Mark Higgins (athlete)
Encyclopedia
Mark Higgins (born on May 16, 1963) was one of the world's leading strongman
Strongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
competitors, having won the 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...
on two occasions, and was the British Muscle Power Champion on four occasions. Previously, he was an international discus thrower and had been a sailor and basketball player at a high level.
Sporting career
Mark was renowned as a great all-rounder. Mark Higgins threw the discusDiscus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
internationally for Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. His best performance was a creditable 50.80m in a meet in Solihull on 13 Aug 1990, although this placed him well down the all-time British list. In addition to this, he was an international basketball player, a champion powerlifter and was also selected to travel with the British sailing team to Australia for the America’s Cup.
Standing at 6’9”, and weighing 364 pounds, Mark Higgins was the biggest international strongman produced by Britain. His competitive era ran concurrently with that of Jamie Reeves
Jamie Reeves
Jamie Reeves is a former coal miner, strongman and professional wrestler. As a strongman, he won the 1989 World's Strongest Man, was World Muscle Power champion, and also had numerous other titles including Europe's Strongest Man and Britain's Strongest Man...
. Thus, despite attaining a career high of winning back-to-back 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...
titles in 1989 and 1990, he was still considered Britain's number two man, Jamie Reeves being the winner 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...
. Together, they were the runners-up in the World's Strongest Team competition of 1988, which he had previously won with Geoff Capes
Geoff Capes
Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a former athlete, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor...
in 1987.
In addition he had podium finishes in the World Muscle Power Championships and was a multiple winner of the highly regarded Le Defi Mark Ten International
Le Defi Mark Ten International
Le Defi Mark Ten International was one of the most prestigious strongman contest in the world in th 1980s and early 1990s. Staged in Quebec, Canada, it was begun as a tribute to Louis Cyr and was notable for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included a number of winners of...
.