2009 World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet."[1] The anticipation was based on the organisers ensuring invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body. In previous years, the schism between the International Federation of Strength Athletes and the organisers of WSM had meant that certain athletes were forbidden to compete, undermining the credentials of the competition.
| Host city |  Valletta |
|---|---|
| Winner |  Žydrūnas Savickas |
| Nations participating | 17 |
| Athletes participating | 30 |
Qualifying
The official qualifying competition for the 2009 WSM was the newly created Giants Live tour. This had taken the place of the World's Strongest Man Super Series, although the latter continued to run with a separate pool of athletes. However, the weakening of the IFSA, due to the economic pressures affecting the whole of the strength athletics world at this time, had led to the breaking down of barriers between the various concurrent circuits. Strength athletes were able to compete in more than one circuit and did so, with a cross over of athletes between the Giants Live circuit, the Strongman Champions League and the Strongman Super Series. In an interview with Ironmind, a source close to the WSM decision makers said, "World’s Strongest Man has never stopped the world’s best strongmen from going to WSM and now that the world of strongman is getting much closer, it appears that we will be able to have every top athlete in the world there [this year]." This led to Ironmind stating that the World’s Strongest Man 2009 promises to be the best one yet. Such is the status of WSM that Ironmind also stated that "If you are a leading strongman competitor, or want to be recognized as one, the most important thing at this point is to get an invitation to the 2009 World’s Strongest Man contest."[2]
This ethos led to a mixture of qualifying criteria applied. Mariusz Pudzianowski qualified, by virtue of being the defending WSM champion. A further eight competitors were selected based on their showing on Giants Live (Brian Shaw; Derek Poundstone; Travis Ortmayer; Mikhail Koklyaev (injured so did not compete); Richard Skog; Mark Felix; Jarek Dymek; and Stefan Solvi Petursson). In addition “the top five from Strongman Champions League were taken into account”, in a deal struck with the relatively new organisation which had already made deals with such high profile tournaments as Fortissimus. The IMG committee also developed a list of wild card invitations.[2] This gave them the flexibility to invite the very top athletes in the world who were not part of the official qualifying tour, or subsequent agreements with other bodies. Through this avenue the great Zydrunas Savickas, six time winner of the Arnold's Strongest Man, IFSA World Champion, and Fortissimus winner, deemed by many as the strongest man in the world in terms of his ability to lift massive weights, was invited. Also, those who performed well in the revamped Strongman Super Series also received invites as well as podium finishers in certain one off events.
Competitors
The 2009 WSM line-up was said to have been one of the best ever. Every major federation and Strongman competition is represented. Among those competing were the current World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski (also the last man to win the World Strongman Cup); Fortissimus champion Zydrunas Savickas, titled the Strongest Man on the Planet, (also the Strongman Champions League winner); and the Arnold Strongman Classic champion, Derek Poundstone, (also the current Strongman Super Series overall champion). Additionally, a former World's Strongest Man, Phil Pfister, the Highlander World Champion Sebastian Wenta, the Rolling Thunder world champion, Mark Felix, and 15 current national champions and a former World Champion in the 105 kg class. So strong was the line-up that Tarmo Mitt, four times WSM finalist, was among the reserves. The competitors held, between them, at least 15 strongman world records.
Source:[3]
| Name | Nationality | WSM record | Other Strongman Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariusz Pudzianowski |  Poland |
5 time World's Strongest Man champion (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) 2nd place 2006 World's Strongest Man, 4th place 2000 |
2 time World Strongman Cup overall champion 2006, 2007 4 time Strongman Super Series overall World Champion |
| Jarek Dymek | Poland |
Europe's Strongest Man 2005 | |
| Alexander Klyushev |  Russia |
Russia's Strongest Man 2008 Second place in World's Strongest Nation 2008 | |
| Richard Skog |  Norway |
2009 Norway's strongest man 2nd place 2009 Giants Live Norway | |
| Mark Felix |  United Kingdom |
4th place 2006 World's Strongest Man | 2 time Rolling Thunder World Champion and World Record Holder IFSA Britain's Strongest Man 2005 |
| Stefán Sölvi Pétursson |  Iceland |
Iceland's Strongest Man 2009 (and 2008 IFSA) 3rd place Giants Live Poland 2009 | |
| Travis Ortmayer |  United States |
5th place 2008 World's Strongest Man | 3rd at Arnold Strongman Classic 2009 2nd place 2005 IFSA Pan-American Championships 1st place 2008 Strongman Super Series Madison Square Garden Grand Prix 1st place 2009 Giants Live Norway |
| Derek Poundstone | United States |
2nd place 2008 World's Strongest Man | 2 time America's Strongest Manchampion 2007 & 2008 2009 Arnold Strongman Classic champion 2008 Fortissimus champion Strongman Super Series overall World Champion 2008, 1st place 2008 Strongman Super Series Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 1st place 2009 Giants Live Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 4th place 2007 IFSA Strongman World Championships 2nd place 2007 World's Strongest Team |
| Brian Shaw | United States |
3rd place Fortissimus 2009 Winner of 2009 FIT Expo | |
| Phil Pfister | United States |
2006 World's Strongest Man champion 4th place 1998, 2001 |
3rd place Arnold Strongman Classic 2006 & 2002 3 time runner-up America's Strongest Man |
| Kevin Nee | United States |
6th place 2007 World's Strongest Man(youngest competitor to ever make the finals) | Youngest ever competitor in WSM in 2005 2nd place 2007 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix |
| Zydrunas Savickas | Lithuania |
2nd place World's Strongest Man 2002-2004 | Six time winner of Arnold Strongman Classic 2003-2008 2 time winner IFSA Strongman World Championships 2005 & 2006 2008 Strongman Champions League overall winner 2009 Fortissimus champion 2004 Strongman Super Series overall World Champion 1st place 2008 & 2009 World Log Lift Championships World Record Holder in 8 separate Strongman events 10 time winner Lithuania's Strongest Man 1st place 2007 World's Strongest Team |
| Jimmy Laureys | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
2008 Belgium's Strongest Man | |
| Terry Hollands | United Kingdom |
3rd WSM 2007 | Britain's Strongest Man 2007 UK's Strongest Man 2005 England's Strongest Man (WSM) 2009 |
| Jimmy Marku | United Kingdom |
Britain's Strongest Man 2008 UK's Strongest Man 2009 England's Strongest Man 2006-2008 | |
| Laurence Shahlaei | United Kingdom |
England's Strongest Man 2009 | |
| Darren Sadler | United Kingdom |
2007 Champion IFSA World Strongman Challenge u105k 2nd 2005 World Championships u105k(IFSA) | |
| Sebastian Wenta | Poland |
2nd at 2007 WSM | Highlander World Champion (07,08,09) 3rd at 2008 Fortissimus |
| Johannes Arsjo |  Sweden |
4th Place Viking Power Challenge 2009 | |
| Martin Wildauer |  Austria |
3rd Strongman Champions League Finland Grand Prix 2009 | |
| Dave Ostlund | United States |
3rd WSM 2008 | 1st Venice Beach Super Series 2007 3rd Madison Square Garden Super Series 2008 |
| Marshall White | United States |
Bucharest WSMSS Grand Prix 2009 winner | |
| Agris Kazelniks |  Latvia |
2nd Strongman Champions League Holland Grand Prix 2009 | |
| Andrus Murumets |  Estonia |
Estonia's Strongest Man (02 and 05) Multiple wins in Strongman Champions League Grand Prixs 3rd 2007 Arnold Strongman Classic | |
| Konstantin Ilin |  Ukraine |
2009 Ukraine's Strongest Man | |
| Florian Trimpl |  Germany |
2009 Germany's Strongest Man | |
| Ettiene Smit |  South Africa |
6 times South Africa's Strongest Man | |
| Ervin Katona |  Serbia |
2nd place in 2008 Strongman Champions League | |
| Christian Savoie | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
2009 Canada's Strongest Man | |
| Louis Philippe Jean | Canada |
2008 Canada's Strongest Man | |
| Reserve: Tarmo Mitt |
Estonia |
5th in 2006 4 consecutive finals (2005–08) |
6x Estonia's Strongest Man 2nd overall in 2006 World Strongman Cup 2nd Sweden Super Series 2008 |
| Reserve: Simon Sulaiman |
 / Netherlands / Syria |
Holland's Strongest Man 2009 |
Format
The 25 competitors were split into five separate heats, each consisting of six events. After each event each competitor was given points, from 5 for first to 1 for last. Half points occurred if more than one competitor has the same result, and no points were scored if a competitor did not take part in an event. The points were tallied after the six events and the two competitors with the most points from each heat progressed to the final. The final consisted of seven events and the champion was the competitor with the most points after all of the events.
The Head referee was Colin Bryce, assisted by Svend Karlsen (the 2001 World's Strongest Man). Jouko Ahola, World's Strongest Man winner from 1997 and 1999, was the equipment manager.
Events
There were a total of 15 different events used in the competition:
In the Group stages the a mixture of the following events were used:
- Medley - Cannon ball & sledge (the event took place on the Valletta Waterfront)
- Medley - Anchor & chain & barrels (the event took place on the Valletta Waterfront)
- Truck Pull (the event took place on the Valletta Waterfront - all groups were involved)
- Squat Lift (the event took place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior - groups one and four involved)
- Dead Lift (the event took place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior - groups two, three and five involved)
- Car Walk (the event took place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior - groups one, three and four involved)
- Fingal's Fingers (the event took place on the Birgu Waterfront - groups two and five were involved)
- Dumbbell Press (the event took place on the Birgu Waterfront - groups one and three were involved)
- Keg Toss (the event took place at Golden Bay - groups two, four and five were involved)
- Atlas Stones (the event took place at Golden Bay - all groups were involved)
In the final:
- Fingal's Fingers (the event took place at Fort St Elmo)
- Giant Farmer's Walk (the event took place at Fort St Elmo)
- Plane Pull (limited public access)
- Overhead Lift - Apollon's Axle (the event took place at Wied iz-Zurrieq)
- Boat Pull (the event took place at Wied iz-Zurrieq)
- Car Deadlift (the event took place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior)
- Atlas Stones (the event took place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior)
Heats
Group 1
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley |
Event 2 Truck Pull |
Event 3 Squat Lift |
Event 4 Carwalk |
Event 5 Dumbbell Press |
Event 6 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (34pts) | Derek Poundstone | United States |
1 (38.71s) | 1 (42.66s) | 2 (6 in 30.02s) | 1 (19.09s) | 1 (9 reps) | 2 (4 stones in 25.1s) |
| 4 (18pts) | Jimmy Marku | United Kingdom |
2 (44.06s) | 6 (1m 07.47s) | 1 (6 in 25.57s) | 5 (12.3m) | 4= (0 reps) | 3 (4 stones in 59.6s) |
| WD (after Rd 5) | Kevin Nee | United States |
6 (16.6m) | 5 (1m 05.59s) | 3 (6 in 31.19s) | 3 (46.53s) | 4= (0 reps) | WD |
| 3 (21pts) | Konstiantyn Ilin | Ukraine |
5 (1m 06.49s) | 2 (50.08s) | 4 (6 in 31.85s) | 4 (49.34s) | 2 (8 reps) | 4 (2 stones in 37.42s) |
| 2 (25pts) | Louis-Philippe Jean | Canada |
3 (46.00s) | 3 (58.28s) | 5 (5 in 26.38s) | 2 (26.6s) | 3 (6 reps) | 1 (5 stones in 48.73s) |
| WD (after Rd 2) | Sebastian Wenta | Poland |
4 (54.37s) | 4 (58.37s) | WD | WD | WD | WD |
Group 2
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley |
Event 2 Truck Pull |
Event 3 Dead Lift |
Event 4 Fingal's Fingers |
Event 5 Keg Toss |
Event 6 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (30pts) | Brian Shaw | United States |
2 (22.79s) | 1 (42.19s) | 3 (7 in 35.97s) | 2 (5 in 31.34s) | 2 (8 in 29.41s) | 2 (5 stones in 29.27s) |
| 4 (17pts) | Mark Felix | United Kingdom |
3 (24.13s) | 5 (51.56s) | 1 (7 in 31.36s) | 5 (4 in 34.15s) | 6 (4 in 1m15:00s) | 5 (5 stones in 48.49s) |
| 6 (12.5pts) | Marshall White | United States |
6 (28.67s) | 6 (56.97s) | 6 (4 in 17.67s) | 3 (5 in 56.67s) | 4= (6 in 1m15:00s) | 4 (5 stones in 37.67s) |
| 5 (13.5pts) | Martin Wildauer | Austria |
4 (25.28s) | 4 (50.94s) | 4 (7 in 36.26s) | 6 (4 in 56.68s) | 4= (6 in 1m15:00s) | 6 (4 stones in 30.90s) |
| 3 (21pts) | Stefan Solvi Petursson | Iceland |
5 (26.78s) | 3 (50.07s) | 5 (6 in 31.57s) | 4 (4 in 29.22s) | 1 (8 in 23.53s) | 3 (5 stones in 30.43s) |
| 1 (32pts) | Zydrunas Savickas | Lithuania |
1 (22.63s) | 2 (43.53s) | 2 (7 in 31.64s) | 1 (5 in 31.06s) | 3 (8 in 30.19s) | 1 (5 stones in 28.20s) |
Group 3
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley |
Event 2 Truck Pull |
Event 3 Dead Lift |
Event 4 Carwalk |
Event 5 Dumbbell Press |
Event 6 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 (17.5pts) | Alexander Klyushev | Russia |
6 (49.83s) | 5 (1m10.06s) | 4 (7 in 45.97s) | 3 (25.06s) | 1= (6 reps) | 5 (4 in 38.27s) |
| 3 (22pts) | Darren Sadler | United Kingdom |
4 (45.17s) | 4 (1m02.31s) | 1 (7 in 35.19s) | 5 (47.41s) | 3 (4 reps) | 3 (4 in 35.85s) |
| 4 (20.5pts) | Ervin Katona | Serbia |
3 (44.12s) | 3 (49.22s) | 3 (7 in 43.03s) | 4 (28.28s) | 4= (3 reps) | 4 (4 in 37.14s) |
| 6 (7pts) | Jimmy Laureys | Belgium |
5 (49.53s) | 6 (1m10.91s) | 5 (5 in 33.07s) | 6 (5.8m) | 6 (0 reps) | 6 (4 in 39.21s) |
| 2 (27.5pts) | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland |
2 (37.81s) | 2 (45.40s) | 2 (7 in 36.50s) | 2 (20.72s) | 4= (3 reps) | 2 (5 in 33.91s) |
| 1 (30.5pts) | Phil Pfister | United States |
1 (35.90s) | 1 (40.91s) | 6 (4 in 23.25s) | 1 (20.30s) | 1= (6 reps) | 1 (5 in 24.88s) |
Group 4
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley |
Event 2 Truck Pull |
Event 3 Squat Lift |
Event 4 Carwalk |
Event 5 Keg Toss |
Event 6 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 (15.5pts) | Agris Kazelniks | Latvia |
6 (33.85s) | 5 (56.88s) | 3 (6 in 32.27s) | 4 (25.63s) | 4= (4 in 1m15s) | 4 (4 in 47.43s) |
| 4 (20pts) | Ettiene Smit | South Africa |
5 (25.58s) | 6 (1m02.50s) | 2 (6 in 27.48s) | 2 (22.66s) | 1 (8 in 25.89s) | 6 (3 in 51.19s) |
| 3 (22pts) | Johannes Arsjo | Sweden |
1 (22.09s) | 4 (56.32s) | 4 (6 in 36.65s) | 6 (34.41s) | 2 (7 in 1m15s) | 3 (5 in 35.23s) |
| 1 (26pts) | Laurence Shahlaei | United Kingdom |
2 (23.84s) | 1 (45.42s) | 1 (7 in 35.65s) | 1 (21.87s) | 6 (3 in 1m15s) | 5 (3 in 25.54s) |
| 5 (19.5pts) | Richard Skog | Norway |
4 (25.03s) | 2 (46.75s) | 5 (4 in 18.05s) | 5 (32.22s) | 4= (4 in 1m15s) | 2 (5 in 29.97s) |
| 2 (23pts) | Travis Ortmayer | United States |
3 (24.15s) | 3 (49.13s) | 6 (2 in 7.57s) | 3 (24.44s) | 3 (6 in 1m15s) | 1 (5 in 27.96s) |
Group 5
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley |
Event 2 Truck Pull |
Event 3 Dead Lift |
Event 4 Fingal's Fingers |
Event 5 Keg Toss |
Event 6 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 (26pts) | Andrus Murumets | Estonia |
1 (34.38s) | 4 (47.07s) | 2 (6 in 30.89s) | 4 (4 in 45.45s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 2 (5 in 30.03s) |
| 4 (18pts) | Christian Savoie | Canada |
3 (37.78s) | 2 (45.91s) | 4 (6 in 38.79s) | 6 (3 in 22.83s) | 6 (4 in 1m15s) | 3 (5 in 32.85s) |
| 2 (26pts) | Dave Ostlund | United States |
5 (42.15s) | 3 (46.28s) | 3 (6 in 30.96s) | 1 (5 in 33.84s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 1 (5 in 26.66s) |
| 6 (12pts) | Florian Trimpl | Germany |
4 (41.98s) | 5 (57.43s) | 6 (5 in 32.74s) | 5 (4 in 49.85s) | 5 (5 in 1m15s) | 5 (4 in 32.66s) |
| 5 (15pts) | Jarek Dymek | Poland |
6 (46.40s) | 6 (16.2m) | 5 (5 in 24.30s) | 3 (4 in 32.47s) | 1 (7 in 1m15s) | 6 (4 in 34.49s) |
| 1 (29pts) | Terry Hollands | United Kingdom |
2 (36.41s) | 1 (40.50s) | 1 (7 in 32.70s) | 2 (4 in 27.83s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 4 (5 in 44.05s) |
Final
Dates: 1, 2, 3 September 2009. Results published at Official WSM site
Results
| Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Fingal's Fingers |
Event 2 Medley Giant Farmer's Walk |
Event 3 Plane Pull |
Event 4 Overhead Lift Apollon's Axle |
Event 5 Boat Pull |
Event 6 Car Deadlift |
Event 7 Atlas Stones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 (58pts) | Žydrūnas Savickas | |
01 (5 in 28.69s WR) | 04 (36.20s) | 02 (40.24s) | 01 (9 lifts) | 08 (1m02.94s) | 01 (11 lifts) | 02 (5 in 24.63s) |
| 02 (53pts) | Mariusz Pudzianowski | |
06 (5 in 36.47s) | 01 (25.05s) | 05 (40.91s) | 02= (8 lifts) | 02 (39.38s) | 02= (9 lifts) | 05 (5 in 26.57s) |
| 03 (49pts) | Brian Shaw | |
03 (5 in 32.37s) | 07 (48.80s) | 03= (40.53s) | 05 (6 lifts) | 01 (32.44s) | 04= (8 lifts) | 04 (5 in 25.62s) |
| 04 (46pts) | Derek Poundstone | |
05 (5 in 35.38s) | 02 (31.63s) | 06 (41.12s) | 02= (8 lifts) | 07 (1m06.14s) | 02= (9 lifts) | 06 (5 in 27.03s) |
| 05 (45.5pts) | Travis Ortmayer | |
04 (5 in 34.85s) | 10 (45.05m) | 03 (40.53s) | 04 (7 lifts) | 03 (45.88s) | 06 (7 lifts) | 01 (5 in 24.29s) |
| 06 (41pts) | Terry Hollands | |
08 (5 in 43.07s) | 06 (37.13s) | 01 (38.19s) | 09= (2 lifts) | 04 (47.07s) | 04= (8 lifts) | 03 (5 in 25.22s) |
| 07 (28.5pts) | Phil Pfister | |
07 (5 in 37.57s) | 05 (36.86s) | 07 (42.56s) | 06= (5 lifts) | 05 (50.89s) | 10 (0 lifts) | 07 (5 in 28.67s) |
| 08 (25pts) | Dave Ostlund | |
02 (5 in 32.08s) | 09 (1m12.37s) | 08 (45.53s) | 08 (4 lifts) | 09 (1m06.14s) | 08 (5 lifts) | 08 (5 in 32.13s) |
| 09 (23.5pts) | Laurence Shahlaei | |
09 (4 in 38.03s) | 03 (33.54s) | 09 (45.54s) | 09= (2 lifts) | 06 (51.13s) | 07 (6 lifts) | 10 (4 in 28.03s) |
| 10 (14.5pts) | Louis-Philippe Jean | |
10 (4 in 44.11s) | 08 (50.45s) | 10 (46.69s) | 06= (5 lifts) | 10 (12.3m) | 09 (3 lifts) | 09 (5 in 51.47s) |
Television broadcast
United States
In the USA the event was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 in January 2010, on Thursday 7 January and Saturday 9 January, with some repeat screenings on Sunday 10, 17 and 24 January. Further screenings in late February and March are planned.[5]
United Kingdom
In the UK Bravo obtained the rights to screen both The Giants Live Tour (the official qualifying tour for The World's Strongest Man) as well as the finals. Giants Live was shown on three consecutive days from Saturday 26 December 2009 to Monday 28 December. The finals were broadcast over six consecutive Mondays in early 2010 from 4 January to 8 February, with each episode dedicated to a qualifying group, and the sixth episode being the final.[5] The UK broadcast was produced by IMG Media for Bravo and featured presenters Martin Bayfield and Zöe Salmon, with some guest presenters including Bill Kazmaier and Svend Karlsen. The commentators were Paul Dickenson and Colin J L Bryce and the outside broadcast was performed by 021 Television Ltd.[6]
References
- World’s Strongest Man 2009: More on the Competitors, Ironmind, Thursday, 6 August 2009 , by Randall J. Strossen
- Thursday, August 6, 2009 World’s Strongest Man: Who’s Invited?, Ironmind, by Randall J. Strossen
- Official Site - 2009 Competitors
- Heats result tables Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Official site - Broadcast schedule
- IMG Media production; presenters Martin Bayfield and Zöe Salmon; commentators were Paul Dickenson and Colin J L Bryce (2 February 2010). World's Strongest Man 2009. Episode 5. Valletta, Malta. Bravo.
External links
| Preceded by 2008 World's Strongest Man |
World's Strongest Man | Succeeded by 2010 World's Strongest Man |