Strongmen have always, and quite rightly, inspired admiration. After all, everyone would like to have a strong friend, while many women dream of having a strong man by their side. But these people are not simply strong – they have achieved extraordinary feats of strength. They have amazed millions of people with records and spectacular feats that have become part of strongman history, together with the names of the athletes who pushed the limits of human strength.
1 Joe Rollino 
The man who opens this list was not simply a strongman. Joe Rollino, also known by his nickname “Kid Dundee,” became famous as one of the most remarkable strongmen of his era and was also known for his extraordinary longevity. He died in 2010 at the age of 104, just a little short of his 105th birthday. Rollino was a lifelong vegetarian and reportedly did not drink alcohol. He became famous for his extraordinary feats of strength, including bending nails and coins and moving enormous weights. He was only about 152 cm tall and weighed around 68 kg during his prime, yet he performed feats that involved weights many times his own body weight. Rollino claimed to have moved 3,200 pounds (about 1,450 kg) using his back and was also reported to have lifted hundreds of pounds with one finger. During his later years, he remained remarkably active and continued to attract attention with demonstrations of strength. In January 2010, while on his way to buy a newspaper, the 104-year-old Rollino was struck by a car and died from his injuries.
2 Alexander Zass 
Alexander Zass, better known as “Iron Samson” or “The Amazing Samson,” was one of the most famous strongmen of the early 20th century. Born in 1888, he became famous for spectacular feats of strength and for promoting what would later be called isometric training. Zass was not exceptionally large – he was around 168 cm tall and weighed approximately 80 kg – but his strength was remarkable. During his circus career, he performed feats such as breaking chains, bending iron bars, driving nails with his hands and performing demonstrations involving horses and other heavy objects. During the First World War, he served in the Russian army and was captured several times, escaping on each occasion. After the war, he built an international career as a circus strongman and became known as the “Iron Samson.” Many spectacular feats have been attributed to him over the years, although some of the more extraordinary stories surrounding his performances are difficult to independently verify.
3 Yakub Chekhovskoy 
Another extraordinary strongman from the early 20th century was Yakub Chekhovskoy. He became famous for spectacular strength demonstrations, including reportedly carrying six adult soldiers around a performance area using one arm. His repertoire was said to include a human bridge supporting additional people, supporting platforms carrying large groups of people, and other feats involving enormous loads. One of the most spectacular acts attributed to him involved trucks driving across a platform positioned over his chest, with spectators reportedly riding in them. Like many feats performed by historical strongmen, some of these accounts come from contemporary publicity and later retellings and are difficult to verify independently. Nevertheless, Chekhovskoy became one of the legendary figures of the golden age of circus strongmen.
4 Arnold Schwarzenegger 
Few strength athletes have become as famous as Arnold Schwarzenegger. He began weight training as a teenager and quickly established himself as one of the greatest bodybuilders in history. Among his greatest achievements were seven Mr. Olympia titles, which he won between 1970 and 1980, including six consecutive victories from 1970 through 1975. He also won the Mr. Universe title multiple times. In the 1970s, Schwarzenegger began his film career, using his extraordinary physique to become one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars. His roles as Conan the Barbarian and the Terminator made him internationally famous. Although Schwarzenegger was primarily a bodybuilder rather than a professional strongman, his influence on strength training and bodybuilding is enormous.
5 Žydrūnas Savickas 
Žydrūnas Savickas is widely regarded as one of the greatest competitive strongmen in history. In 2009, the Lithuanian finally won the World’s Strongest Man title after years of competing at the highest level. He had already established himself as one of the world’s elite strength athletes, setting numerous records and winning major international competitions. His victory at the 2009 World’s Strongest Man was particularly significant because he had not competed in the competition since 2004. In 2010, he successfully defended his World’s Strongest Man title, defeating Brian Shaw on countback after they finished level on points. Savickas was also renowned for his enormous overhead strength and log-lifting performances.
6 Vasyl Virastyuk 
Vasyl Virastyuk began training in strength sports at a young age and eventually became one of Ukraine’s most successful strongmen. He won the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2004 in Nassau, Bahamas, defeating Žydrūnas Savickas. He later won the IFSA Strongman World Championship in 2007. Virastyuk was famous for spectacular strength demonstrations, including vehicle-pulling and other traditional strongman events. His career record includes victories at major international competitions, and he remains one of the most successful Ukrainian strongmen in history.
7 Vasily Alekseyev 
Now let us turn to the Soviet era, where weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev became famous for his extraordinary strength. Alekseyev dominated international weightlifting during the 1970s and set an enormous number of world records during his career. He won the world championship eight times and became Olympic champion in 1972 and 1976. At the height of his career, he was widely regarded as the strongest weightlifter in the world. After retiring from competition, Alekseyev continued working in weightlifting and eventually became a coach and sports administrator. His achievements remain an important part of the history of Soviet weightlifting.
8 Bruce Wilhelm, Raivis Vidzis, Mariusz Pudzianowski 
Why is eighth place shared by three people? Because all three became champions of major international strongman competitions on multiple occasions.
Bruce Wilhelm won the World’s Strongest Man title in 1977 and 1978, becoming the first athlete to win the competition twice. He later served as a judge and became involved in organizing strongman competitions.
Latvian strongman Raivis Vidzis won the overall World Strongman Cup title in 2004 and 2005. This was a separate competition from the World’s Strongest Man, but it was one of the major international strongman circuits of the period. Vidzis also won Latvia’s Strongest Man several times and competed internationally for many years.
Poland’s Mariusz Pudzianowski is one of the most successful strongmen in history. He won the World’s Strongest Man title five times – in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. He also won numerous other international strongman competitions during his career.
9 Bruce Khlebnikov 
Bruce Khlebnikov became famous at a very young age for a series of extraordinary strength demonstrations. Accounts about his childhood feats include tearing books and calendars, moving vehicles, pulling heavy objects and performing other unusual demonstrations of strength. Some sources have attributed Guinness World Records to him, while other claims surrounding his performances are difficult to independently verify. For that reason, the spectacular figures often repeated in accounts of Khlebnikov’s achievements should be treated with caution rather than as established world records. Nevertheless, his unusual demonstrations made him a well-known figure in the world of strength exhibitions.
10 Becca Swanson 
And finally, the only woman on our list – Becca Swanson. She is one of the strongest female powerlifters in history. Swanson originally wanted to become a bodybuilder, but eventually turned to powerlifting and went on to establish numerous world records. Her documented equipped powerlifting bests include a 387.5 kg squat, a 272.5 kg bench press, a 305 kg deadlift and a 930 kg total. She set 13 equipped world records during her career, several of which have remained on record in their respective categories. Rather than simply being described as “the strongest woman on the planet,” Swanson is better known for her extraordinary achievements in women’s powerlifting.
