Ervin Katona (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Ервин Катона; born 5 January 1977) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These ...

competitor and regular entrant to the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decem ...

competition. He has competed in 99 International strongman competitions (fourth highest in history) and have won 17 of them, making him the seventh most decorated strongman in history. Katona is an ethnic Hungarian.

Biography

Ervin Katona was a junior national

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

champion in his youth. He later moved into the field of

Strength athletics Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully ...

, and started weight training at the age of 25. He had soon won a number of

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

titles and became the winner of the Serbia's Strongest Man title. Katona became a member of the International Federation of Strength Athletes and following the latter's schism with

could not compete in that event. He did compete, however, in the IFSA version in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he was a major figure on the

Strongman Champions League The Strongman Champions League is a strongman competition circuit, with several Grand Prix events throughout the year and the Strongman Champions League overall champion title going to the overall winner at the end of the season. The competito ...

circuit and consistent podium finishes earned him the overall runner-up spot behind his great friend Zydrunas Savickas. In early 2009 in the

event in his hometown Katona suffered a torn

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...

. Despite this, Katona was able to recover in time to compete in the prestigious 2009 World's Strongest Man event in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, he was unable to qualify for the finals. In 2010, Katona was able to qualify for the World's Strongest Man finals and finished in 7th place. Katona also won 3

events in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

, Serbia and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

in 2010. Katona finished second overall for the 2010 SCL season behind

Terry Hollands Terry Hollands (born 6 June 1979) is a British bodybuilder and the winner of the 2bros Pro Luke Sandoe Classic Beginners Class 2019 bodybuilding championships. Hollands was also a former strongman competitor and winner of Britain's Strongest ...

. Katona owns a gym in his home town of

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica is ...

, which he cites as his greatest personal achievement. He entered in Big Brother VIP 2010 house and finished in fifth place after 28 days. Katona set a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

on 25 April 2009 for longest time to restrain a vehicle weighing 980 kg (2,156 lbs) in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, Italy. His time was 1 minute 2 seconds. Katona won the

overall title for the 2011–2012 season, he had previously finished in 2nd overall in 2008 and 2010.

Personal records

* Squat – 400 kg (880 lbs) *

Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectoralis ...

– 300 kg (660 lbs) (with gear) *

Deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises ...

– 400 kg (880 lbs) * Loglift – 195 kg (423 lbs) (gym record)Archived a
Ghostarchive
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Wayback Machine

Competition record

* 2004 ** 7. – Europe's Strongest Man 2004 * 2006 ** 3. – World Strongman Cup Federation 2006: Vienna ** 12. – IFSA Strongman World Championships 2006,

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, Iceland * 2007 ** 3. – Europe's Strongest Team 2007 ** 6. – Europe's Strongest Man (IFSA) 2007 ** 3. – European Strongman Team Cup 2007 ** 11. – IFSA Strongman World Championships 2007,

Geumsan Geumsan County (''Geumsan-gun''; Korean: 금산군) is a county in South Chungcheong Province (Before 1963, Geumsan was in Jeollabuk-do), South Korea. History Administrative district name, Geumsan-gun, have nowadays was originate from the union of ...

, South Korea * 2008 ** 2. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Serbia ** 1. – Europe's Strongest Team 2008 ** 4. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Holland ** 3. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Bulgaria ** 12. –

Fortissimus The Fortissimus is a defunct event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" and was a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth". It was set up to bring together the strongest comp ...

, Canada ** 5. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Lithuania ** 2. – European Strongman Cup KBI 2008 ** 2. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Romania ** 3. – Strongman Champions League 2008: Finland ** 5. – World Log Lift Championships 2008,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

, Lithuania * 2009 ** 8. – Arnold Strongman Classic,

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, Ohio USA ** 4. – Strongman Champions League 2009: Serbia (injured) ** 1. – Strongman Champions League 2009: Spain ** 4. – World Log Lift Championships 2009,

, Lithuania *2010 ** 1. – Strongman Champions League 2010: Bulgaria ** 3. – Strongman Champions League 2010: Holland ** 1. – Strongman Champions League 2010: Serbia ** 7. – 2010 World's Strongest Man, Sun City, South Africa ** 1. – Strongman Champions League 2010: Slovakia *2011 ** 5. – World Log Lift Championships 2011,

, Lithuania ** 3. – Strongman Champions League 2011: SCL Iceman Challenge ** 1. – Strongman Champions League 2011: Serbia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Ervin 1977 births Living people Serbian people of Hungarian descent Sportspeople from Subotica Hungarians in Vojvodina Serbian strength athletes