With the 2011 MET-Rx World’s Strongest Man contest coming up fast, you can imagine how the top strongmen across the planet are vying for the most coveted invitation in the sport.


Giants Live—the official qualifying tour for the World’s Strongest Man contest—has two contests in August, so don’t expect to see the official start list for the 2011 MET-Rx World’s Strongest Man before then.  IronMind® | Courtesy of Giants Live.


While IronMind has nothing official on who might already have been invited, this is what we have pieced together–remember the proviso, though, that this is not official, and even if it were 100% accurate at this moment, it would still be subject to change.

IronMind thinks it is likely that the top ten from World’s Strongest Man 2010 are being invited back, which means that these guys are in for the 2011 MET-Rx World’s Strongest Man contest:

• Zydrunas Savickas
• Brian Shaw
• Misha Koklayev
• Stefan Solvi Petursson
• Travis Ortmayer
• Nick Best
• Ervin Katona
• Terry Hollands
• Derek Poundstone
• Jason Bergmann

Added next to this field will be the top three from the next Giants Live, which is set for August 6, near Krakow, Poland.

Giants Live is the official qualifying tour for the World’s Strongest Man contest and Giants Live–Poland features no less than Mike Jenkins in his first major international strongman competition.  Jenkins jumped from winning the inaugural amateur strongman world championships contest at the Arnold to placing second in the professional contest this year—showing what what a robust developmental system NAS/ASC has built in strongman, as the organization takes rank beginners and prepares them for world class competition as Jenkins leapfrogged over all but Brian Shaw in Columbus.

And speaking of development, let’s not forget Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, the strongman prodigy from Iceland who has progressed not with the benefit of a formal system, but with the guidance of someone who is arguably one of, if not the, best mentor a strongman could have: four-time World’s Strongest Man winner, Magnus Ver Magnusson.  Giant’s Live–Poland will be a big coming-out party for Bjornsson, too.

Also on the card for Giants Live–Poland is Krzysztof Radzikowski (who has not yet made it to World’s Strongest Man) and fellow Pole, Matesz Baron, who won this year’s Amateur Strongman World Championships. 

Also on the calendar is Giants Live–Finland, which is scheduled for August 12, so IronMind’s best guess is that until then, don’t expect to see an official start list for the 2011 MET-Rx World’s Strongest Man contest.

So until then, this is our best guess.  What’s yours?!

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