Strongman Super Series
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.
| 2010 | |
 The official logo of World Strongman Super Series 2010 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Various |
| Established | 2001 |
| Final year | 2010 |
| Format | Multi-event competition |
| Final champion | |
 | |
Typically, ten to twelve athletes take part in each GP, comprising the top six in the international rankings and at least four qualifiers or wildcard entries. The winner of each grand prix receives ten series points, the second placed, nine, and so on. The highest scoring competitor at the end of the series is named World Champion.
World Class Events ("WCE") ran the Super Series in co-operation with the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA")from 2001 to 2004 until IFSA cut ties with WCE and World's Strongest Man and began promoting their own grand prix events and world championships. In 2005, WCE signed a deal with Trans World International ("TWI"), the world’s largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming, to have the exclusive rights worldwide to be the only qualifying tour to the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man event for 2005-2008.[1] The top four athletes from each Grand Prix competition receive an automatic invitation to WSM.
On April 27, 2009 Giants Live, an arena-based series of live strongman competitions, was named the Official World's Strongest Man Qualifying Tour for 2009–2011, thus taking over from the Strongman Super Series in this regard. The first 2009 qualifying event took place on May 17 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the second event being the Viking Power competition in Norway, and finishing off the 2009 season in Poland.[2]
Super Series World Champions
| Year | Athlete | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Magnus Samuelsson |  |
| 2002 | Hugo Girard | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 2003/4 | Mariusz Pudzianowski |  |
| 2004 | Žydrūnas Savickas |  |
| 2005* | Mariusz Pudzianowski | |
| 2006* | Mariusz Pudzianowski | |
| 2007* | Mariusz Pudzianowski | |
| 2008* | Derek Poundstone | |
| 2009 | Brian Shaw | |
| 2010 | Brian Shaw | |
*WSM Super Series
2001
The International Federation of Strength Athletes co-produced the Strongman Super Series events from 2001-2004 along with World Class Events (WCE)/Ulf Bengtsson.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holland Grand Prix 2001 |  | |  | |
| Czech Grand Prix 2001[3] | | | |  |
| Sweden Grand Prix 20012001 Super Series Finals | | | | |
| Overall placings | | | |
2002
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland Grand Prix (World Muscle Power 2002) | | |  |  |
| Sweden Grand Prix 2002 (Hammer Strength) | | | | |
| Hawaii Grand Prix 2002 2002 Super Series Finals | | | | |
| Overall placings | | | |
2003/04
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii Grand Prix 2003 | |  | | |
| Holland Grand Prix 2003 | | | | |
| Canada Grand Prix 2003 | | | | |
| Finland Grand Prix 2003 | | | | |
| 2004 Arnold Strongman Classic 2003/04 Super Series Finals | | | | |
| Overall placings | | | |
2004
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moscow Grand Prix | | |  |  |
| Sweden Grand Prix | | | | |
| Overall placings | | | |
2005
Beginning in 2005, WSM/WCE cut all ties with IFSA, who had begun promoting their own separate grand prix events and world championships. The Strongman Super Series then became known as the World's Strongest Man Super Series and was the official qualifying tour for World's Strongest Man from 2005-2008.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Met-Rx Grand Prix | | | | |
| Nautilus Grand Prix | | | | |
| Vulkan Grand Prix | | | | |
| Mohegan Sun Grand Prix | | | | |
| Overall placings | | | |
2006
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohegan Sun Grand Prix | | | | |
| Arnold Strongman Classic 2006 | | | | |
| Moscow Grand Prix | | | | |
| Poland Grand Prix | | | | |
| Overall placings | |
2007
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohegan Sun Grand Prix | | |  | |
| Venice Beach Super Series | | | | |
| Viking Power Super Series 2007 | | | | |
| Overall placings | |
2008
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohegan Sun Grand Prix | | | | |
| Madison Square Garden Super Series | | | | |
| Viking Power Super Series 2008 | | | | |
| Sweden Super Series | |  | | |
| Overall placings | |
2009
Giants Live replaced the World's Strongest Man Super Series beginning in 2009 as the official qualifying tour for the World's Strongest Man. However, Strongman Super Series continued to hold events under the new title of World Strongman Super Series in 2009 & 2010.[4]
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucharest Grand Prix July 4, 2009 | | | |  |
| Venice Beach Grand PrixNov 14 2009[5] | |  | | |
| Sweden Grand Prix2009 Super Series Finals Dec 5th 2009[6] | | | | |
| Overall placings[6] | | | |
Events from 2001 to 2006 from Archive of www.super-series.com
2010
| Event | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohegan Sun Grand Prix[7] April 25, 2010 | | | | |
| Svend Karlsen Viking Power Challenge[8] June 26, 2010 | | | | |
| Swedish Grand Prix Dec. 17, 2010[9] 2010 Super Series Finals | | | | |
| Overall placings[9] | | | |
See also
- List of strongman competitions
- International Federation of Strength Athletes
- World's Strongest Man
- Giants Live
- Arnold Strongman Classic
- World Muscle Power Championships
References
- WCE AND TWI SHOW STRENGTH IN PARTNERSHIP
- GIANTS LIVE NAMED OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TOUR FOR WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN COMPETITION Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Girard Wins IFSA Prague Super Series by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. | ©2008 IronMind
- Official site breaking news
- Brian Shaw: Strong Showing at World Strongman Super Series by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., IronMind
- Brian Shaw Wins Big at World Strongman Super Series: Takes Swedish Grand Prix and Overall Title by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., IronMind
- Randall J. Strossen, Derek Poundstone Three-Peats at the Mohegan Sun: World Strongman Series Grand Prix Winner, Ironmind, Sunday, April 25, 2010
- Randall J. Strossen, Brian Shaw Wins Viking Power Challenge, Ironmind, June 26, 2010
- http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2010/Dec/Brian_Shaw_Wins_World_Strongman_Super_Series_Swedish_Grand_Prix_and_Overall_Title.html