European Hercules was an annual

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 ...

contest which consisted of international athletes from various countries.David Horne's World of Grip
/ref> The event was held annually in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

Event Placings

{, class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 91%;" !Year !Champion !Runner-Up !3rd Place , - , 1990 , ,

Riku Kiri Riku Kiri (born April 5, 1963 in Kotka, Finland) is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been ...

, , Ismo Åman , , Aarre Käpylä , - , 1991 , ,

, ,

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 Strong ...

Jamie Reeves Jamie Reeves (born 3 May 1962)David Webster, ''Sons of Samson Volume 2 Profiles'', page 103 (Ironmind Enterprises), is a British former coal miner, strongman and professional wrestler. As a strongman, he won the 1989 World's Strongest Man, w ...

, , , - , 1992 , ,

, , Aarre Käpylä/

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 ...

, , , - , 1993 , ,

, , Aarre Käpylä , ,

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

, - , 1994 , ,

Andrés Guðmundsson Andrés Guðmundsson (born 17 April 1965) is a prominent former international strongman competitor and Highland Games competitor, and former holder of the World Strongman Challenge title. Biography Andrés Guðmundsson began his c ...

, ,

Marko Varalahti Marko Varalahti is a former strongman competitor from Finland who is best known for competing in the 1995 World's Strongest Man competition, finishing in 3rd place. Varalahti also won Finland's Strongest Man in 1995. Honours *Finland's Strongest ...

, - , 1995 , ,

Jouko Ahola Jouko Ahola (born December 1, 1970) is a Finnish former strongman, powerlifter and actor. He is a two time World's Strongest Man winner, a two time Europe's Strongest Man winner, and is regarded ...

, ,

Matti Uppa Matti may refer to: * Matti (given name), people with the given name * Matti (surname), people with the surname * Matti, Karnataka, a village in India * '' Matti: Hell Is for Heroes'', a 2006 film about Matti Nykänen See also * Masa (disambig ...

, ,

Mika Palsi Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footb ...

, - , 1996 , ,

, , Hannu Osala , ,

, - , 1997 , ,

, ,

, , {{flagicon, NED

Berend Veneberg Berend Veneberg (born 5 November 1963 in Den Ham) is a former strongman and powerlifter from the Netherlands. He finished 5th at the World's Strongest Man games in 1993, 9th in 1998, 6th in 1999, 1st at Europe's Strongest Man in 2000 and won Str ...

*All results courtesy of David Horne's World of Grip http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/strongmanresults.html

References

Strongmen competitions