Jón Páll Sigmarsson
| Jón Páll Sigmarsson | |
|---|---|
Jón Páll Sigmarsson Official Portrait in 1988, with 28 years
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|
| Born |
April 28, 1960 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Died | January 16, 1993 (aged 32) Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Nationality |
 Icelandic
|
| Other names | "The Viking" |
| Occupation | Strongman, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder |
| Years active | 1979-1993 (his death) |
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 130 kg (290 lb) |
| Title | 4 times World's Strongest Man 2 times Europe's Strongest Man 5 time winner World Muscle Power Championships |
| Children | 1: 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 World's Strongest Man contest 4 times.
Jón Páll was born in Reykjavík.
Jón Páll started his early career as a young bodybuilder and powerlifter. In 1984 Jón won the Icelandic bodybuilding title in the +90 kg. class. His achievements in powerlifting also include Icelandic records in the bench press (with 192.5 kg, 195 kg, 210 kg and 222.5 kg) and the squat (with 320.5 kg, 330 kg, 342.5 kg and 357.5 kg), but his best performances were usually in the deadlift event, in which he set the European record many times (with 350 kg, 352.5 kg, 360 kg, 362.5 kg and 370 kg) and multiple world records in strongman competition deadlift variations, such as the rectangular handled wheel and one handed deadlift.
Jón Páll was invited to the World's Strongest Man competition for the first time in 1983, in which he came in second only to Geoff Capes. The following year at the young age of only 24, he managed to defeat Capes and secure the title. During the final armwrestling event, in which Jón Páll was up against him, Capes appeared to be winning, pulling Jón Páll's arm down convincingly, but sustained a muscle tear in his forearm as Jón Páll started to thrust his arm back. Right after winning the bout, Jón Páll shouted "The King, has lost his crown!" and won his first World's Strongest Man title in 1984. Although Jón Páll was closely defeated by Capes at the 1985 World's Strongest Man, he managed to regain the title in 1986. During the deadlift event at the 1985 World's Strongest Man competition, someone in the audience called him an Eskimo. Jón Páll shouted back: "I am not an Eskimo, I am a Viking!" and successfully lifted the 495 kg cart.
In 1986, Jón Páll first wrestled English Author and Guinness World Record Holder Brian Sterling-Vete in a demonstration match for the TV news and print media held at Finnur Karlsson’s gymnasium in Reykjavík, Iceland. Halfway through the match Jón and Sterling had plotted to surprise the audience with a supposed angry outburst leading to the two of them demonstrating their skills as martial artists. This very typical ‘showmanship’ became synonymous with both Jón Páll and Sterling.
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