Pure Strength was a vintage

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 ...

competition held from 1987 to 1990 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 his illustrious career, he set over 40 powe ...

Geoff Capes Geoffrey Lewis Capes JP (23 August 1949 – 23 October 2024) was a British shot putter, strongman, and Highland Games competitor. He was famous in the UK in the 1980s for his sporting prowess and appearances on television in shows such as '' ...

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 S ...

. The event was held at

Huntly Castle Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly, Scotland, Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers River Deveron, Deveron and River Bogie, Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There hav ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. Jón Páll won 8 out of 10 events to become the 1987 champion. Some strength historians and analysts regard it as the replacement for

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 ...

in that year. In 1988, the event became a 2-man team competition held at

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal c ...

Allington, Kent Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated alongside the sides of the A20 road north-west of Maidstone in Kent, England. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone. Arthur Mee praised it in the 20th century, using the analogy ...

. The teams were from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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

and Stuart Thompson. In 1989, Team

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 ...

claimed victory with team members

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 ...

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 ...

. 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 sortable" style="display: inline-table;width: 100%;" !Year !Champion !Runner-Up !3rd Place !Location , - , Pure Strength 1987, ,

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 ...

, ,

, , , - , 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 Albertus 'Ab' Wolders (born 10 June 1951) is a former strongman and world champion Powerlifter from the Netherlands. He was runner-up at the World's Strongest Man competition on two occasions, placing second to Jó ...

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 Ted van der Parre (born 21 September 1955) is a former strongman from the Netherlands, who won the World's Strongest Man contest in 1992. He also participated in 1994 when he finished 8th, having to drop out after the second event due to a calf ...

, , {{small,

, -

Venues

File:Huntly Castle.jpg,

was the location for Pure Strength '87 File:AllingtonFeb.JPG,

was the location for Pure Strength II in 1988 File:Stirlingcastle.jpg,

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

was the setting for Pure Strength III in 1989

References

Strongmen competitions