There are many athletes who have above average strength and then there are certain people who have superhuman strength it’s almost hard to believe they’re human.
Join us as we countdown 15 strongest people on planet earth
ZYDRUNAS SAVICKAS
In many people’s opinion, Zydrunas Savickas is the strongest man of all time. You just can’t argue with his numbers: Savickas has won the Arnold Strongman Classic seven times, which is considered a truer test of pure strength than the better-known WSM competition.
In 2005, he broke three world records en route to victory at the IFSA Strongman World Championship.
The following year he again took top honors. Savickas placed second at the WSM competition in 2002, 2003, and 2004, usually dominating the events that involved pure strength while not doing as well in those that required speed and agility.
In 2009, he broke the streak by winning the WSM—an accomplishment he’d repeat in 2010, 2012, and 2014. In ’14, Savickas also set a new world record with a 500-pound log lift to complement his other impressive totals: a raw squat of 880 pounds, a 900-pound deadlift, and a 629-pound bench. That’s pretty impressive if you ask me.
MARK HENRY
Most wrestlers dubbed the “world’s strongest man” over the years haven’t really had a legitimate claim to the title. Very strong men, no doubt, and some, like Ken Patera, had very impressive credentials, but nothing that would make them the clear strongest man in the world.
Mark Henry, on the other hand, may very well be the strongest man ever to walk the planet, not just the strongest man in the world for the past 20 years.
While some athletes have excelled in powerlifting, Olympic lifting, or strongman competitions, Henry has proven himself to be world-class in all three.
Henry started in powerlifting before moving to Olympic lifting, where he set four national high school records within eight months. When he was being hyped up as an Olympic hopeful, he set the record for the combination totals of five lifts in the two sports.
Five years later, he took time off the preparations for the first annual Arnold Strongman Classic, a “world’s strongest man” type competition and Henry came in the first place, winning $10,000 and a Hummer that he still drives today.
Henry was also the first man to cleanly lift the infamous 172-plus pound Thomas Inch Dumbbell over his head.
This specific dumbbell is so hard to handle because the diameter of the handle is almost two and a half inches.
Mark Henry may not be the best powerlifter, Olympic lifter, or even strongman competitor ever, but he’s excelled at all three sports at a level that hasn’t been equaled. As raw far strength goes, Henry may have no equal.
