Humans have achieved some incredible feats of strength over the centuries, from Olympic records to incredible feats of strength in everyday life. It’s no surprise then that there are some truly remarkable humans out there who have reached levels of strength that blow away the rest of us mere mortals. Here are the top 10 strongest humans in the world, based on extraordinary feats of strength, grit, and determination.
10- Paul Anderson
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Paul Anderson was one of the strongest humans in the world. He set records for the squat and the press, and was the first man to lift over 600 pounds. His feats of strength have been described as superhuman. Anderson was born in Toccoa, Georgia in 1932, and was raised in poverty. He was a dedicated athlete, and excelled in sports like baseball, basketball, and football. By the age of 20, Anderson had developed a passion for weightlifting. He began training rigorously, and quickly rose to the top of the sport.
Anderson was a five-time World Weightlifting Champion and won two gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. He was also a pioneering powerlifter and was the first man to lift more than 600 pounds. Anderson’s commitment to strength training was legendary. He worked out for up to six hours a day, and followed an intense diet that prioritized protein and carbohydrates. Anderson’s strength and determination made him an icon and an inspiration to generations of weightlifters. To this day, he is remembered as one of the strongest humans ever.
9- Andrew Bolton
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Andy Bolton, hailing from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, made history as the first man to lift a 1000 lb. deadlift in a powerlifting competition. His fourth-highest all-time recorded deadlift of 1213.43 Pounds and third-highest three-lift record of 2,806.34 further cement his legacy in the powerlifting world. At the age of 21, Bolton made his debut in the Arnold Strongman Classic Competition, finishing in fifth position. He went on to win the WPC World Powerlifting Competitions in 2000, 2001 and 2008.
8- Leonid Taraneko
Leonid Taraneko, from Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union, has earned worldwide fame for his weightlifting accomplishments. He set a record in 1988 for the heaviest lift in a competition with a 266 kg clean and jerk, a feat that has yet to be matched, despite restrictive changes in weights. Taraneko has won several gold medals in the Olympic Games, World Weightlifting Championships, European Weightlifting Championships, USSR Weightlifting Championships, Summer Spartakiad of the Soviet Union, and Cup of the Soviet Union. In addition, he holds numerous personal records in weightlifting competitions.
7- Vasyl Virastyuk
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Vasyl Virastyuk, born 22nd April 1974 in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, is the Seventh Ranked Strongest Man in the World. He achieved this status after winning the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2004, and placing third in 2003. In addition, he won the Ukraine’s Strongest Man competition four consecutive times from 2000-2003, and again in 2006 and 2007. Virastyuk also won the International Federation of Strength Athletes Strongman World Championship in 2007.
6- Eddie Hall
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Eddie Hall stunned the world in 2016 when he deadlifted 500 kg under strongman rules, setting a competition world record. Since then, many have tried to break the record, but none have been able to do so. Hall also holds the world record for Crossfit Isabel, completing 30 repetitions with 60 kg in just 50.9 seconds. The British former strongman and professional actor was born on 15th January 1988 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. In 2017, he was crowned the World’s Strongest Man.
5- Hafthor Bjornsson
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Hafthor Bjornsson, born in 1988 in Reykjavik, Iceland, is the 5th strongest man in the world. He achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first person to win Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man, and World’s Strongest Man titles all in the same calendar year. Bjornsson is also a professional actor and former professional basketball player. He won Iceland’s Strongest Man in 2011 and the Strongest Man in Iceland in 2019. His impressive personal records include a 474 kg Elephant Bar Deadlift, a 213 Kg Long Press, and a Tire Deadlift of 460 Kg.
4- Mark Henry
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Mark Henry, born on 12th June 1971 in Silsbee, Texas, United States, is a famous wrestler who has made his name in the popular WWE. He is a powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman and retired professional wrestler who has set many records in powerlifting and strongman competitions. He is also the first man in history to one-hand clean and push press the liftable Thomas Inch Dumbell. Additionally, Mark Henry is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE Professional Wrestling Event and won the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2002.
3- Bill Kazmaier
Photo Credit: Keepfit Kingdom
Born on 30th December 1953 in Burlington, Wisconsin, Bill Kazmaier holds numerous powerlifting and Strongman records and has won three Worlds Strongest Man Titles. Widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest competitors in Strength Competitions, Kazmaier holds the record for a 415 kg Deadlift without wrist straps and a 1159 Kg Car Lift (two tires off the ground). An American, he is currently ranked 3rd in the list of top 10 strongest men in the world.
2- Brain Shaw
Brian Shaw, an American professional strongman competitor, was born in 1982 in Colorado, United States. He has achieved the remarkable feat of four world’s Strongest Man titles in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 and holds the record for 442 kg deadlift and 510 kg deadlift with hummer Tires. In 2005, Brian began his strongman career when he won the Denver strongest man contest without any formal training. He is also active on YouTube and has his own channel Shawstrenth where he shares videos of training, fitness and strength challenges.
1- Zydrunas Savickas
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Zydrunas Savickas, the current strongest man of 2022 and a Powerlifter, holds first place in the Top 10 Strongest Man in the World Ever. He boasts an impressive list of world records, as well as an incredible seven wins in the Arnold Strongman Classic, an event renowned for its ultimate strength test. Born in Birzal, Lithuania on 15th July 1975, Savickas has been crowned the Strongest Man in the World due to his sheer power and tenacity. He has managed to break several unbreakable records, including the lift of a giant wooden log of 210 Kh (460 lb).
