Strength athletics in Finland

Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and events in the field of strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man.

History

Finland had enormous success on the international stage in the 1990s and early 2000s, having won 3 World's Strongest Man titles, and numerous major European and international competitions. In particular, Jouko Ahola was the 1997 World's Strongest Man & 1999 World's Strongest Man champion, Janne Virtanen won the 2000 World's Strongest Man, and Riku Kiri was a 3 time consecutive Europe's Strongest Man champion from 1995-1997. In recent years Finland has struggled in the major international scene, having not made the finals of WSM since 2002, and not having any major international victories.

National competitions

Finland's Strongest Man
Finland's Strongest Man
2011
Tournament information
LocationFinland
Established1987
FormatMulti-event competition
Current champion
Jarkko Mehtälä

Finland's Strongest Man is an annual Strongman competition held in Finland and featuring exclusively Finnish athletes, to determine who the strongest Finn of the year is. It was first held in 1987.[1]

Both Janne Virtanen and Jani Illikainen hold the record with four wins, while Ilkka Nummisto and Riku Kiri hold three wins each as well.[1]

Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier and Hjalti Arnason were guests in the competition but their placings were not included in the final results.[1]

Top 3 placings
Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
1987 Arto Lyytikäinen Markku Suonenvirta Jari Leino/Kari Pötrönen
1988 Riku Kiri
1989 Markku Suonenvirta Ilkka Nummisto
1990 Ilkka Nummisto Markku Suonenvirta
1991 Ilkka Nummisto Markku Suonenvirta
1992 Ilkka Nummisto Jukka Laine Marko Varalahti
1993 Riku Kiri Marko Varalahti Jarmo Ruotsalainen
1994 Riku Kiri Harri Simonen Jorma Ojanaho
1995 Marko Varalahti Sami Heinonen Jukka Laine
1996 Jorma Ojanaho Jouko Ahola Marko Varalahti
1997 Jouko Ahola Sami Heinonen Jorma Ojanaho
1998 Janne Virtanen Matti Uppa Jukka Laine
1999 Janne Virtanen Sami Heinonen Juha-Matti Räsänen
2000 Janne Virtanen Sami Heinonen Juha-Matti Räsänen
2001 Janne Virtanen Juha-Matti Räsänen Pasi Paavisto
2002 Juha-Matti Räsänen Sami Heinonen Harri Simonen
2003 Juha-Matti Räsänen Esa Qvintus Tomi Lotta
2004 Tomi Lotta Juha-Matti Räsänen Jani Illikainen
2005 Jani Illikainen Matti Uppa Juha-Pakka Aitala
2006 Jani Illikainen Juha-Matti Räsänen Esa Qvintus
2007 Jani Illikainen Jani Kolehmainen Janne Hartikainen
2008 Jani Illikainen
2009 Juha Matti Jarvi
2010[2] Pedro Karlsson
2011[2] Jarno Jokinen Pedro Karlsson
2014[3] Arto Niemi-Nikkola Jarno Kirselä Juha Jokinen
2021 Mika Törrö Henry Ollila Severi Allonen
2022 Mika Törrö Jarkko Mehtälä Teemu Pohto
2023 Jarkko Mehtälä
Repeat champions
Champion Times
Janne Virtanen4
Janni Illikainen4
Riku Kiri3
Ilkka Nummisto3
Juha-Matti Räsänen2
Mika Törrö2

Regional Competitions

Nordic Strongman Championships

The Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[4]

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place Location
2005 Svend Karlsen Magnus Samuelsson Juha-Matti Räsänen IFSA Nordic Championships Kristiansand, Norway
2012[4] Johannes Årsjö Lars Rorbakken Michael Licht Nordic Championships Harstad, Norway
2013 Johannes Årsjö Ole Martin Hansen Juha-Matti Järvi Giants Live Nordic Championships Norway

References
  1. "David Horne's World of Grip". Davidhorne-gripmaster.com. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  2. Finland’s Strongest Man, Woman: Jarno Jokinen, Kati Luoto Win
  3. "Finland's Strongest Man: The Next Generation". Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  4. Nordic Strongman Championships: Viking Loses His Title!
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