jouko Ahola (born December 1, 1970) is a Finnish former strongman, powerlifter and actor. He is a two time World's Strongest Man winner, a two time Europe's Strongest Man winner, and is regarded as on ...

Biography

Zijlstra was born in Wolsum,

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

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

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 ...

. It took him until 1994 to reach the podium again. This time he finished third after Ted van der Parre and Berend Veneberg. After this he finished several more times on the podium but it would take him until 2001 to finally win the tournament. After this victory he would not compete again and started focusing on Highland Games. He was invited twice to compete in the

on both occasions he reached the final. In 1998 he competed together with his rival from the Netherlands Berend Veneberg and would finish third in the final. In 2001 he finished eight in the World's Strongest Man competition. Zijlstra competed together with Berend Veneberg 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. He finished the

Elfstedentocht The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating competition (with 300 contestants) and a lei ...

twice. Wout won the NK Highland Games in 2003 and 2004 and held the world record for the 56 lb. weight for height for more than a decade until it was finally beaten by Iceland's

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English, born 26 November 1988), is an Icelandic professional strongman, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person ...

. Zijlstra works as an inspector of meat and does security jobs. He is married and has 3 children.

Honours

*third place

(1998) *first place

(1998) w/Berend Veneberg *first place Strongest man of the Netherlands (2001) *eighth place

(2001) *first place NK Highland Games (2003) *first place NK Highland Games (2004)

References

External links

Personal website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zijlstra, Wout 1964 births Living people Dutch strength athletes People from Wymbritseradiel Sportspeople from Friesland