Andrés Guðmundsson (born 17 April 1965) is an Icelandic

Strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

and Highland Games competitor. He held the titles of the

World Strongman Challenge The World Strongman Challenge was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running in various guises for twenty years, with only two years break. In that time it attained the position of one of the most prestigious strongman contest ...

and the European Hercules. He was also renowned for his prowess with the legendary

Húsafell Stone The Húsafell Stone is a legendary lifting stone weighing 186 kg (410 lb) located in a west country farming estate in Húsafell, Iceland about northeast of Reykjavík. The slightly triangular, slab shaped stone is kept at a Pen (enclos ...

Career

Early life

Andrés loved sports from his childhood and played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

as a kid. He also developed a passion towards

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and specialized

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

events. He showed a major interest in throwing disciplines and specialized discus and

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and the traditional Highland Games throwing events. His discus career resulted in him being in fourteenth place on the Icelandic all-time list with a throw of performed for Ármann sports club,

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

in 1991. In 1994 he was ranked Iceland's number 2 shot putter behind Pétur Guðmundsson (and 87th in the world) with a performance of . In 1996, he achieved his personal best of .

Strength athletics

It didn't take Andrés long to realize his natural gift of strength where he started training

events and won 1991 Icelandic Power Trial Championships. The following year he emerged runner up to

Magnús Ver Magnússon Magnús Ver Magnússon (born 23 April 1963) is an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor. He is a four-time World's Strongest Man, having won in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen o ...

and regained his title again in 1993. Also in 1993, Andrés emerged 2nd place in the World Viking Challenge. In 1994 he reached the peak of his strength athletics career, winning the

, European Hercules and coming second in the European Muscle Power Championships and Strongest Man on Earth to

Manfred Hoeberl Manfred Hoeberl (; born 12 May 1964) is an Austrian former strongman and powerlifter who was known as having the largest muscular arms in the world during the early-mid 1990s. He was born in the same town a ...

. Both the European Musclepower Championships and the

Highland Games World Championships The World Highland Games Championships is a well-recognised event in both strength athletics and Highland Games. The championships were organised by David P. Webster, David Webster, OBE of Scotland, who still conducts them. A roll of past competit ...

were held on a weekend on the same field in

Callander Callander (; ) is a small town in the council area of Stirling (district), Stirling in Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. De ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. During mid 90s, he was widely regarded as one of the top dual threats in Highland Games and strongman, but was sidelined by a career threatening injury, a tear of his pectoral muscle. In 1999, he made a promising comeback and won the Iceland's Strongest Man (IFSA) competition in 1999. In August 1999 he had a podium finish in the Bison Highland Games and during 2000 IFSA Helsinki Grand Prix, recurrence of the pec tear forced him to pull out making it his final strongman competition.

Húsafell Stone

Andrés is specially noted for his prowess with the legendary

, carrying the 186 kg (410 lb) stone around the sheep and goat pen for nearly two full revolutions in the mid 80s, beating the likes of

Jón Páll Sigmarsson Jón Páll Sigmarsson (28 April 1960 – 16 January 1993) was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's S ...

and Hjalti Árnason, all in their prime. Even though his benchmark was narrowly edged by Canada's Gregg Ernst during 1992 World's Strongest Man, it remained 'convincingly' unbeaten for the next 30 years, until the emergence of

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English; born 26 November 1988) is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person t ...

Personal records

– for nearly two revolutions around the sheep & goat pen ''(Date unknown)'' (Former World Record) :→ ''Even though the exact distance was not measured, some historians speculate it to be between 64–67 metres (210–220 ft)
'' * Atlas Stones – 4 stones weighing to a 4 ft platform (1994 Strongest Man on Earth) * Log press – (1993 World Viking Challenge) * Viking press – x 8 reps (2000 IFSA Finland Grand Prix) *

Discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

– for (1991) *

Shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

– for (1996) *

Weight over bar Weight over bar (or Highland games 'one arm' weight over bar) () is a traditional strength sport derived from ancient Scottish Highland games that involves the heaving of a (half hundredweight) weight, over a bar using one hand. Unlike its oth ...

– over (1993 World Viking Challenge) * Samson's barrow push – for course in 10.04 seconds (1994 Strongest Man on Earth) (World Record) * Arm over Arm Cannon pull – for (1994 Strongest Man on Earth)

Personal life and career after sport

Andrés is married to Lára Helgadóttir. They have two sons, Axel Óskar Andrésson and

Jökull Andrésson Jökull Andrésson (born 25 August 2001) is an Icelandic professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ungmennafélagið Afturelding, Afturelding. Andrésson has also appeared for ...

, who both are professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

players. Following his retirement, Andrés initiated ''Skólahreysti'' (School of Fitness) together with his wife Lára Helgadóttir.Skólahreysti (School Fitness) - background
Its aim was to encourage children to take part in a wide-ranging sporting experience based on their general physical education curriculum. The first contest was held in 2005 with six schools participating and it quickly became a popular event in Iceland. 110 schools participated in 2009 season and its final which was broadcast live by

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...

had 49% of the entire Icelandic population tuned in.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gudmundsson, Andrés Andrés Gudmundsson Andrés Gudmundsson Andrés Gudmundsson Living people 1965 births 20th-century Icelandic sportsmen