Strength athletics in Norway
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Strength athletics in Norway refers to the participation of Norwegian competitors and holding national strongman competitions.
History
The sport's roots have a long history going back many centuries before modern strongman competitions in the 1970s. However, Norway did not come onto the international scene in modern times until Torkel Ravndal broke the deadlift world record. Norway has had mixed success on the international stage, with Svend Karlsen winning the 2001 World's Strongest Man title, Norway's only WSM title. In recent years, Norway has had several top international competitors in WSM, including Odd Haugen, Arild Haugen, Richard Skog, Espen Aune, Ole Martin Hansen and Bjørn Andre Solvang.
National Competitions
Norway's Strongest Man
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Norway |
| Month played | September |
| Established | 1998 |
| Format | Multi-event competition |
| Current champion | |
 Henrik Hildeskor (2025) | |
Norway's Strongest Man (Norwegian: Norges Sterkeste Mann) is an annual strongman competition and the main national title of Norway. The event was established in 1998 and has produced fourteen champions throughout the years.[1] Kurt Kvikkstad won in 1998 & 1999, with Roy Holte winning the next 3 years. Then emerged Svend Karlsen, Norway's greatest strength athlete who took the 2003, 2005, and 2006 titles. In 2004 Mattis Bjorheim won the title. Arild Haugen won in 2007 & 2008 and Richard Skog won in 2009 & 2010.[1] Espen Aune won in 2011[2] and then emerged Ole Martin Hansen who won the title a record four times from 2012 to 2015.[3] Jørgen Skaug Aukland won in 2016 followed by Bjørn Andre Solvang in 2017. Then emerged Ole Martin Kristiansen who won the title three times from 2018 to 2020. Jonas Bathen won in 2021, Henrik Hildeskor in 2022, 2023 & 2025 and Håkon Heitmann Kollerød in 2024.
Champions breakdown
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Kurt Kvikkstad | Thomas Johansen | Roy Holte |
| 1999 | Kurt Kvikkstad | Marius Bjerke | Roy Holte |
| 2000 | Roy Holte | Odd Haugen | Olaf Dahl |
| 2001 | Roy Holte | Kurk Kvikkstad | Frank Nagy |
| 2002 | Roy Holte | Olaf Dahl | Frank Nagy |
| 2003 | Svend Karlsen | Odd Haugen | Reider Kvåle |
| 2004 | Reider Kvåle[4] | Espen Aune[5] | Olaf Dahl[5] |
| 2005 | Svend Karlsen | Reider Kvåle | Olaf Dahl |
| 2006 | Svend Karlsen | Arild Haugen | Reider Kvåle |
| 2007 | Arild Haugen | Espen Aune | Odd Haugen |
| 2008 | Arild Haugen | Richard Skog | Odd Haugen |
| 2009 | Richard Skog | Arild Haugen | Lars Rørbakken |
| 2010 | Richard Skog | Espen Aune | Bjørn Andre Solvang |
| 2011 | Espen Aune | Lars Rørbakken | Bjørn Andre Solvang |
| 2012 | Ole Martin Hansen | Lars Rørbakken | Espen Aune |
| 2013 | Ole Martin Hansen | Bjørn Andre Solvang | Øyvind Rein |
| 2014 | Ole Martin Hansen | Espen Aune | Bjørn Andre Solvang |
| 2015 | Ole Martin Hansen | Bjørn Andre Solvang | Espen Aune |
| 2016 | Jørgen Skaug Aukland | Ole Martin Hansen | Ole Martin Kristiansen |
| 2017 | Bjørn Andre Solvang | Ole Martin Kristiansen | Jon Olav Granli |
| 2018 | Ole Martin Kristiansen | Nils Kjetil Sande | Jonas Bathen |
| 2019 | Ole Martin Kristiansen | Bjørn Andre Solvang | Jørn Erik Bolstad |
| 2020 | Ole Martin Kristiansen | Henrik Hildeskor | Stefan Sekej |
| 2021 | Jonas Bathen | Stefan Sekej | Øyvind Gustavsen |
| 2022 | Henrik Hildeskor | Morten Linge | Dag Rune Stangeland |
| 2023[6] | Henrik Hildeskor | Tommy Kåsin | Morten Linge |
| 2024[7] | Håkon Heitmann Kollerød |
Henrik Hildeskor |
Andre Vrålid |
| 2025[8] | Henrik Hildeskor |
Håkon Heitmann Kollerød |
Dag Rune Stangeland |
Repeat champions
| Champion | Times & years |
|---|---|
| Ole Martin Hansen | 4 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) |
| Roy Holte | 3 (2000, 2001, 2002) |
| Svend Karlsen | 3 (2003, 2005, 2006) |
| Henrik Hildeskor |
3 (2022, 2023, 2025) |
| Ole Martin Kristiansen | 3 (2018, 2019, 2020) |
| Arild Haugen | 2 (2002, 2003) |
| Richard Skog | 2 (2009, 2010) |
Regional Competitions
Nordic Strongman Championships
Nordic Strongman Championships consists of athletes from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.[9]
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Svend Karlsen |  Magnus Samuelsson |  Juha-Matti Räsänen |
| 2012[9] | Johannes Årsjö | Lars Rorbakken |  Mikkel Leicht |
| 2013 | Johannes Årsjö | Ole Martin Hansen | Juha-Matti Järvi |
- In 2005, the competition was held under IFSA in Kristiansand, and in 2012 and 2013 in Harstad, Norway under Giants Live.
- From 2014 onwards, the competition was promoted to global level, re-titled as the World's Strongest Viking and was held consecutively for 8 years under Strongman Champions League.
International Competitions
World's Strongest Viking
Norway hosted the winter edition of the World's Strongest Viking competition, with the participation of top athletes of the world.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014[10] |  Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson |
David Nyström |
 Terry Hollands |
| 2015[11] | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson |
 Krzysztof Radzikowski |
 Jean-François Caron |
| 2016[12] | Jean-François Caron |
 Matjaz Belsak |
Krzysztof Radzikowski |
| 2017[13] | Jean-François Caron |
Krzysztof Radzikowski |
 Luke Herrick |
| 2018[14] | Krzysztof Radzikowski |
 Dennis Kohlruss |
Luke Herrick |
| 2019[15] | Krzysztof Radzikowski |
Ole Martin Kristiansen |
Mika Törrö |
| 2020[16] |  Sean O'Hagan |
 Aivars Šmaukstelis |
Mika Törrö |
| 2021[17] | Dainis Zageris |
 Kelvin de Ruiter |
Henrik Hildeskor |
| 2023[18] | Johan Espenkrona |
Eric Dawson |
Øyvind Gustavsen |
Giants Live
Norway was also the venue for a Giants Live Viking Power Challenge competition.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Travis Ortmayer | Richard Skog |  Mikhail Koklyaev |