| Jón Páll Sigmarsson | |
| Birth Date: | 28 April 1960 |
| Birth Place: | Hafnarfjörður, Iceland |
| Death Place: | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Nationality: |  Icelandic |
| Other Names: | The Viking |
| Occupation: | Strongman, powerlifter, bodybuilder |
| Years Active: | 1979–1993 |
| Children: | Sigmar Freyr Jónsson |
Jón Páll Sigmarsson (28 April 1960 – 16 January 1993) was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's Strongest Man four times and the first and only man to win the World Muscle Power Classic five times.
Jón Páll is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes all time,[2] and is credited with developing Iceland's strength identity. He also set over 25 strength related world records, was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1981,[3] and was posthumously inducted into the World's Strongest Man Hall of Fame in 2012.
Jón Páll was born in Hafnarfjörður on 28 April 1960, weighing 4abbr=onNaNabbr=on and measuring 52cm (20inches). He was the first child of Dóra Jónsdóttir and Sigmar Jónsson.[4] He was raised by his mother and foster father Sveinn Guðmundsson. The family moved to Stykkishólmur when he was two. He remained there until the age of nine, when the family relocated to Reykjavík.[5]
Growing up, he spent his summers on Skáleyjar and was active as a farmhand. He worked from dawn until dusk, carrying pails of water and assisting his foster father on seal hunts. He took up Glima, a traditional Icelandic form of wrestling at the age of five and later played a vast array of sports such as football, handball, gymnastics, karate, swimming and middle-distance running.[6]
Jón Páll was introduced to weight lifting in 1976, and began training at the 'Jakaból' gym in 1978.[7] The same year he won the Icelandic junior bodybuilding title in the +90 kg. class. His was also showing great numbers in powerlifting, including Icelandic national records in the bench press (with 192.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 195abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 210abbr=onNaNabbr=on and 222.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on) and the squat (with 320.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 330abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 342.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on and 357.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on), but his best performances were usually in the deadlift event, in which he set the European record many times (with 350abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 352.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 360abbr=onNaNabbr=on, 362.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on and 370abbr=onNaNabbr=on). The Icelandic phrase 'Þetta er ekkert mál fyrir Jón Páll!' was often yelled by him during deadlifting.[8] While continuously winning bodybuilding competitions, he did his first strongman competition in 1982.
Jón Páll was invited to the World's Strongest Man for the first time in 1983, in which he emerged runner-up to Geoff Capes by one and a half points. He showcased him immense strength by performing a 525abbr=onNaNabbr=on silver dollar deadlift. He also emerged third at the Europe's Strongest Man. The following year, at age 24, he defeated Capes by 6 points and won 1984 World's Strongest Man in Mora, Sweden, becoming the youngest person to ever win the World's Strongest Man; a record which he holds to-date. Soon after the final armwrestling event, Jón Páll famously shouted "The King has lost his crown!" He won three events (truck pull, caber toss and rock press) and came second in four events in the process.
In 1985 Jón Páll lost the title to Capes, again by only one and a half points. During the deadlift event, a spectator in the audience yelled 'Eskimo' to Jón Páll, and he famously yelled back: "I am not an Eskimo, I'm a Viking!" and successfully lifted the 495abbr=onNaNabbr=on cart. In 1985 Jón Páll won Europe's Strongest Man and also won both the inaugural World Muscle Power Classic and inaugural Iceland's Strongest Man. During one of the events in Iceland's Strongest Man, he famously danced while carrying the 186abbr=onNaNabbr=on Húsafell Stone.[9]
In 1986 World's Strongest Man in Nice, France, Jón Páll won his second title, beating Capes by 4 points. He won four events (carry & drag, McGlashen stones, deadlift and the loading race) and came second in three events in the process. Also in 1986, Jón Páll won World Muscle Power Classic, Europe's Strongest Man and Commonwealth Highland Games. In the same year, he wrestled English author and Guinness World Record holder Brian Sterling-Vete in an exhibition match for the TV news and print media held at Finnur Karlsson's gymnasium in Reykjavík, Iceland.
In 1987, began Jón Páll's rivalry with Bill Kazmaier who returned to strength sports following his ban from World's Strongest Man after 1982. Kazmaier boasted some of the heaviest powerlifting lifts of that time and had made his reputation in the 1980s as "the strongest man who ever lived" by breaking numerous strongman world records. In 1987, World's Strongest Man was not held for the first and only time in its history. However, 3x times champion Kazmaier, 2x times champion Capes and then 2x times champion Jón Páll met at 1987 Pure Strength, a vintage competition held in the grounds of Huntly Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland to determine who is the strongest man on Earth.[10] Jón Páll who turned in at his all-time heaviest bodyweight dominated the competition, winning 8 out of 10 events while breaking multiple world records in the process.[11] A legendary quote, "There is no reason to be alive, if you can't do deadlift!" was shouted by Jón Páll at the top of the 455abbr=onNaNabbr=on rectangular-handled cartwheel deadlift during the competition. He won the event with a world record lift of 523abbr=onNaNabbr=on. He also managed to break the log lift world record with 163.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on.
In 1988 Capes retired, and at the 1988 World's Strongest Man Jón Páll and Kazmaier clashed again. Kazmaier won the deadlift, log lift and sack race but Jón Páll won the Weight over bar with a five-point lead and McGlashen Stones in the end to secure the overall victory, equaling Kazmaier's record for three World's Strongest Man titles. After his victory Jón Páll said: "I may be the fastest strongman in the world, but I think Bill is the strongest on his feet". The same year, Jón Páll won the Icelandic Bodybuilding championship in +90 kg class.
In 1989 Jón Páll won the World Muscle Power Classic but placed third both at the 1989 World's Strongest Man and Europe's Strongest Man.
In 1990, Jón Páll came to the 1990 World's Strongest Man injured, but after a valiant fight, won the title for a record breaking fourth time. The American O.D. Wilson who was leading the competition with a comfortable five and a half points leading up to the last event (a 200 m race with a 100 kg weight on the back) lacked the endurance to complete the course quickly enough, giving up six points to Jón Páll, earning him the win at the final event. He also won World Muscle Power Classic and Iceland's Strongest Man.
In 1991 Jón Páll won his fifth World Muscle Power Classic, but badly injured his left arm during Nordic Strongest Man in Denmark. He underwent an operation at a hospital in Scotland but the bones of his forearm grew together, which prevented the full use of his arm thereafter. In 1992 won his fifth Iceland's Strongest Man title as well as Finland's Strongest Man. Both in 1991 and 1992 he missed the World's Strongest Man due to recurring injuries.
Jón Páll was often challenged by Kazmaier in static feats of strength because he believed events were biased in Jón Páll's favour. Despite battling with injuries, Jón Páll's mobility reduced but it progressively translated into improved brute strength. In 1981 when Kazmaier traveled to Nigeria for a Highland games style strength exhibition with Douglas Edmunds, he attempted to break his own deadlift world record by pulling 415abbr=onNaNabbr=on with straps. He was successful, however it was not considered an official record since it was a slightly elevated deadlift. During his preparation for 1987 Pure Strength, Jón Páll replicated the same setup and pulled 427.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on in his gym 'Gym 80' in front of many Icelandic spectators.[12]
Although he was known for his energetic, charismatic and boastful personality when competing, Jón Páll was known for his vibrant personality, humor and soft-spoken nature in his personal life.[13] He was also an avid reader and enjoyed reading to his son Sigmar Freyr (born 1983).[14]
On 16 January 1993, Jón Páll died of an aortic rupture while deadlifting in his gym 'Gym 80' in Reykjavík.[15] It was the result of a congenital heart defect that also affected three other members of his family[16]
Jón Páll is buried at the Lágafell church cemetery.
Jón Páll was described in his life documentary "Larger than Life" by Geoff Capes as "a new kind of guy on the block" and by David P. Webster equally in describing him as a man who boasted pure static strength as well as versatile athletic strength in all its forms, a combination that lead to his supreme performances. World's Strongest Man Director Colin Bryce called Jón Páll the greatest strongman of all time for not only his titles but also showmanship, stating "Strongman is entertainment. None of us would be here without Jón Páll".[18]
Jón Páll's lifelong friend and training partner Hjalti Árnason created the Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic international strongman contest in 2010 in honor of Jón Páll.[19] The event was held annually for three consecutive years during the Icelandic fitness & health expo in Reykjavík. The inaugural winner was America's Brian Shaw and the final winner was Iceland's own Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.[20] Hafþór also has a tattoo of Jón Páll lifting a natural stone in one of his calves.
In New Hampshire, United States, there is a popular lifting stone weighing 221abbr=onNaNabbr=on named after Jón Páll which is used in some New England Highland Games.[21] One of his legendary quotes 'Þetta er ekkert mál fyrir Jón Páll!' is inscribed in the stone.[22]
performed in official powerlifting full meets, aged 23, in single-ply equipment
→ former European record in 125 class (+regardless of weight class) for the 4th time
→ First Icelander to break the 900 and 950 barriers
performed as exhibition lifts
→ This lift surpassed Bill Kazmaier's 415abbr=onNaNabbr=on Highland games deadlift of 1981.
→
→ Jón Páll was also famous for dancing with the Húsafell Stone in 1985 Iceland's Strongest Man
– Jón Páll is also credited with the Guinness world records of being the first man to load a 150abbr=onNaNabbr=on McGlashen stone in 1986 and for lifting the world's largest whiskey bottle in 1987.