Strength is an asset coveted by people all over the world. Though some people see strength training as a hobby, these 10 strongest people take it very, very seriously. You wouldn’t want to catch yourself on the wrong side of a fight with these masters of power.
Number Ten: Brian Shaw (1982 -). First on our list is strongman Brian Shaw. Shaw has placed in the top three at the World’s Strongest Man competition an impressive five times.
Number Nine: Leonid Taranenko (1956 -). Taranenko is impressive because he set a record back in 1988 that remarkably still stands today. He was born in the USSR and weighs 260 pounds.
Number Eight: Zishe Breitbart (1883 – 1925). Breitbart was born in Poland and discovered his strength when he was able to snap horseshoes in half as a child. He eventually became a circus performer, acting as, unsurprisingly, the “strongest man in the world.”
Number Seven: Hafthor Julius Bjornsson (1988 -). Known as “The Mountain” on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson is a professional strongman and can deadlift 925 pounds. Though he plays a character on the show, Bjornsson has never acted in his life.
Number Six: Louis Uni (1862 – 1928). Strongman Luis Uni was so strong he was nicknamed “Apollon the Mighty.” He was especially known for his large hands, and he was one of the world’s first strength athletes.
Number Five: Vasyl Virastyuk (1974 -). Virastyuk has two firsts under his belt. He was the first person declared the strongest man alive in both the IFSA World Championship and World’s Strongest Man competitions. He has since retired, but his accomplishments will be remembered forever.
Number Four: Paul Anderson (1932 – 1994). Paul Anderson is a polarizing figure. Though lauded by many, there are also skeptics who believe he doesn’t deserve the right to be on this list. The controversy lies in his ability to squat 1,200 pounds, which some believe never really happened.
Number Three: Bill Kazmaier (1953 -). Also known as “Kaz,” Bill Kazmaier was so strong that he was once banned from a competition because of the certainty that he would win – again. He was the first man to lift every one of the five McGlashen stones.
Number Two: Mark Henry (1971 -). Second on our list of the top 10 strongest people is Mark Henry. He is the only man in the world to hold both the U.S. powerlifting and super heavyweight championship simultaneously.
Number One: Zydrunas Savickas (1975 -). Finally, the strongest person in the world is Zydrunas Savickas. Services has won the Arnold Strongman Classic a whopping seven times. He also broke three world records in the span of a single year (2005).
