Jean-François 'JF' Caron (born June 29, 1982) is a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

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 ...

and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive 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 singl ...

from Les Hauteurs, Quebec, Canada. Having competed in 73 International strongman competitions and winning 10 of them including the World's Strongest Viking twice, Caron is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.

Strength Sports

Powerlifting

Caron held the world record in the

deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

for WPA Powerlifting organization. He pulled raw on March 14, 2010, at the CPA Provincial Championships in

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

in the weight class, weighing in at only .

World's Strongest Man

Caron has competed eleven times 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 Decemb ...

contest: in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Out of them, He reached the final nine times: in 2012 and then each year between 2014 and 2021. Caron's record in the finals has progressively improved over time: he placed 8th in 2012, 6th in 2015, 5th each year between 2016 and 2018, 4th in 2019 and 3rd in 2020 - his best finish. In the 2021 competition, Caron returned to 5th place, having torn his hamstring during the first event.

Canada's Strongest Man

Caron won Canada's Strongest Man a record nine consecutive times, from 2011 to 2019. In 2016, he won all eight events in the contest, the only time a competitor has managed a clean sweep at the Canada's Strongest Man competition.

Other major strongman competitions

In 2011, Caron finished in 2nd place at the

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 ...

events in Canada and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Caron finished 2nd again at the 2011 SCL Finals in Sarajevo, Bosnia on Feb. 7, 2012, and 4th overall for the 2011/2012 SCL season. In 2012 and 2013, Caron won North America's Strongest Man after coming in 2nd place the two previous years. In 2020, Caron placed 2nd in the inaugural

Shaw Classic The Shaw Classic is a strongman competition run and hosted by four-time World's Strongest Man Brian Shaw, who won the inaugural competition in 2020. The second edition of the contest had 16 athletes with backgrounds from Europe and North Ameri ...

. At that event, Caron set a new world record at the time in the Hummer Tire Deadlift, lifting 1,202 lb (545.2 kg). In 2021, Caron placed in 2nd in the 2020 World's Ultimate Strongman (also known as the 2021 WUS Strength Island) held in Riffa, Bahrain. Later that year, Caron placed 3rd in the 2021 Shaw Classic and 5th at the 2021 Rogue Invitational. In 2022, while competing at the 2022 Arnold Classic, Caron suffered two torn patellar tendons and an injured ankle during the Austrian Oak Log Press.

Refereeing

Upon his retirement, Caron became a strongman referee and has been refereeing international competitions such as

Siberian Power Show Siberian Power Show is an annual international Strongman competition organized by sports promoters Matt Rhodes and Denis Kiyutsin, held in every April in Krasnoyarsk, Russia with the participation of top strongman athletes in the world. The roo ...

and

in addition to organizing and refereeing Canadian national competitions.

Personal records

Elephant bar The elephant bar is a barbell developed by Rogue Fitness which is specifically used for the strongman raw deadlift. It was first created in 2016 by Terry Todd, the director of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The bar is known for being long and ma ...

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

''(Raw with straps)'' – (2018 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Silver Dollar

(at 18 inches) ''(with suit and straps)'' – (2018 World's Ultimate Strongman) * Hummer tyre

(at 15 inches) ''(with straps)'' – (2020 Shaw Classic) (former world record) * Double T Squat ''(with suit)'' – (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record) * Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – × 7 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2019 World's Strongest Man) * Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – x 13 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2017 World's Strongest Man) * Log press – (2021 World's Strongest Man) * Log press (for reps) – x 8 reps (2017 Canada's Strongest Man) * Max Atlas stone – as a part of a 5 stone run (2017 Arnold Australia) * Inver Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 42.45 seconds (2021 Rogue Invitational) * Inver Stone press – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) (Joint-World Record) * Hercules hold – – 52.67 seconds (2020 World's Strongest Man) * Hercules hold – in each hand – 60.08 seconds (2015 World's Strongest Viking) *

Keg toss Keg-tossing (or keg toss) is a traditional strength sport that involves the heaving of a standard half-barrel beer keg or a similar implement. The basic technique involves swinging the keg in a pendulum like manner and releasing when it is at its a ...

– 10 kegs over 5.00 metres (16 ft 5 in) in 80.01 seconds (2022 Força Bruta) * Sandbag over bar – over 4.57 metres (15 ft 0 in) '' as achieved this feat twice' (2018 and 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Loading race – ''2 x 120kg Kegs & 2 x 125kg Sacks'' in a 12m course - 36.87 seconds (2012 World's Strongest Man Group 1) (former world record) * Tyre flip – x 4 flips (2016 Arnold Strongman Classic, Rogue Record Breakers) (World Record) * Car flip –

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

x 13 flips (2018 Guinness world records, China) (World Record) * Truck pull – for 24 meter course 'uphill' in 42.44 seconds (2019 Canada's Strongest Man) (World Record) * Truck pull – 'uphill' for 15.96 meters (2017 Festival des Hommes Forts de Warwick)

Competitive record

Winning percentage: 13.70%
Podium percentage: 47.94%

Filmography

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, Jean-Francois Canadian strength athletes Living people Canadian powerlifters 1982 births Male powerlifters