Fortissimus

Last updated
Fortissimus
2009
FortissimusLogo.jpg
The official logo of Fortissimus
Tournament information
Location Quebec, Canada
Established2008
Final year2009
Number of
tournaments
2
FormatMulti-event competition
Final champion
Flag of Lithuania.svg Zydrunas Savickas

The Fortissimus is a defunct event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" [1] and was a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth". It was set up to bring together the strongest competitors on the planet independent of the organisations to which they were signed, and also as a tribute to the nineteenth-century Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, which gave it many similarities to Le Defi Mark Ten International which last took place in Canada in the early 1990s. After its first airing in 2008, the strength athletics magazine Milo described it as the ultimate strongman competition ever held. [1] Despite a successful edition in 2009, a reported lack of a major sponsor for 2010 resulted in the competition being suspended, no future contests have been announced. [2]

Contents

History

The world of strength athletics in 2008 was fragmented, with a number of individuals being able to lay claim to be the strongest in the world by virtue of having won mutually exclusive events. Athletes affiliated to IFSA Strongman were not allowed to compete in the World's Strongest Man ("WSM"), which is produced by TWI and thus neither the WSM and its associated WSM Super Series nor the IFSA circuit can claim to have a comprehensive field of the top athletes. Some events did exist that bridged the divide between the major organisations, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic. Fortissimus was to be another such bridge but with a difference. The driving force behind the event, Paul Ohl, is one of the world's leading authorities on the great Louis Cyr, the nineteenth century strongman and want to create a competition to honour this man, said to have been the strongest man in the world. Fortissimus was set up to be the all-inclusive strength and power package to demonstrate "the essence of the sport of strongman is the multi-disciplinary array of tests of global strength, resulting from a combination of static (brute) strength, overall explosive power and power grip, strength athletics mastery, endurance and stamina". The concept was to link with the tradition of strongman and to honor the memory and deeds of the great Louis Cyr. Ten events, called the Classical Events, were incorporated into the programme.

The night before Day 1 of the 2008 event the athletes were honoured at a banquet hosted by Paul Ohl and was attended by the townspeople of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, where the event was being held, and the mayor of that town. Mayor Carl Dubé welcomed the athletes to Notre Dame du Rosaire in June 2008 and thousands of spectators flocked to see many of the world's top strongmen perform, including Zydrunas Savickas, Derek Poundstone, Andrus Murumets, Travis Ortmayer and Mikhail Koklyaev. The event was lauded across the strongman world, with the likes of Ironmind and Milo magazine praising it. So popular was it that a three-year deal with the Regional Community of Montmagny, Quebec was soon struck with the newly formed Fortissimus World Strength board. Derek Poundstone won the event in spectacular fashion. With the final event left, the Natural Stones of Strength, Zydrunas Savickas was 5 points clear of Poundstone. The three huge stone in the event were the 350 lb Bill Kazmaier stone, the 400 lb Paul Anderson stone and the giant 517 lb Louis Cyr stone. [1] The winner would be the best time or most stones loaded. Some of the athletes lifted one stone, others the second. When it came to the third, the Cyr stone that only Louis Cyr had previously lifted over a century before, most athletes passed on it. Some touched it but did not attempt to lift it. [1] Zydrunas Savickas, having lifted the first two in an astonishing 8.8 seconds, tried the Cyr stone but managed to lift it just one inch before deciding it was too much. Poundstone took 11 seconds over the first two stones, significantly quicker than all others except Savickas. Savickas is reported to have raised his hands in victory at seeing this time. [1] However, his celebration was to have been premature. To the astonishment of the athletes, the crowd and even the organisers, Poundstone managed to move the stone. Screams of amazement were said to have come from the crowd. Inch by inch he raised the stone and eventually placed it on the platform. Later, Paul Ohl was to say to Derek Poundstone "You know, you weren't supposed to lift that stone. I put it in the competition as a tribute to Louis Cyr. Whoever is able to lift that stone would be considered an heir to Louis Cyr." [1] Having lifted the fabled Cyr stone, Poundstone had the honour of having his name added to the stone, being the only man other than Cyr to lift the giant weight. [3]

Paul Ohl involved the local community, including the regional press, to increase the presence of the event. The 2009 competition saw Marcel Catellier, the chief commissioner of the Regional Community of Montmagny, as chairman of the board, in charge of the general administration of the new corporation and Paul Ohl as president of the event. [4]

Zydrunas Savickas reversed the results of 2008, where he came second, to clinch the title in 2009, with Poundstone coming second. Prior to the event, to further enhance the events standing a pre-tournament competition was held, the World Championship Rolling Thunder on June 26, an event which determined which athlete has the greatest grip strength in the world. Mark Felix successfully defended his title in this event. [3]

The 2010 edition was suspended. Canada World Strength noted in a formal statement: "Since the precondition for the holding of a third edition resided mainly in the arrival of a major sponsor by early December and that this condition has not been reached, the organizers have no choice but to [suspend] the 2010 edition." [2] However, the door was held open for 2011 with the statement continuing: "“The Board, however, does not abandon the idea of holding a third edition in 2011.". [2]

Strongman Champions League Cooperation

In 2008 Paul Ohl stated that the Strongman Champions League was one of three organisations 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. [5] This later went further, guaranteeing the SCL its top five athletes would have places. [6] The agreement was reemphasised in a joint statement from Marcel Mostert and Paul Ohl in early 2009. [6]

Events

Fortissimus regards the ten events that are incorporated in its programme as the Classical Events of strength athletics.

Trophy

From 2009 Fortissimus established that the title of the champion would be "The Strongest Man on Earth". The winner's trophy is a bronze statuette of Louis Cyr hoisting the huge 273 ¼ lbs dumbbell that brought him fame on the evening of 19 January 1892 at London's Royal Aquarium. It was crafted by renowned Canadian sculptor Michel Binette with the original displayed at the Inverness Bronze Museum, in Inverness, Quebec, Canada. [3]

Results

2008

Dates: 28, 29 June 2008

Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, Quebec, Canada

#NameNationalityPts
1 Derek Poundstone Flag of the United States.svg 119
2 Zydrunas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg 118
3 Sebastian Wenta Flag of Poland.svg 84.25
4 Louis-Philippe Jean Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 83.5
5 Travis Ortmayer Flag of the United States.svg 76.5
6 Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Russia.svg 76.5
7 Mark Felix Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 67.5
8 Stefan Solvi Petursson Flag of Iceland.svg 63.75
9 Andrus Murumets Flag of Estonia.svg 62
10 Christian Savoie Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 42.5
11 Arild Haugen Flag of Norway.svg 40.5
12 Ervin Katona Flag of Serbia.svg 36.5
13 Dominic Filiou Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 25.5

[7]

2009

Dates: 27, 28 June 2009

Montmagny, Canada

#NameNationalityPts
1 Zydrunas Savickas Flag of Lithuania.svg 124.5
2 Derek Poundstone Flag of the United States.svg 118
3 Brian Shaw Flag of the United States.svg 106.5
4 Travis Ortmayer Flag of the United States.svg 94
5 Mikhail Koklyaev Flag of Russia.svg 84
6 Phil Pfister Flag of the United States.svg 82
7 Andrus Murumets Flag of Estonia.svg 74
8 Louis-Philippe Jean Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 73.5
9 Terry Hollands Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 55.5
10 Mark Felix Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 54
11 Christian Savoie Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 49
12 Agris Kazelniks Flag of Latvia.svg 47
13 Jimmy Marku Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 32
14 Derek Boyer Flag of Fiji.svg / Flag of Australia (converted).svg 24

[8]

Fortissimus Strongman of the Year

This is not the Fortissimus competition title but a recognition of the achievements of a particular strongman over the previous year.

2008

Flag of Poland.svg Mariusz Pudzianowski [9]

2009

Flag of Lithuania.svg Zydrunas Savickas [10]

Fortissimus Lifetime Achievement Award

The Fortissimus Lifetime Achievement Award is given to recognize the greatest strongman athletes in the history of the sport, both past and present athletes are eligible for this title.

2009

Flag of Iceland.svg Magnus Ver Magnusson [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World's Strongest Man</span> Strongman competition

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 December each year. Competitors qualify based on placing in the top three at the four to eight Giants Live events each year. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino, DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strongman Super Series</span>

The Strongman Super Series, known from 2001 to 2004 as the IFSA World Strongman Super Series, from 2005 to 2008 as the World's Strongest Man Super Series, and reverting in 2009 to the World Strongman Super Series, is a sequence of grand prix events in the sport of strength athletics. It was introduced in 2001 in response to concerns that, unlike other individual sports such as golf or tennis, there was no recognized international "tour" in strength athletics. The Strongman Super Series ensures that there are a number of high-profile, professionally run contests during the year, with competitors' placings being used to decide the overall Super Series Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Žydrūnas Savickas</span> Lithuanian strongman

Žydrūnas Savickas is a Lithuanian powerlifter and professional strongman. Due to his 84 international wins in major international strongman competitions including four World's Strongest Man championships, eight Arnold Strongman Classic championships, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Federation of Strength Athletes</span> International governing body for strongman competition

The International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Poundstone</span>

Derek Poundstone is an American former professional strongman and strength coach from Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was the runner-up at the 2008 World's Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion, and a three-time winner of America's Strongest Man. Poundstone is also a police Sergeant for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department and is the former owner and landlord of an apartment complex and gym.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Ortmayer</span> American strength athlete

Travis Ortmayer is an American professional Strongman athlete from Cypress, Texas. He is nicknamed the Texas Stoneman due to his many world records in the Atlas Stone event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Strongman Classic</span> International strongman competition

The Arnold Strongman Classic is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, determining who is the Strongest Man in the World. Created by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Lorimer and Terry Todd, it is an offshoot of the Arnold Sports Festival which takes place annually in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strongman Champions League</span> Strongman competition

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. The competitors include some of the top athletes in the sport, including Žydrūnas Savickas, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Aivars Šmaukstelis, Mikhail Koklyaev, Ervin Katona, Andrus Murumets, Nick Best, Travis Ortmayer, Vytautas Lalas, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giants Live</span>

Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.

The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet." The anticipation was based on the organisers ensuring invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body. In previous years, the schism between the International Federation of Strength Athletes and the organisers of WSM had meant that certain athletes were forbidden to compete, undermining the credentials of the competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefán Sölvi Pétursson</span> Icelandic strongman competitor

Stefán Sölvi Pétursson is an Icelandic strongman and a finalist of the World's Strongest Man competition, winning 4th place in the 2010 World's Strongest Man competition held in Sun City and 9th place in the 2011 World's Strongest Man competition held in Wingate, North Carolina. He has also won Icelandic Strongman competitions multiple times including Iceland’s Strongest Man in 2009 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Shaw (strongman)</span> American professional strongman (born 1982)

Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man competitions, and in 2011, became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Philippe Jean</span>

Louis-Phillipe Jean is a Canadian strongman competitor and entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition on multiple occasions.

The World Strongman Challenge was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running in various guises for twenty years, with only two years break. In that time it attained the position of one of the most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man and the World Muscle Power Classic. As with its two international counterparts it attracted the top quality strength athletes of its era, which included every winner of the World's Strongest Man competition from 1980 onwards including Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier from the 1980s right up to the current WSM champion Žydrūnas Savickas.

Strength athletics in the United States refers to the various strongman events throughout United States and North America in the sport of strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") contest. America has both an amateur and a professional sanctioning body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vytautas Lalas</span> Lithuanian strongman

Vytautas Lalas is a Lithuanian professional strongman. He is most notable for being the winner of the 2013 Arnold Strongman Classic and the runner-up at the 2012 World's Strongest Man.

Le Defi Mark Ten International was one of the most prestigious strongman contest in the world in the 1980s and early 1990s. Staged in Quebec, Canada, it was begun as a tribute to Louis Cyr and was notable for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included a number of winners of the World's Strongest Man competition, including Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier and Magnús Ver Magnússon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Jenkins (strongman)</span> American strongman (1982–2013)

Mike Jenkins was an American professional strongman competitor from Westminster, Maryland. Jenkins worked as a high school athletics director at Milton Hershey School in Hershey Pa, when not competing as a strongman. He was a college and professional football player before switching over to strongman competition in 2007. He won the Maryland's Strongest Man contest in 2007 which qualified him for the North American amateur national strongman championships later that year and he placed sixth in that contest. He placed second in the North American nationals in 2009.

The 2012 World's Strongest Man was the 35th edition of World's Strongest Man. The event was held on the grounds of the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California, US. The event was sponsored by MET-Rx. The qualifying heats were held from September 24–27, and the finals took place Sept. 30 & Oct. 1, 2012. The winner was Žydrūnas Savickas, it was his third WSM title. Vytautas Lalas of Lithuania was second, and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson was third.

The World Log Lift Championships is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, competing exclusively in the log clean and press. Created initially as part of the Strongman Champions League, it has since been part of Giants Live and the championship occasionally switches between the two series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kristin Nelson, Milo, Fortissimus: A mighty challenge - a magnificent win, September 2008, Vol 16, No2
  2. 1 2 3 "Randall J. Strossen, Canada World Strength: No Strongman Contest in 2010, Friday, December 11, 2009, IronMind". Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Official Sire [ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., Fortissimus 2009 . . . 2010 . . .2011, Ironmind, December 22, 2008
  5. ↑ "Fortissimus Enters Agreement with Strongman Champions League, the American Strongman Corporation and Aussiepower by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. 2009 IronMind Friday, May 16, 2008". Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  6. 1 2 "FORTISSIMUS - Strongman Champions League: Cooperation and Joint Statement by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. 2009 IronMind, Tuesday, January 13, 2009". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  7. ↑ "2008 Fortissimus Results". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "2009 Fortissimus Results". Strongman Archives. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Mariusz Pudzianowski Wins 2008 Fortissimus Strongman Achievement of the Year Award". Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  10. ↑ "Zydrunas Savickas Wins Fortissimus Strongman of the Year Award". Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  11. ↑ Ironmind report Friday, May 1, 2009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.