French
DeutschStrongman Champions League
.png) The official logo of the Strongman Champions League | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Various international locations |
| Month played | multiple grand prix events held throughout the year |
| Established | 2008 by Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert |
| Format | Multi-event competition |
| Purse | varies |
| Website | Official website |
| Current champion | |
 Rayno Nel | |
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 include legends in the sport, including Žydrūnas Savickas, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Mikhail Koklyaev, Matjaz Belsak, Ervin Katona, Dainis Zageris, J.F. Caron, Nick Best, Andrus Murumets, Martin Wildauer, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Pavlo Kordiyaka, Aivars Šmaukstelis, Vytautas Lalas, Dennis Kohlruss, Rauno Heinla, Travis Ortmayer, Laurence Shahlaei and Terry Hollands.
Initially in close partnership with IFSA, it quickly asserted its independence and has acted as a unifying force in the world of strength athletics, bringing together athletes from IFSA with those affiliated to the World's Strongest Man circuit, and having close cooperation with other major events such as Fortissimus. In 2012, SCL began co-promoting the new Arnold Strongman Classic-Europe contest which will become part of the annual SCL season of events.
History
[edit]
The Strongman Champions League was developed by Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert, longtime strongman promoters, with major contests to their credit worldwide, and was launched in 2008. Kinnunen & Mostert described SCL as "a new episode in strongman".[1]
"A complete series of 10–12 competitions, that will take place all over the world, but most of the competitions will be held in Europe. The very best champions, referees and their organizers will be the guarantee of a great new, fresh excitement in Strongman sport. The competition venues are the best which each country can offer and it will include the country's own traditional elements."[1] As well as citing that all points will be accumulated for a Champions League Winner at the end of the year, it was stated in the main structure of the Champions League that rules will be done officially as usual in all IFSA competitions and that the top 3 will be directly placed in the IFSA World Championships.[1] Mostert also said "All together we think that this is a perfect platform of competitions that will lead to another great World Championship."[1]
Thus, IFSA were inextricably linked at the inception of the league. IFSA, however, were in reportedly dire financial straits towards the end of that year. By December, Mostert distanced the league from the ailing governing body and explicitly said that the "Strongman Champions League had nothing to do with IFSA". He told IronMind "We have our own logo, we have our own brand, we do our own competitions."[2] Its own website was launched shortly afterwards.
The league organizers had originally reported that the Champions League competitions will be televised and spread all over the world. In the harsh economic climate of 2008, the league was not immune to the effects, and the league did have to cancel some venues, but unlike with the IFSA, the vast majority of the competitions still took place. In 2008, the SCL had 45 top strength athletes competing, representing more than 20 countries.[3]
Fortissimus Cooperation
[edit]In 2008, Paul Ohl stated that the Strongman Champions League was one of three organizations that had made an agreement with Fortissimus in order to unite the world strength community, the others being the American Strongman Corporation and the Aussiepower organization. Within the agreement, Fortissimus, the competition that confers the title of "Strongest Man on the Planet", guaranteed that the winner of the America's Strongest Man title would be granted a slot in Fortissimus from 2009, as would the winner of the Australia's Strongest Man title. The agreement with the Strongman Champions League went further, stating that the top three athletes would have guaranteed places and in return, the top Canadian athletes would have guaranteed selected participation in the Champions League.[4] This later went further, guaranteeing the SCL its top five athletes would have places.[3] The agreement was reemphasised in a joint statement from Marcel Mostert and Paul Ohl in early 2009.[3]
2009 and links with World's Strongest Man
[edit]The 2009 programme was planned with ten major contests on schedule. In addition, feeder contests were introduced, one happening in Spain in December 2008 and a further event in Germany called the FIBO Strongman Classic in April 2009. The best two athletes from this FIBO Classic 2009 edition were guaranteed into the Champions League, and it was postulated that this German event would be promoted to full SCL status in 2010.
The Strongman Champions League importantly made further progress in acting as a fundamental part of a unifying movement for world strength athletics by making plans to help get its athletes to the 2009 World's Strongest Man contest. Mostert stated that "The top 5 SCL athletes will have places in the Giants Live tour for qualifying at World's Strongest Man (WSM) 2009". In addition, he also stated that wild cards for the WSM will include SCL athletes. He went on to say that "Finally we made it all possible again that all the athletes have chances to qualify for the WSM, which means in my opinion the WSM will have the strongest field ever in her history!". He went on to thank TWI/IMG and Giants Live for their part in making these possibilities. This was groundbreaking because for a number of years prior to this, the athletes under the IFSA had been banned by the federation from entering WSM (since the IFSA fell out of favour with TWI). Likewise, the athletes invited to participate in WSM were not invited to participate in IFSA events. Some competitions bridged the divide, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic and more recently Fortissimus, but neither had the history, gravitas, or popular appeal of the World's Strongest Man. The IFSA athletes, with the demise of the IFSA finances, almost all competed in SCL from 2008. This deal, along with the Fortissimus deal before it, united strongman in a way it had not been since 2004.
The 2009 season began properly on 9 May, with the Strongman Champions League Serbia. Finland followed on 16 May,[5] with Slovakia and the Netherlands in June.
Results
[edit]| Year | Athlete | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Žydrūnas Savickas |  Lithuania |
| 2009 | Andrus Murumets |  Estonia |
| 2010 | Terry Hollands |  United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Ervin Katona |  Serbia |
| 2012 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Lithuania |
| 2013 | Krzysztof Radzikowski |  Poland |
| 2014 | Martin Wildauer |  Austria |
| 2015 | Krzysztof Radzikowski | Poland |
| 2016 | Dainis Zageris |  Latvia |
| 2017 | Matjaz Belsak |  Slovenia |
| 2018 | Dainis Zageris | Latvia |
| 2019 | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia |
| 2021 | Kelvin de Ruiter |  Netherlands |
| 2022 | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia |
| 2023 | Oskar Ziółkowski | Poland |
| 2024 | Rayno Nel | South Africa |
| Athlete | Nationality | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Žydrūnas Savickas | Lithuania | 34 |
| Krzysztof Radzikowski | Poland | 16 |
| Dainis Zageris | Latvia | 15 |
| Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia | 15 |
| Ervin Katona | Serbia | 13 |
| Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson |  Iceland | 9 |
| Matjaz Belsak | Slovenia | 8 |
| Kelvin de Ruiter | Netherlands | 7 |
| Mikhail Koklyaev |  Russia | 7 |
| Jean-François Caron |  Canada | 4 |
2008
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riga, Latvia SCL Latvia[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas |  Travis Ortmayer | Agris Kazelniks | 22 March 2008 |
| Subotica, Serbia SCL Serbia[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas (2) | Ervin Katona | Andrus Murumets | 10 May 2008 |
| Varsseveld, Netherlands SCL Holland[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas (3) | Andrus Murumets | Travis Ortmayer | 1 June 2008 |
 Sofia, Bulgaria SCL Bulgaria[6] | Andrus Murumets | Žydrūnas Savickas | Ervin Katona | 21 June 2008 |
| Vilnius, Lithuania SCL Lithuania[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas (4) | Vidas Blekaitis | Saulius Brusokas | 2 August 2008 |
 Constanța, Romania SCL Romania[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas (5) | Ervin Katona |  Oleksandr Lashyn | 16 August 2008 |
 Kokkola, Finland SCL Finland[6] | Mikhail Koklyaev | Žydrūnas Savickas | Ervin Katona | 29 August 2008 |
Overall placings[6] | Žydrūnas Savickas 130 points | Ervin Katona 72 points | Agris Kazelniks 60 points |
2009
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subotica, Serbia | Mikhail Koklyaev (2) | Andrus Murumets | Travis Ortmayer | 9 May 2009 |
| Ideapark, Finland | Andrus Murumets (2) | Vidas Blekaitis | Martin Wildauer | 16–17 May 2009 |
 Bratislava, Slovakia | Andrus Murumets (3) | Terry Hollands | Alexander Klyushev | 7 June 2009 |
| Terborg, Netherlands | Mikhail Koklyaev (3) | Agris Kazelniks | Richard van der Linden | 14 June 2009 |
 Los Barrios, Spain | Ervin Katona | Andrus Murumets |  Jimmy Laureys | 10 October 2009 |
 London, England | Žydrūnas Savickas (6) | Mark Felix | Andrus Murumets | 18 October 2009 |
 Pécs, Hungary | Žydrūnas Savickas (7) | Andrus Murumets | Ervin Katona | 29 October 2009 |
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Žydrūnas Savickas (8) | Travis Ortmayer | Agris Kazelniks | 14 November 2009 |
Overall placings[7] | Andrus Murumets 105 points | Agris Kazelniks 68 points | Žydrūnas Savickas 60 points |
2009 Qualifiers
[edit]The Strongman Champions League introduced qualifying competitions for 2009. From these competitions, the top two were guaranteed places in the SCL. The first qualifier was held in Los Barrios, Spain. The second was the FIBO Classic in Germany.
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Barrios, Spain Spanish International Challenge[16] | Jarno Hams | Ervin Katona | Steve MacDonald | December 2008 |
 Germany SCL FIBO[17] | Travis Ortmayer | Martin Wildauer | Igor Werner | April 2009 |
2010
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuusamo, Lapland | Žydrūnas Savickas (9) | Terry Hollands | Konstiantyn Ilin | 21 March 2010 |
| Essen, Germany | Mikhail Koklyaev (4) | Terry Hollands | Travis Ortmayer | 24 April 2010 |
| Ideapark, Finland | Mikhail Koklyaev (5) | Terry Hollands | Travis Ortmayer | 16 May 2010 |
 Limerick, Ireland | Žydrūnas Savickas (10)/ Terry Hollands tie | Agris Kazelniks | 6 June 2010 | |
| Sofia, Bulgaria | Ervin Katona (2) |  Johannes Arsjo | Terry Hollands | 13 June 2010 |
| Ulft, Netherlands | Travis Ortmayer | Mikhail Koklyaev | Ervin Katona | 20 June 2010 |
| Belgrade, Serbia | Ervin Katona (3) | Agris Kazelniks | Gabor Fargacs | 29 August 2010 |
| Bratislava, Slovakia | Ervin Katona (4) | Terry Hollands | Konstiantyn Ilin | 9 October 2010 |
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Serhiy Romanchuk | Agris Kazelniks | Mikhail Koklyaev | 18 December 2010 |
Overall placings[18] | Terry Hollands 132 points | Ervin Katona 106 points | Mikhail Koklyaev 98 points | |
2011
[edit]
2012
[edit]
2013
[edit]
2014
[edit]
2015
[edit]2016
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinstra, Norway SCL World's Strongest Viking[91] | Jean-François Caron (2) | Matjaz Belsak | Krzysztof Radzikowski | 30 January 2016 |
| Cologne, Germany SCL FIBO[91] | Krzysztof Radzikowski (12) | Matjaz Belsak | Stojan Todorchev | 9 April 2016 |
| Zelhem, Netherlands SCL Holland[91] | Eric Dawson | Alex Moonen | Marius Lalas | 11 June 2016 |
| Olaine, Latvia SCL Latvia[91] | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Dainis Zageris | Johnny Hansson | 19 June 2016 |
| Zlatibor, Serbia SCL Serbia[91] | Aivars Šmaukstelis (2) | Martin Wildauer | Matjaz Belsak | 2 July 2016 |
| Plovdiv, Bulgaria SCL Bulgaria[91] | Stoyan Todorchev | Matjaz Belsak | Dainis Zageris | 24 July 2016 |
| Guildford, England SCL England[91] | Eric Dawson | Martin Wildauer | Mateusz Baron | 13 August 2016 |
| Vaasa, Finland SCL Finland[91] | Simon Boudreau | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Lauri Nämi | 21 August 2016 |
| Sibiu, Romania SCL Romania[91] | Mateusz Baron | Alex Moonen | Martin Wildauer | 17 September 2016 |
 Willemstad, CuraçaoSCL Curaçao[91] | Jimmy Paquet | Dainis Zageris | Alex Moonen | 1 October 2016 |
 Porto, PortugalSCL Portugal[91] | Dainis Zageris (4) | Krzysztof Radzikowski | Roberto Rodriques | 9 October 2016 |
 Dubai, United Arab Emirates SCL 2016 World Finals[91] | Dainis Zageris (5) | Krzysztof Radzikowski | Matjaz Belsak | 5 November 2016 |
2017
[edit]
2018
[edit]2019
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinstra, Norway SCL World's Strongest Viking[94] | Krzysztof Radzikowski (15) | Ole Martin Kristiansen | Mika Törrö | 26 January 2019 |
| Cologne, Germany SCL FIBO[94] | Krzysztof Radzikowski (16) | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Sebastian Kraus | 6 April 2019 |
 Alanya, TurkeySCL Turkey[94] | Travis Ortmayer | Dennis Kohlruss | Alex Moonen | 20 April 2019 |
| Ulft, Netherlands SCL Holland[94] | Alex Moonen | Kelvin de Ruiter | Mika Törrö | 5 June 2019 |
| Petrozavodsk, Russia SCL Russia[94] | Aivars Šmaukstelis (5) | Dmitrii Skosyrskii | Kelvin de Ruiter | 20 July 2019 |
| Inđija, Serbia SCL Serbia[94] | Marko Remlik | Sebastian Kurek | Kelvin de Ruiter | 28 July 2019 |
| Joensuu, Finland SCL Finland[94] | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Marko Remlik | 4 August 2019 |
| Esposende, Portugal SCL Portugal[94] | Oleg Sylka | Sebastian Kurek | Will Baggott | 10 August 2019 |
| Pyhäjärvi, Finland SCL World Record Breakers[94] | Dainis Zageris (11) | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Antti Mourujärvi | 7 September 2019 |
| Willemstad, Curaçao SCL Curaçao[94] | Kelvin de Ruiter | Dainis Zageris | Ervin Toots | 5 October 2019 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Mateusz Kieliszkowski (2) | Tom Stoltman | Luke Stoltman | 25 October 2019 |
| Matosinhos, Portugal SCL 2019 World Finals[94] | Aivars Šmaukstelis (6) | Marko Remlik | Dainis Zageris | 17 November 2019 |
2020
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinstra, Norway SCL World's Strongest Viking[95] | Sean O'Hagan | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Mika Törrö | 25 January 2020 |
| Joensuu, Finland SCL Finland[95] | Dainis Zageris (12) | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Ervin Toots | 1 August 2020 |
| Kenzingen, Germany SCL World Record Breakers[95] | Dennis Kohlruss | Kelvin de Ruiter | Ervin Toots | 26 September 2020 |
2021
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinstra, Norway SCL Norway[95] | Dainis Zageris (13) | Kelvin de Ruiter | Henrik Hildeskor | 24 July 2021 | |
| Esposende, Portugal SCL Portugal[95] | Travis Ortmayer | Ervin Toots | Kelvin de Ruiter | 8 August 2021 | |
| Kenzingen, Germany SCL World Record Breakers[95] | Dainis Zageris (14) | Kelvin de Ruiter | Johan Espenkrona | 28 August 2021 | |
| Sibiu, Romania SCL Romania[95] | Aivars Šmaukstelis (7) | Sean O'Hagan |  Anders Aslak | 2 October 2021 | |
| Alanya, Turkey SCL 2021 World Finals[95] | Kelvin de Ruiter (2) | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Mika Törrö | 14 November 2021 |
2022
[edit]| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaasa, Finland | Aivars Šmaukstelis (8) | Ervin Toots | Kelvin de Ruiter | 23 April 2022 |
| Doetinchem, Netherlands | Kelvin de Ruiter (3) | Roberto Rodriguez |  Gavin Bilton | 18 June 2022 |
| Kikinda, Serbia | Sami Ahola | Péter Juhász | Kelvin de Ruiter | 23 July 2022 |
| Esposende, Portugal | George Sulaiman | Ervin Toots | Sebastian Kurek | 6 August 2022 |
| Gloucester, England | Aivars Šmaukstelis (9) | Paul Smith | Gavin Bilton | 20 August 2022 |