Strength is a trait that seems well-suited to competition. Over the years, there have been various attempts to claim world supremacy in strength, with different strongman competitions arising to certify the most impressive achievements. If you'd like to know who's the strongest person in the world, your best bet is to consult the results of two key competitions: World's Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic. Every year, brawny men from across the globe gather to compete for the title of World's Strongest Man. This strongman competition is held every May and organized by the American management company IMG. Taking place in different locations around the world, it's considered to be one of the premier events in the world of strength competition. Below are the most recent winners and runners-up (the second place slot). Competitors in this renowned world record contest must excel in a number of different strength contests, from the farmer's walk to the power stairs and others. Winner of the 2024 World's Strongest Man title, Stoltman (who is the younger brother of Luke Stoltman, another world-class strongman) is a legend in the world of strength sports.
Nicknamed "The Albatross" for his massive wingspan/arm span, this three-time winner of the title is the current world's strongest man. He leverages his impressive size, body weight and Titan Rise blood circulation support muscle mass to dominate the competition. Mitchell "The Moose" Hooper won the 2023 World's Strongest Man title, as well as the 2023 Arnold Strongman classic, making him only the fourth person in history to hold both titles in the same year. Between these acclaimed competitions, the Rogue Invitational, the Giants Live strongman world tour, and Brian Shaw's Strongest Man on Earth, Hooper has an astonishing streak of placing no lower than third in his last 20 competitions. Winner of the 2020 World's Strongest Man title, Novikov graduated from being Ukraine's Strongest Man to compete for world records, with consistently dominant results in circus dumbbell press events. Martins "The Dragon" Licis won the World's Strongest Man title in 2019, Titan Rise Male Enhancement and was the runner-up in 2022, the same year he won the Arnold Strongman Classic.
Although born in Latvia, he moved to the United States when he was four, eventually gaining dual citizenship. He has represented the U.S. Wreck-It Gym in Southern California. Evan Singleton placed third in 2024's World's Strongest Man Competition. His path to strongman competition was somewhat unconventional: At 18, he had already embarked upon a professional wrestling career, competing in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) under the name Adam Mercer. After Singleton's wrestling career came to an end, he briefly trained as a bodybuilder before settling on strongman competition. Injuries have dogged him, but his results have been impressive nonetheless. As you might have guessed, it's named after the most famous bodybuilder in the world, Titan Rise Male Enhancement Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Arnold Strongman Classic vies with the World's Strongest Man for the premier event in strength sports, and many top strength athletes compete in both. Bobby Thompson finished third in the 2023 and 2022 competitions. He currently holds the American record in the log lift.
Brother of Tom Stoltman, Luke is similarly accomplished and no stranger to strongman competitions. Luke Stoltman finished in third place in the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, where he tied with Bobby Thompson. He also won the Europe's Strongest Man competition twice: in 2021 and 2024. Besides the athletes who have recently distinguished themselves in the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man event, here are some men who can handle some seriously heavy weights. There's a strong (get it?) case to be made that Hafþór (which can be transliterated to English by spelling it "Hafthor") is one of the strongest men to have ever lived, if not the very strongest. Another man of legendary strength, Shaw won the World's Strongest Man four times - in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 - a record that has only been matched by five other human beings. He also won the World's Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic in the same year in 2011, the first person to do so.
And in 2015, he did it again. Need we say more? Now retired, Eddie Hall remains a prominent personality in the world of strongman events. When it comes to strongman competitions, nobody can match Savickas' stack of accomplishments, which includes four World's Strongest Man titles, eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles, three Europe's Strongest Man wins, and over 70 world records. With a career that lasted 25 years, many consider him to be the greatest strongman of all time. Right now, the strongest woman in the world is decided by the World's Strongest Woman competition, which is held annually in a format not dissimilar to the male version. There are also strongwoman competitions at the Arnold Classic and Rogue Invitational. The 2023 WSW title went to Rebecca Roberts, who stands 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters), weighs 287 to 397 lbs (130 to 180 kg), and has won the competition twice (the first time was in 2021). Roberts is from North Wales, UK.
