| International Federation of Strength Athletes | |
| Size: | 180px |
| Type: | Sports federation |
| Headquarters: | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leader Title: | Managing Director |
| Leader Name: | Christian Fennell |
| Language: | English |
The International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA or IFSA Strongman) was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland.[1]
In 1995, David Webster, a Scotsman who later received an OBE for his services to sport and head coordinator of the World's Strongest Man from its inception, and his colleague Dr Douglas Edmunds, seven-times Scottish shot and discus champion and twice world caber champion,[2] along with representatives from the competitors in strength athletics including Jamie Reeves, Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert formed a governing body called the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA"). IFSA ran its own grand prix events from 1995 to 2001 in cooperation with WSM. IFSA began co-producing the Strongman Super Series events from 2001 to 2004, still in cooperation with WSM. IFSA entered an agreement with World Class Events (WCE), headed by Ulf Bengtsson, to run the Strongman Super Series. The Strongman Super Series was designed to award the annual Strongman World Championship title, but also acted as a qualifying vehicle for the World's Strongest Man contest.
For almost a decade IFSA and WSM worked in full cooperation, but this changed at the end of the 2004 season when IFSA returned to organizing its own grand prix events and World Strongman Championships from 2005 to 2007. The InvestGroup Ventures' sports rights management arm, InvestGroup Sports Management, invested heavily into IFSA and this led to the creation of IFSA Strongman. The strategy was to acquire most of the international assets and properties relating to the strongman sport. In essence this was a new organization[3] with some, such as Magnus Samuelsson describing it as "a new company...with the same name as our old federation".[4] The attempt at dominance was not well received by TWI/WSM and disagreement ensued leading to a split in the sport. When IFSA and WSM split in 2004, the Strongman Super Series sided with TWI/WSM forming a rival federation to the IFSA.[3] With the WSM being a TWI owned event, IFSA Holdings announced its own World Strongman Championships for 2005, to be held in Quebec, and thus from that point had no involvement in the WSM contest. From this point, IFSA continued to organize the annual IFSA World Strongman Championships and a series of Grand Prix events throughout the year. Between 2005 and 2007 IFSA had their own version of other major events such as a rival IFSA version of Europe's Strongest Man, known as Europe's Strongest Man (IFSA).
Thus, the world of strength athletics became 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 WSM and its associated Strongman Super Series nor the IFSA circuit could claim to have a comprehensive field of the top athletes. Some events did exist that bridged the divide between the major organizations, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic and Fortissimus.
After the 2007 IFSA World Championships in South Korea, news began to circulate of athletes not being paid, and equipment shipping costs not being honored.[5] IFSA eventually ended up owing $63,000[5] for shipping their equipment from England to South Korea and finally to Philadelphia. When the money was not paid, the equipment was put up for sale and was eventually purchased by other strongman contest promoters.[6] The 2007 IFSA World Championships would be the final contest run solely by, and under the banner of, IFSA.
In 2008 IFSA executives Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert developed the Strongman Champions League and negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. However, the dissolution of IFSA meant that since the end of 2007, the Strongman Champions League still operated independent of IFSA. Gradually, the last vestiges of IFSA influence began to diminish which led to the breaking down of barriers between the various concurrent circuits. Strength athletes were able to compete in more than one circuit and did so, with a cross over of athletes between the Giants Live circuit, the Strongman Champions League and the Strongman Super Series being apparent. The 2009 World's Strongest Man was therefore anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet"[7] because the organisers could ensure invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body.
| IFSA Strongman World Championships | |
| Founded: | 2005 |
| Tournament Format: | Multi-event competition |
| Folded: | 2007 |
| Champion: |  Vasyl Virastyuk |
| Champ Season: | 2007 |
Dates: 25 September 2005
Quebec City, Canada 
| Position | Name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  | 103 | |
| 2. | | 96 | |
| 3. |  | 93.5 | |
| 4. |  | 86 | |
| 5. | 84.5 | ||
| 6. |  | 82.5 | |
| 7. | | 81.5 | |
| 8. |  | 69 | |
| 9. |  | 67 | |
| 10. | | 64.5 | |
| 11. | | 54.5 | |
| 12. | | 43 | |
Dates: 24, 25 November 2006
Reykjavik, Iceland 
| Position | Name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | | 80.5 | |
| 2. | | 78.5 | |
| 3. | | 72 | |
| 4. | | 70 | |
| 5. | | 55 | |
| 6. | | 46.5 | |
| 7. | | 44.5 | |
| 8. |  | 43 | |
| 9. | | 38 | |
| 10. | | 35 | |
| 11. | | 33.5 | |
| 12. |  | 20.5 | |
Dates: 12–15 September 2007
Geumsan, South Korea 
| Position | Name | Country | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | | 57.5 | ||
| 2. | | 52.5 | ||
| 3. | | 51.5 | ||
| 4. | | 50.5 | ||
| 5. | | 46.5 | ||
| 6. | | 41.5 | ||
| 7. | | 40 | ||
| 8. | | 32.5 | ||
| 9. | | 29.5 | ||
| 10. | | 26 | ||
| 11. | 20.5 | |||
| 12. | 17.5 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen, Denmark | Torfi Olaffson | |||
| Klaipėda, Lithuania | Gary Taylor | Stasys Mėčius | ||
| Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany | ||||
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen, Denmark | Torfi Olaffson | ||||
| Denmark | |||||
| 7 July 1996 | |||||
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meerssen, Netherlands | ||||
| Copenhagen, Denmark |  Riku Kiri | Magnus Ver Magnusson | ||
| Stasys Mecius | ||||
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsinki, Finland | 14 March 1998 | ||||
| Klaipėda, Lithuania | Raimunds Kencivikius | 1 August 1998 | |||
| Budapest, Hungary | 2 August 1998 | ||||
| Arnbruck, Germany | Heinz Ollesch | 5 September 1998 | |||
| Faroe Islands |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsinki, Finland | Sami Heinonen | 6 March 1999 | |||
| Faroe Islands | Regin Vagadal | 16 May 1999 | |||
| Keszthely. Hungary | 18 July 1999 | ||||
| Hardenberg, Netherlands | 24 July 1999 | ||||
| Prague, Czech Republic | 14 August 1999 | ||||
| Iceland | 17 October 1999 | ||||
| Matti Uppa |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsinki, Finland | 18 March 2000 | ||||
| Ireland | 30 April 2000 | ||||
| Sopot, Poland | 25 June 2000 | ||||
| Faroe Islands | 2 September 2000 | ||||
| Prague, Czech Republic |  Jan Bartl | 2 September 2000 | |||
| Bucharest, Romania | Rene Minkwitz | 16 September 2000 | |||
| Panyu, China | 8 October 2000 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sopot, Poland |  Svend Karlsen | 10 March 2007 | |||
 Faroe Islands | 28 July 2007 | ||||
| Kokkola, Finland | Svend Karlsen | Wout Zijlstra | Rene Minkwitz | 26 August 2007 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szczyrk, Poland | Hugo Girard | 9 February 2002 | |||
| Vantaa, Finland | Svend Karlsen | 20 April 2002 | |||
 Istanbul, Turkey | Wout Zijlstra |  Bernd Kerschbaumer | 18 May 2002 | ||
| Mariehamn, Finland | Jorma Paananen | Harri Simonen | 10 August 2002 | ||
| Imatra, Finland | Anders Johansson | 17 August 2002 | |||
 Panyu, China | Svend Karlsen | Žydrūnas Savickas | 20 October 2002 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inowrocław, Poland | Raimonds Bergmanis | 12 April 2003 | |||
| Vantaa, Finland | Mariusz Pudzianowski | 17 May 2003 | |||
| Winnipeg, Canada | Andrus Murumets | Peter Baltus | 15 June 2003 | ||
| Ylitornio, Finland | Vidas Blekaitis | 28 June 2003 | |||
| Gdynia, Poland | Mariusz Pudzianowski | 24 August 2003 | |||
 Sopron, Hungary | Ervin Katona | Ádám Darázs | Tomi Lotta | 15 November 2003 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jūrmala, Latvia | Vilius Petrauskas | 22 May 2004 | |||
| Turkey | Tomi Lotta | 22 May 2004 | |||
| Doetinchem, Netherlands | Žydrūnas Savickas | 13 June 2004 | |||
| Ukraine | Žydrūnas Savickas | 20 June 2004 | |||
| Šiauliai, Lithuania | Žydrūnas Savickas | Vasyl Virastyuk | Tomasz Nowotniak | 3 July 2004 | |
| Riga, Latvia | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Vasyl Virastyuk | 18 July 2004 | ||
| Szeged, Hungary | Ervin Katona | Saulius Brusokas | Ettiene Smit | 11 September 2004 |
Beginning in 2005, IFSA cut all ties with World's Strongest Man and Strongman Super Series and began hosting their own grand prix events and world championships from 2005 to 2007.
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szeged, Hungary | Ettiene Smit | 1 May 2005 | ||
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 19 May 2005 | |||
| Moscow, Russia | 6 June 2005 | |||
| Doetinchem, Netherlands | 12 June 2005 | |||
| Hungary | Ádám Darázs |  Jan Křeháček | 25 June 2005 | |
| Riga, Latvia | 17 July 2005 | |||
| Kristiansand, Norway | 6 August 2005 | |||
| São Paulo, Brazil | 20 August 2005 | |||
| São Paulo, Brazil | 21 August 2005 | |||
| Šiauliai, Lithuania | Žydrūnas Savickas | Vilius Petrauskas | 27 August 2005 | |
| Denmark | Juha-Pekka Aitala | 20 November 2005 | ||
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Ettiene Smit | 18 April 2006 | |||
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Andrus Murumets | 24 April 2006 | |||
| Moscow, Russia | Andrus Murumets | Žydrūnas Savickas | 14 May 2006 | ||
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | Jon Andersen | 21 May 2006 | |||
| Salou, Spain | Juha-Pekka Aitala | Jarno Hams | 5 June 2006 | ||
| Eger, Hungary | Travis Ortmayer | 5 June 2006 | |||
| Terborg, Netherlands | Jarno Hams | 10 June 2006 | |||
| Riga, Latvia | Mikhail Koklyaev | 18 July 2006 | |||
| Tornio, Finland | Steve MacDonald | 5 August 2006 | |||
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Vasyl Virastyuk | Oleksandr Pekanov | 29 December 2006 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Viktor Yurchenko | 18 April 2006 | |||
 Limassol, Cyprus | Raimonds Bergmanis | 28 May 2006 | |||
| Belgrade, Serbia | Geoff Dolan | Sebastian Wenta | 20 June 2006 | ||
| Moscow, Russia | Sebastian Wenta | Igor Pedan | 1 July 2006 | ||
| Marijampolė, Lithuania | Igor Pedan | 19 August 2006 |
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riga, Latvia | Vidas Blekaitis | 17 March 2007 | |||
| Ulft, Netherlands | Georg Ögmundsson | 17 June 2007 | |||
| Sofia, Bulgaria | Janne Illikainen | Ervin Katona | 23 June 2007 | ||
| Kyiv, Ukraine | Vidas Blekaitis | 22 July 2007 | |||
| Klaipėda, Lithuania | Janne Illikainen | 28 July 2007 | |||
| Oulu, Finland | Janne Illikainen | 2 September 2007 |
See main article: Strongman Champions League.
Developed by Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert, the Strongman Champions League was launched in 2008 as "a new episode in strongman". It negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. Since the end of 2008, the Strongman Champions League still operates independently after the dissolution of IFSA:
| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riga, Latvia | 22 March 2008 | ||||
| Subotica, Serbia | 10 May 2008 | ||||
| Varsseveld, Netherlands | 1 June 2008 | ||||
| Sofia, Bulgaria | 21 June 2008 | ||||
| Vilnius, Lithuania | 2 August 2008 | ||||
| Constanța, Romania | 16 August 2008 | ||||
| Kokkola, Finland | 29 August 2008 | ||||
| Žydrūnas Savickas 130 points | Ervin Katona 72 points | Agris Kazelniks 60 points |
Events were planned in the following locations but cancelled: Dubai, Germany and Hungary
See also: Strength Athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Russ Bradley | |||
| 1999 | TBC | TBC |