Strength athletics in Sweden refers to the participation of Swedish competitors and holding national strongman competitions.
History
Sweden has a long and rich history of strength athletics dating back to the mid 1900s in the sport of Olympic weightlifting with Bo Johansson in the 1960s and 1970s, and several top ranked IPF Powerlifters such as Lars Hedlund and Lars Norén during the 1980s. Sweden has been at the top international level in World's Strongest Man since the very beginning in the late 1970s with Lars Hedlund achieving numerous podium finishes. Sweden struggled through the 1980s and early 1990s until the arrival of Magnus Samuelsson in 1995. Samuelsson would go on to win the 1998 World's Strongest Man, Sweden's only WSM title. Magnus continued to win major international contests and be a top podium finisher at WSM until his retirement in 2008. In recent years, Johannes Årsjö has continued to maintain Sweden's top position on the international scene with numerous podium finishes at major international contests.
National competitions
Sweden's Strongest Man
Sweden's Strongest Man|
| Location | Sweden |
|---|
| Established | 1995 |
|---|
| Format | Multi-event competition |
|---|
|
 Fredrik Johansson (2024) |
Sweden's Strongest Man (Swedish: Sveriges Starkaste Man) is an annual Strongman competition held in Sweden and featuring exclusively Swedish athletes, to determine who the strongest Swede of the year is.
Magnus Samuelsson and Johannes Årsjö have both won the competition 9 times, thus sharing the record for most wins.
Champions breakdown
The competition has been held every year since 1995 and has produced nine champions over the years.[1]
Repeat champions
| Champion
|
Times & years
|
| Magnus Samuelsson |
9 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)
|
| Johannes Årsjö |
9 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
|
| Anders Johansson |
3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
|
| Torbjörn Samuelsson |
2 (1998, 2002)
|
| Martin Forsmark |
2 (2018, 2019)
|
| Fredrik Johansson |
2 (2023, 2024)
|
Regional Competitions
Nordic Strongman Championships
Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[5]
International Competitions
Giants Live
Sweden was also the venue for several Giants Live grand prix competitions with the participation of top athletes of the world. The competitions were named Giants Live Sweden/ Scandinavian Open.
References
