Beauty and the Beast (strongman competition)
Encyclopedia
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge, also known as the Beauty and The Beast World Strongman Challenge was a short-lived annual strongman competition that was notable for the calibre of the entrants it attracted, as well as for the reputation it attained in a short amount of time, being referred to as probably the most noteworthy contests of the western hemisphere.
. In its first year it was dominated by the USA, with the winner being Mark Philippi
, a successful athlete in other major tournaments such as World Muscle Power Classic
.
By 1999 the promoter and competitor, Odd Haugen had enticed many more international competitors including 1998 World's Strongest Man
winner Magnus Samuelsson
and 1997 World's Strongest Man winner Jouko Ahola
. The previous year had been the final year of the original format World Strongman Challenge
, and so Haugen appended this prestigious events title to the end of Beauty and The Beast, thus conituing the tradition of one of strength athletics more enduring brands. Ahola tested some of the events for Haugen and gave his approval by stating "This is like a Finnish competition, heavy. I like that." With such pedigree the competition did draw on June 5 and 6, the top American competitors, as well as some of the biggest names on the international strongman circuit. It was called the "24 Hour Fitness" "Beauty & the Beast" strongman competition and featured on ESPN
's "American Muscle Magazine". The IFSA
combined an IFSA Grand Prix and the IFSA American Championships into this event. The promoter, Odd Haugen, placed third in the IFSA American Championships section of the competition, although no USA athlete made the Grand Prix podium.
2000 again attracted international strongmen who again dominated the standings, with Janne Virtanen
winning the event. These championships were also notable for introducing the Rolling Thunder World Championships, seen as the event that determines the athlete with the greatest grip strength on the planet. In 2000 this was a kickoff event in a Honolulu sports bar the night before the strongman competition began. Those that entered included the four-time World's Strongest Man winner Magnus Ver Magnusson
.
The 2001 edition of Beauty and the Beast was held on June 2 and was a one-day, eight-event contest. The podium saw three eventual winners of the World's Strongest Man
title with Magnus Samuelsson
, Phil Pfister
and Svend Karlsen
finishing first, second and third respectively. By now Odd Haugen was credited with having done an incredible job of organizing one of the great contests on the strongman circuit making this a preview for the World's Strongest man.
The 2002 edition of the Beauty and Beast was scheduled for June 8, featuring defending World's Strongest Man winner Svend Karlsen, along with other top competitors including Janne Virtanen
, Hugo Girard
, Martin Muhr
, Wout Zijlstra
, Phil Pfister
, Karl Gillingham
, Brian Schoonveld
, the late Jesse Marunde
, and Grant Higa. The IFSA World Strongman Super Series was being heavily promoted in 2002 and Beauty and the Beast formed part of that. In the end, it became the Grand Prix Final held on January 17 2003, finishing off the 2002 season. The very next day, a second Hawaii Grand Prix, again deemed Beauty and the Beast, was held as the opner for the 2003 IFSA World Strongman Super Series. Some deemed this a little farcical. This turned out to be the last holding of the event. Like the World Muscle Power Classic
, once the Beauty and the Beast became entangled with the Super Series, it lost its stand alone gravitas and quickly fell from favour. In the tentative schedule for the 2004/05 Super Series there was to have been a November Hawaii Grand Prix, but that season was foreshortened and this did not take place.
{| class="wikitable"
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Year
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Runner-Up
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|3rd Place
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location
|-
|2003
Hawaii Grand Prix 2003 (held Jan 18 2003)
of 2003 Strongman Super Series
||
Mariusz Pudzianowski
||
Raimonds Bergmanis
||
Zydrunas Savickas
||
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Honolulu, Hawaii
|-
|2002
Hawaii Grand Prix Final (held Jan 17 2003)
of 2002 Strongman Super Series
(24-Hour Fitness Grand Prix Final)||
Hugo Girard
|| Zydrunas Savickas
|| Mariusz Pudzianowski
|| Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Honolulu, Hawaii
|-
|2001 ||
Magnus Samuelsson
|| Phil Pfister
||
Svend Karlsen
|| Honolulu, Hawaii
|-
|2000 ||
Janne Virtanen
||
Heinz Ollesch
|| Svend Karlsen
|| Honolulu, Hawaii
|-
|1999 || Jouko Ahola
|| Magnus Samuelsson
||
Joe Onosai
|| Sea Life Park, Honolulu, Hawaii
|-
|1998 || Mark Philippi
|| Joe Onosai
|| Curtis Leffler|| Honolulu, Hawaii
|}
began with Odd Haugen's Beauty and the Beast contests. The 2000 Rolling Thunder World Championships was a kickoff event in a Honolulu sports bar the night before the strongman competition began. On May 31 2001 the second annual IronMind
Rolling Thunder World Championships were held in conjunction with the Beauty & the Beast strongman competition. Both 2000 and 2001 were won by Jan Bartl. Interestingly, no such championship was held in 2002, with the IFSA shifting the June 2002 date for the contest to January 2003. The world championships were not to be reintroduced until 2008.
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Date
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Weight
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location
|-
|2001 (May 31) ||
Jan Bartl || 258.5 lbNote 2 || 2001 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Contest Honolulu, Hawaii
Note 1 WCh
|-
|2000 (May) || Jan Bartl || 265.4 lb || 2000 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Contest Honolulu, Hawaii
Note 1 WCh
|}
History
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge was organised and promoted by strongman competitor Odd Haugen from 1998. It was initially promoted on the IFSA circuit as the North American open championship and from its inception took place in Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. In its first year it was dominated by the USA, with the winner being Mark Philippi
Mark Philippi
Mark Philippi – is a former leading strongman competitor, multiple entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition, and former holder of the America's Strongest Man title.-Biography:...
, a successful athlete in other major tournaments such as World Muscle Power Classic
World Muscle Power Classic
The World Muscle Power Classic was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running for twenty years and in that time attaining the position of the second most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man...
.
By 1999 the promoter and competitor, Odd Haugen had enticed many more international competitors including 1998 World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
winner Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...
and 1997 World's Strongest Man winner Jouko Ahola
Jouko Ahola
Jouko Ahola is a Finnish strongman and actor. He won the 1997 and 1999 World's Strongest Man, and finished second in 1998. Ahola won the Europe's Strongest Man contest twice in 1998 and 1999, and finished fourth in 1996. Jouko won the World's Strongest Team in 1997 and 1999, and was second in 1998...
. The previous year had been the final year of the original format World Strongman Challenge
World Strongman Challenge
The World Strongman Challenge was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running in various guises for twenty years, with only two years break. In that time it attained the position of one of the most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man and...
, and so Haugen appended this prestigious events title to the end of Beauty and The Beast, thus conituing the tradition of one of strength athletics more enduring brands. Ahola tested some of the events for Haugen and gave his approval by stating "This is like a Finnish competition, heavy. I like that." With such pedigree the competition did draw on June 5 and 6, the top American competitors, as well as some of the biggest names on the international strongman circuit. It was called the "24 Hour Fitness" "Beauty & the Beast" strongman competition and featured on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's "American Muscle Magazine". The IFSA
International Federation of Strength Athletes
The International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition...
combined an IFSA Grand Prix and the IFSA American Championships into this event. The promoter, Odd Haugen, placed third in the IFSA American Championships section of the competition, although no USA athlete made the Grand Prix podium.
2000 again attracted international strongmen who again dominated the standings, with Janne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen is a strongman from Espoo, Finland. Janne earns his living as a carpenter in Finland....
winning the event. These championships were also notable for introducing the Rolling Thunder World Championships, seen as the event that determines the athlete with the greatest grip strength on the planet. In 2000 this was a kickoff event in a Honolulu sports bar the night before the strongman competition began. Those that entered included the four-time World's Strongest Man winner Magnus Ver Magnusson
Magnús Ver Magnússon
Magnús Ver Magnússon is a former powerlifter and strongman competitor from Egilsstaðir, Iceland. Magnus won the title of World's Strongest Man four times ....
.
The 2001 edition of Beauty and the Beast was held on June 2 and was a one-day, eight-event contest. The podium saw three eventual winners of the World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
title with Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...
, Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...
and Svend Karlsen
Svend Karlsen
Svend Karlsen is a former Norwegian strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder.-Powerlifting/Bodybuilding:...
finishing first, second and third respectively. By now Odd Haugen was credited with having done an incredible job of organizing one of the great contests on the strongman circuit making this a preview for the World's Strongest man.
The 2002 edition of the Beauty and Beast was scheduled for June 8, featuring defending World's Strongest Man winner Svend Karlsen, along with other top competitors including Janne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen is a strongman from Espoo, Finland. Janne earns his living as a carpenter in Finland....
, Hugo Girard
Hugo Girard
Hugo Girard is a Canadian strongman. Girard is a Strongman Super Series world Champion, a four-time World Muscle Power champion and a six-time Canada's Strongest Man.-Strength career:Prior to his career as a strongman competitor, Girard worked as a bouncer in a popular Quebec City...
, Martin Muhr
Martin Muhr
Martin Muhr is a strongman from Germany. He participated in the World's Strongest Man finals of 2000 and 2001.- Biography :...
, Wout Zijlstra
Wout Zijlstra
Wout Zijlstra is a former strongman and Highland Games athlete from the Netherlands. He competed in the World's Strongest Man competition on two occasions.- Biography :...
, Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...
, Karl Gillingham
Karl Gillingham
Karl Gillingham is a Professional Strongman and powerlifter from Minnesota.-Strongman career:...
, Brian Schoonveld
Brian Schoonveld
Brian Schoonveld is a Strongman competitor from Valporaiso, Indiana. Brian is best known as a 2 time winner of America's Strongest Man in 2000 & 2001...
, the late Jesse Marunde
Jesse Marunde
Jesse Marunde was an American strongman athlete who placed second in the 2005 World's Strongest Man competition....
, and Grant Higa. The IFSA World Strongman Super Series was being heavily promoted in 2002 and Beauty and the Beast formed part of that. In the end, it became the Grand Prix Final held on January 17 2003, finishing off the 2002 season. The very next day, a second Hawaii Grand Prix, again deemed Beauty and the Beast, was held as the opner for the 2003 IFSA World Strongman Super Series. Some deemed this a little farcical. This turned out to be the last holding of the event. Like the World Muscle Power Classic
World Muscle Power Classic
The World Muscle Power Classic was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running for twenty years and in that time attaining the position of the second most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man...
, once the Beauty and the Beast became entangled with the Super Series, it lost its stand alone gravitas and quickly fell from favour. In the tentative schedule for the 2004/05 Super Series there was to have been a November Hawaii Grand Prix, but that season was foreshortened and this did not take place.
The Beauty
The Beauty and the Beast was so-called because there were in fact two events running. The strongman equated to the Beast. The beauty was initially a bikini fitness challenge. In 2001 this was replaced by the first ever Women's Strength & Fitness Challenge.Results
{| border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 91%;"{| class="wikitable"
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Year
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Runner-Up
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|3rd Place
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location
|-
|2003
Hawaii Grand Prix 2003 (held Jan 18 2003)
of 2003 Strongman Super Series
Strongman Super Series
The Strongman Super Series, known from 2005 to 2008 as the World's Strongest Man Super Series and reverting in 2009 to the World Strongman Super Series, is a sequence of grand prix events in the sport of strength athletics...
||
Mariusz PudzianowskiMariusz Pudzianowski
Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is a Polish former strongman and current mixed martial artist...
||
Raimonds BergmanisRaimonds Bergmanis
Raimonds Bergmanis is a fomer Olympic weightlifting champion and retired strongman competitor from Latvia....
||
Zydrunas SavickasŽydrunas Savickas
Žydrūnas Savickas is a professional strongman and is widely considered one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of the sport...
||
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|-
|2002
Hawaii Grand Prix Final (held Jan 17 2003)
of 2002 Strongman Super Series
Strongman Super Series
The Strongman Super Series, known from 2005 to 2008 as the World's Strongest Man Super Series and reverting in 2009 to the World Strongman Super Series, is a sequence of grand prix events in the sport of strength athletics...
(24-Hour Fitness Grand Prix Final)||
Hugo GirardHugo Girard
Hugo Girard is a Canadian strongman. Girard is a Strongman Super Series world Champion, a four-time World Muscle Power champion and a six-time Canada's Strongest Man.-Strength career:Prior to his career as a strongman competitor, Girard worked as a bouncer in a popular Quebec City...
||
Zydrunas SavickasŽydrunas Savickas
Žydrūnas Savickas is a professional strongman and is widely considered one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of the sport...
||
Mariusz PudzianowskiMariusz Pudzianowski
Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is a Polish former strongman and current mixed martial artist...
||
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|-
|2001 ||
Magnus SamuelssonMagnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...
||
Phil PfisterPhil Pfister
Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...
||
Svend KarlsenSvend Karlsen
Svend Karlsen is a former Norwegian strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder.-Powerlifting/Bodybuilding:...
||
Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|-
|2000 ||
Janne VirtanenJanne Virtanen
Janne Virtanen is a strongman from Espoo, Finland. Janne earns his living as a carpenter in Finland....
||
Heinz OlleschHeinz Ollesch
Heinz Ollesch is a strongman from Germany. He won Germany's Strongest Man 12 times, and he participated in the World's Strongest Man Finals in 1995 and 1997.- Biography :...
||
Svend KarlsenSvend Karlsen
Svend Karlsen is a former Norwegian strongman, powerlifter, and IFBB professional bodybuilder.-Powerlifting/Bodybuilding:...
||
Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|-
|1999 ||
Jouko AholaJouko Ahola
Jouko Ahola is a Finnish strongman and actor. He won the 1997 and 1999 World's Strongest Man, and finished second in 1998. Ahola won the Europe's Strongest Man contest twice in 1998 and 1999, and finished fourth in 1996. Jouko won the World's Strongest Team in 1997 and 1999, and was second in 1998...
||
Magnus SamuelssonMagnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson , is a Swedish strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco...
||
Joe OnosaiJoe Onosai
Joe Onosai is a former strongman competitor and Professional football player. Onosai is a Samoan tribal prince and a former member of the Dallas Cowboys. During his time with the Dallas Cowboys, Joe badly injured his neck and was paralyzed from the waist up...
||
Sea Life Park, Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|-
|1998 ||
Mark PhilippiMark Philippi
Mark Philippi – is a former leading strongman competitor, multiple entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition, and former holder of the America's Strongest Man title.-Biography:...
||
Joe OnosaiJoe Onosai
Joe Onosai is a former strongman competitor and Professional football player. Onosai is a Samoan tribal prince and a former member of the Dallas Cowboys. During his time with the Dallas Cowboys, Joe badly injured his neck and was paralyzed from the waist up...
||
Curtis Leffler|| Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|}
Rolling Thunder
The association between Strongman contests and the Rolling Thunder grip contests, as seen at Mohegan Sun Grand Prix events and FortissimusFortissimus
The Fortissimus is a well recognised event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" and is a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth"...
began with Odd Haugen's Beauty and the Beast contests. The 2000 Rolling Thunder World Championships was a kickoff event in a Honolulu sports bar the night before the strongman competition began. On May 31 2001 the second annual IronMind
IronMind
IronMind Enterprises, Inc. is a niche market business based in Nevada City, California, that specializes in “tools of the trade for serious strength athletes.” Though many of its products include strength-training equipment and accessories, IronMind also publishes books, DVDs and the quarterly...
Rolling Thunder World Championships were held in conjunction with the Beauty & the Beast strongman competition. Both 2000 and 2001 were won by Jan Bartl. Interestingly, no such championship was held in 2002, with the IFSA shifting the June 2002 date for the contest to January 2003. The world championships were not to be reintroduced until 2008.
Men's Rolling Thunder World Championships at Beauty and the Beast
{| class="wikitable"!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Date
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Champion
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Weight
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location
|-
|2001 (May 31) ||
Jan Bartl || 258.5 lbNote 2 || 2001 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Contest Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
Note 1 WCh
|-
|2000 (May) ||
Jan Bartl || 265.4 lb || 2000 Beauty and the Beast Strongman Contest Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
Note 1 WCh
|}