Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and holding national

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

competitions.

History

Finland had enormous success on the international stage in the 1990s and early 2000s, having won 3

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 Decemb ...

titles, and numerous major European and international competitions. In particular,

Jouko Ahola Jouko Ahola (born 1 December 1970) is a Finland, Finnish former Strongman (strength athlete), strongman, powerlifter and actor. He is a two time World's Strongest Man winner, a two time Europe's Stron ...

was the

1997 World's Strongest Man The 1997 World's Strongest Man was the 20th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Jouko Ahola from Finland. It was his first title. Flemming Rasmussen from Denmark finished second after finishing fourth the previous year, and Magnus Samu ...

& 1999 World's Strongest Man champion, Janne Virtanen won the

2000 World's Strongest Man The 2000 World's Strongest Man was the 23rd edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Janne Virtanen from Finland. It was his first title after finishing second the previous year. Svend Karlsen from Norway finished second after finishing t ...

, and

Riku Kiri Riku Kiri (born April 5, 1963 in Kotka, Finland) is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been ...

was a 3 time consecutive Europe's Strongest Man champion from 1995-1997. In recent years Finland has struggled in the major international scene, having not made the finals of WSM since

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and not having any major international victories.

National competitions

Finland's Strongest Man

Finland's Strongest Man is an annual

Strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

competition held in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and featuring exclusively Finnish athletes, to determine who the strongest Finn of the year is. It was first held in 1987 and has produced 19 champions throughout its 33 consecutive years. It is one of the oldest strongman competitions in the world. Mika Törrö holds the record for the most number of wins with five titles while Janne Virtanen and Jani Illikainen share four titles each. Ilkka Nummisto and

share three titles each as well. Jón Páll Sigmarsson,

Bill Kazmaier William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During his illustrious career, he set over 40 powe ...

and Hjalti Arnason were guests in the competition but their placings were not included in the final results.

Champions breakdown

*Results courtesy of David Horne's World of Grip: http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/strongmanresults.html

=Repeat champions

Regional Competitions

Nordic Strongman Championships

Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. *In 2005, the competition was held under IFSA in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, and in 2012 and 2013 in

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

under

Giants Live Giants Live is a professional strongman tour which was originated in the United Kingdom. It hosts several prominent competitions each year, including national competitions such as Britain's Strongest Man, international competitions such as Eur ...

. *From 2014 onwards, the competition was promoted to global level, re-titled as the World's Strongest Viking and was held consecutively for 8 years under

Strongman Champions League The Strongman Champions League is a Strongman competition circuit, with several Grand Prix events throughout the year and the Strongman Champions League overall champion title going to the overall winner at the end of the season. Competitors in ...

International Competitions

Giants Live

Finland was also the venue for a couple of Giants Live grand prix competitions with the participation of top athletes of the world. The competitions were named Giants Live Finland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finland's Strongest Man Strongmen competitions National strongmen competitions

Sport in Finland