Who is the strongest man in the world today?

Tom Stoltman and Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hassan Sanou. These two names probably don't mean anything to you. However, these 2 incredible athletes can now claim the prestigious title ofstrongest man in the world. A recognition acquired thanks to their recent exploits in international championships of strength sports, a discipline quite different from bodybuilding.

Overview of the main strength sports

Before we look at the athletes considered to be the strongest men on the planet, let's discover the main disciplines of the strength sports.

Weightlifting

An Olympic discipline, theweightlifting is a sport composed of 2 distinct movements: the snatch and the clean and jerk. They are to be carried out with a weight bar.

The weightlifters are complete athletes, strong, agile and flexible.

At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, it was Lasha Talakhadze who won in the category of over 109 kg. To be crowned Olympic championThe Georgian had to lift 223 kg in the snatch and 265 kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 488 kg (world and Olympic record).

Only 28 years old, Lasha Talakhadze had already won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Powerlifting

The powerlifting (or athletic strength in French) is composed of 3 multi-joint exercises well known to gym-goers: the squat, the kickstand, the bench press (bench press) and deadlift.

As with weightlifting, the athletic strength operates according to gender, age and weight categories.

In powerlifting competitions, each participant has 3 attempts to lift the weight as high as possible.

The strongman

The strongman is a type of strength sport derived from weightlifting and powerlifting. Each athlete must perform a series of events that require strength, power and endurance. These are essential qualities to win the title of strongest man in the world.

The strong events are particularly spectacular. Among the most mythical :

• the truck pull, which consists in pulling a truck with the force of the body on a given distance;
• the atlas stones, which aims to lift huge concrete stones to place them on high supports;
• the log lift, which sees the athletes carry a trunk above their head;
• the farmer walk (or farmer's walk), the principle of which is to move about ten meters while carrying heavy loads in the hands;
• the deadlift, identical to the movement performed by weight trainers;
• the tire flip, whose objective is to flip a gigantic tire weighing several hundred kilograms.

The World's Strongest Man (WSM) is the most famous competition in this discipline.

Created in 1977, it takes place every year and pits 30 physical monsters capable of lifting hundreds of kilos against each other. Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski is the record holder for the number of victories in this event, winning the title 5 times between 2002 and 2008. Another legend of the strong, the American Brian Shaw finished as winner in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

It is also in this competition that the famous mountain (Gregor Clegane) of the Game of Thrones seriesHafthor Julius Björnsson from Iceland. From the top of his 2.06 meters for 180 kilos, he was named the strongest man in the world in 2018, after winning The World's Strongest Man. He won another strength competition the same year, The Arnold Strongman Classiccreated by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Strength sports vs. bodybuilding

The general public often tends to confuse powerlifting with bodybuilding.

While the confusion is quite understandable, strength sports and bodybuilding are two disciplines in their own right, with very different objectives.

Unlike powerlifters, bodybuilders focus primarily on the aesthetics of their bodies. Their main goal is to develop their muscles in a harmonious way, with an extremely low rate of fat mass.

For bodybuilders, lifting weights during workouts at the gym is only one way to achieve this physical goal. Moreover, the training program of these athletes is designed to promotehypertrophy and muscle mass gain.

For example, Mamdouh Elssbiay (Big Ramy), elected Mr. Olympia 2021Despite his extraordinary muscularity, he could not claim to be the strongest man in the world. His training is simply not made for that. He doesn't try to lift the heaviest possible, but to optimize his muscular growth.

For their part, powerlifters aim to work with the highest possible loads. This is what they will be judged on in competition. The workout of a strongman is therefore based on pure strength, with few reps, but a lot of weight.

For them, physical appearance is not important. They do not need to have abs well designed to win titles. Of course, this does not take away from their outstanding physical abilities.

Do you want to train like a top athlete to build muscle mass or gain strength?

The strongest men in the world in 2022

But then, who is the strongest man on Earth right now? Considering their last performances, there are 2 of them who can covet this distinction.

Tom Stoltman, the strongest man on the planet

Tom Stoltman is the last winner of The World's Strongest Man.

This British strongman with an inspiring story won the competition in June 2021 in Sacramento, California. He had failed to place second the previous year, behind Ukrainian athlete Oleksii Novikov.

Born in Scotland in 1994, Tom Stoltman started strength sports under the impulse of his older brother Luka, also a strongman. The particularity of this incredible champion is that he was born with autism. This neurodevelopmental disorder, officially recognized as a handicap, can lead to difficulties in managing social relationships and repetitive or compulsive behaviors.

Over time, Tom Stoltman has learned to live with his autism. He draws on his physical activity a routine that helps him to overcome his daily troubles.

To achieve such performances, this colossus of 2.04 meters and 175 kilos obviously follows a rigorous training and a diet made to measure. Before competitions, he can consume up to 12,000 calories daily! His nickname, the albatross, was given to him in reference to his monstrous arms.

In terms of performance, Tom Stoltman beat the world record in stone atlases on several occasions. In 2021, he moved a stone of 286 kg, a feat that is still unmatched today.

To give you an idea of what this athlete is capable of, the Scotsman has managed to lift 420 kilos in the deadlift and 345 kilos in the squat during his workouts.

Iron Biby, world record holder of log lift

Iron Biby is another force of nature.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hassan Sanou, better known as Iron Biby, was born in 1992 in Burkina Faso.

And if he can also be considered as the strongest man in the world, it is because he broke the world record of loglift in 2021 in Glasgow (Scotland).

Holder of multiple Guinness World Records, the Burkinabe athlete managed to lift a 229-kilogram log at arm's length above his head. This is 1 kilo more than what Lithuanian Zydrunas Savickas managed to do in 2015 at the Arnold Classic.

After the competition, Iron Biby was welcomed back to Burkina Faso as a hero. Ambitious, this tall man of 1.90 meters for 180 kilos (and 63 centimeters of arm circumference!) already aims to beat his own personal record in the coming months.

Conclusion

Right now, it's hard to tell Tom Stoltman and Iron Biby apart for the title of strongest man in the world. The 2 athletes have recently achieved exceptional performances. Far from bodybuilding, the sport of strength is still a very important part of life. sport discipline exciting.