Pure Strength was a

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 ...

competition held from 1987 to 1990 which was created by Tjalling van den Bosch.

Event History

The first year of the event was known as "Pure Strength Challenge" and it was a single man competition featuring only

Bill Kazmaier William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During the 1970s and 1980s, he set numerous powerlift ...

, Geoff Capes and

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 ...

. The event was held at

Huntly Castle Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers Deveron and Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There have been four castles built on the site that h ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Jón Páll won 8 out of 10 events to become the 1987 champion. In 1988, the event became a 2-man team competition held at Allington Castle in

Allington, Kent Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated alongside the sides of the A20 road west of Maidstone in Kent. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone. History The name Allington, which is shared by a hamlet near Lenham, is derive ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The teams were from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Australia. Team USA would eventually win in 1988, with team members

and Stuart Thompson. In 1989, Team

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

claimed victory with team members

Hjalti Árnason Hjalti Árnason (born 18 February 1963), nicknamed Hjalti Úrsus, is an Icelandic former strongman competitor and world champion powerlifter. Hjalti was known by the nickname "The Great Ursus". He first began in ...

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 ...

. Kazmaier would win again in 1990 for Team USA along with teammate O.D. Wilson.David Horne's World of Grip
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Event Placings

{, class="wikitable" !Year !Champion !Runner-Up !3rd Place !Location , - , Pure Strength '87, ,

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 ...

, ,

, , Geoff Capes , , , - , Pure Strength II 1988, ,

Stuart Thompson , ,

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 ...

Mark Higgins , ,
Ab Wolders
Tjalling van den Bosch , , , - , Pure Strength III 1989, ,

, ,

O.D. Wilson , ,

Mark Higgins , , , - , Pure Strength IV 1990 , ,

O.D. Wilson , ,

, ,
Tjalling van den Bosch
Ted van der Parre , , {{small,

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

Venues

File:Huntly Castle.jpg,

was the location for Pure Strength '87 File:AllingtonFeb.JPG, Allington Castle was the location for Pure Strength II in 1988 File:Stirlingcastle.jpg, Stirling Castle was the setting for Pure Strength III in 1989

References

Strongmen competitions