Strength athletics in Norway refers to the participation of Norwegian competitors and holding national

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 ...

competitions.

History

The sport's roots have a long history going back many centuries before modern

competitions in the 1970s. However, Norway did not come onto the international scene in modern times until the mid-1990s. Norway has had mixed success on the international stage, with

Svend Karlsen Svend Viking Karlsen (born 6 October 1967) is a Norwegian former strongman, powerlifter, bodybuilder and 2001 World's Strongest Man. Being a winner of the World's Strongest Man, the Europe's Strongest Man, the World Muscle Power Class ...

winning the

2001 World's Strongest Man The 2001 World's Strongest Man was the 24th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Svend Karlsen from Norway. It was his first title after finishing second the previous year. 1998 winner Magnus Samuelsson from Sweden finished second afte ...

title, Norway's only WSM title. In recent years, Norway has had several top international competitors in WSM, including

Arild Haugen Arild "Hulk" Haugen (born 30 December 1985) is a former strongman and boxer from Sirdal, Norway. At the age of 20 years and 267 days, he is the second youngest World's Strongest Man competitor in history when he participated at 2006 World's Stron ...

Richard Skog Richard Skog (born 16 June 1981) is a Norwegian strongman competitor. Before life as strongman he was a member of the Norwegian Armed Forces. Strongman career He was a part of the World's Strongest Man competition for four straight year ...

Odd Haugen Odd Erling Haugen (born January 16, 1950) is a Norwegian-born American strongman and a grip strength specialist. He has also competed in bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. Career Haugen developed a passion for size and strength at a ...

and

Espen Aune Espen Aune (born 1982) is a Norwegian professional strongman competitor and winner of the 2011 Norway's Strongest Man.Geir TverdaEspen Aune: Det handler om å være den sterkeste. Enkelt og greit. iform.no (2010-03-01). Retrieved on 2011-12-28. ...

National Competitions

Norway's Strongest Man

Norway's Strongest Man () is an annual

competition and the main national title of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The event was established in 1998 and has produced fourteen champions throughout the years. Kurt Kvikkstad won in 1998 & 1999, with Roy Holte winning the next 3 years. Then emerged

, Norway's greatest strength athlete who took the 2003, 2005, and 2006 titles. In 2004 Mattis Bjorheim won the title.

won in 2007 & 2008 and

won in 2009 & 2010.

won in 2011 and then emerged Ole Martin Hansen who won the title a record four times from 2012 to 2015. Jørgen Skaug Aukland won in 2016 followed by

Bjørn Andre Solvang Bjørn Andre Solvang (born 10 July 1987) is a Norwegian Strongman from Hedmark. Solvang participated in his first Norway's Strongest Man competition in 2008 where he emerged seventh place, and became the champion by 2017. In his first appear ...

in 2017. Then emerged Ole Martin Kristiansen who won the title three times from 2018 to 2020. Jonas Bathen won in 2021, Henrik Hildeskor in 2022 & 2023 and Håkon Heitmann Kollerød in 2024.

Champions breakdown

Repeat champions

Regional Competitions

Nordic Strongman Championships

Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. *In 2005, the competition was held under IFSA in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, and in 2012 and 2013 in

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

under

Giants Live Giants Live is a professional strongman tour which was originated in the United Kingdom. It hosts several prominent competitions each year, including national competitions such as Britain's Strongest Man, international competitions such as Eur ...

. *From 2014 onwards, the competition was promoted to global level, re-titled as the

World's Strongest Viking World's Strongest Viking was an annual international Strongman competition organized by Strongman Champions League and held for eight consecutive years from 2014 to 2021 with participation of top strongman athletes in the world. It was held under ...

and was held consecutively for 8 years under

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. Competitors in ...

International Competitions

World's Strongest Viking

Norway hosted the winter edition of the

competition, with the participation of top athletes of the world.

Giants Live

Norway was also the venue for a Giants Live Viking Power Challenge competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norway's Strongest Man Strongmen competitions National strongmen competitions

Sport in Norway