Strength athletics in Finland refers to the participation of Finnish competitors and holding national strongman competitions.
Finland had enormous success on the international stage in the 1990s and early 2000s, having won 3 World's Strongest Man titles, and numerous major European and international competitions. In particular, Jouko Ahola was the 1997 World's Strongest Man & 1999 World's Strongest Man champion, Janne Virtanen won the 2000 World's Strongest Man, and Riku Kiri was a 3 time consecutive Europe's Strongest Man champion from 1995-1997. In recent years Finland has struggled in the major international scene, having not made the finals of WSM since 2002, and not having any major international victories.
| Finland's Strongest Man | |
| Location: | Finland |
| Establishment: | 1987 |
| Format: | Multi-event competition |
| Current Champion: |  Severi Allonen (2024) |
Finland's Strongest Man is an annual Strongman competition held in Finland and featuring exclusively Finnish athletes, to determine who the strongest Finn of the year is. It was first held in 1987[1] and has produced 19 champions throughout its 33 consecutive years. It is one of the oldest strongman competitions in the world.
Mika Törrö holds the record for the most number of wins with five titles while Janne Virtanen and Jani Illikainen share four titles each. Ilkka Nummisto and Riku Kiri share three titles each as well. Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier and Hjalti Arnason were guests in the competition but their placings were not included in the final results.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Arto Lyytikäinen | Markku Suonenvirta | Jari Leino & Kari Pötrönen | |
| 1988 | ||||
| 1989 | Markku Suonenvirta | |||
| 1990 | Markku Suonenvirta | |||
| 1991 | Markku Suonenvirta | |||
| 1992 | Jukka Laine | Marko Varalahti | ||
| 1993 | Jarmo Ruotsalainen | |||
| 1994 | Harri Simonen | Jorma Ojanaho | ||
| 1995 | Sami Heinonen | Jukka Laine | ||
| 1996 | Marko Varalahti | |||
| 1997 | Sami Heinonen | Jorma Ojanaho | ||
| 1998 | Matti Uppa | Jukka Laine | ||
| 1999 | Sami Heinonen | Juha-Matti Räsänen | ||
| 2000 | Sami Heinonen | Juha-Matti Räsänen | ||
| 2001 | Pasi Paavisto | |||
| 2002 | Sami Heinonen | Harri Simonen | ||
| 2003 | Esa Qvintus | Tomi Lotta | ||
| 2004 | Jani Illikainen | |||
| 2005 | Jani Illikainen | Matti Uppa | Juha-Pakka Aitala | |
| 2006 | Jani Illikainen | Esa Qvintus | ||
| 2007 | Jani Illikainen | Jani Kolehmainen | Janne Hartikainen | |
| 2008 | Jani Illikainen | |||
| 2009 | Juha Matti Jarvi | |||
| 2010 | Pedro Karlsson | |||
| 2011[2] | Pedro Karlsson | |||
| 2014[3] | Arto Niemi-Nikkola | Jarno Kirselä | Juha Jokinen | |
| 2018 | Mika Törrö | |||
| 2019 | Mika Törrö | |||
| 2020 | Mika Törrö | |||
| 2021 | Mika Törrö | Henry Ollila | Severi Allonen | |
| 2022 | Mika Törrö | Jarkko Mehtälä | Teemu Pohto | |
| 2023 | Jarkko Mehtälä | Jesse Pynnönen | Mika Törrö | |
| 2024 | Severi Allonen | Jesse Pynnönen | Mika Törrö |
| Champion | Times & years | |
|---|---|---|
| Mika Törrö | 5 (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, | |
| 4 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) | ||
| Janni Illikainen | 4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) | |
| 3 (1988, 1993, 1994) | ||
| 3 (1990, 1991, 1992) | ||
| 2 (2002, 2003) |
Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[4]
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Juha-Matti Räsänen | ||
| 2012 | Mikkel Leicht | ||
| 2013 |  Ole Martin Hansen | Juha-Matti Järvi | |
Finland was also the venue for a couple of Giants Live grand prix competitions with the participation of top athletes of the world. The competitions were named Giants Live Finland.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  Rauno Heinla | ||
| 2012 | Lauri Nämi | ||