Le Defi Mark Ten International was one of the most prestigious

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 ...

contest in the world in the 1980s and early 1990s. Staged in Quebec, Canada, it was begun as a tribute to

Louis Cyr Louis Cyr (; born Cyprien-Noé Cyr; October 10, 1863 – November 10, 1912) was a Canadian strongman (strength athlete), strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Based on his recorded feats, including lifting wit ...

and was notable for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included a number of winners of 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 Decemb ...

competition, including

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 ...

Bill Kazmaier William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During his illustrious career, he set over 40 powe ...

and

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 ...

History

Live

strength athletics Strength athletics is the collection of strength sports which measure physical strength, based on both: non-standard and historical implements as seen in Strongman and Highland games, and standardized and calibrated equipment as seen in Powerlifti ...

competitions had begun in the late 1970s as a distinct set of disciplines from other strength related sports such as powerlifting or Highland Games. However, the associations of the new phenomena with its sporting forebears resulted in certain countries being at the vanguard of such competitions. One such country with a deep rooted past in strongman competition was Canada, and in particular

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, referred to as a "cradle of strongmen".David Webster, ''Sons of Samson - Volume 2'', page 62, (Ironmind Enterprises Inc: Nevada City), In 1984 Jean-Claude Arsenault began to promote a competition named after the most famous of Quebec's strongmen of the past,

. The Louis Cyr Tournament was quickly a success and gained the sponsorship of a cigarette company resulting in its change of name to Defi Mark Ten. The first outing of the competition caused some newspapers to claim that "Nationalism marred contest" citing the fact that Quebec was painted on the backdrop to the competition deliberately separate from Canada and grouped with France. Despite this, there was noted by the same newspaper an impressive camaraderie amongst the athletes. The event attracted the very top strength athletes in the world. Amongst these names were

Magnus Ver Magnusson Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and

Jon Pall Sigmarsson Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given". The name is spelled Jón in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands. In the Nordic countries, it is derived from Johannes. Notable people * Jon Aaraas (born 1986) ...

. The Canadian

Tom Magee Thomas Magee (born July 1, 1958) is a Canadian former world champion powerlifter and strongman competitor from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was also a bodybuilder and a professional wrestler from 1985–1990. Early life In his e ...

was the winner of the first three tournaments and the giant Mark Higgins has been cited as the final winner before the sponsorship ran out in 1992. A final contest was reportedly held two years later, with Raimundas Zenkevicius claiming that title although sources differ. In 2008 a competition called

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 ...

, founded by Paul Ohl, was staged in Canada which also claimed to be a tribute to the great Louis Cyr and was thus seen as the natural successor to the Defi Mark Ten International.

Results

{, class="wikitable" !Year !Champion !Runner-Up !3rd Place !Location , - , 1984 , ,

, , , , , , , - , 1985 , ,

, ,

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 ...

, ,

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 ...

, , , - , 1986 , ,

, ,

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 ...

, , Mark Higgins, , , - , 1987 , ,

, , Mark Higgins, , Robert Dubeau, , , - , 1988 , ,

Hjalti Árnason Hjalti 'Úrsus' Árnason (born 18 February 1963), is an Icelandic former strongman, powerlifter and a strength sports promoter. Known by the nickname 'The Great Ursus', Hjalti first began in strength sports by competing as a junior powerlifte ...

, ,

, , , - , 1989 , ,

, , , , , , , - , 1990 , , Mark Higgins, ,

, ,

, , , - , 1991 , , Mark Higgins, , , , , , , - , 1992 , , Mark Higgins, , , , , , , - , 1993 , , colspan=4 align=center style="background: #708090;", Event not held , - , 1994 , , Raimondas Zenkevičius , ,

, , Stasys Mėčius, , {{small,

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

*Results from David Horne's World of GripDavid Horne's World of Grip
/ref> and www.strengthresults.com
/ref>

References

Sports competitions in Canada Strongmen competitions

History

Results

See also

References