Top 5 Worst Injuries In Strongman
A sport not for the feint of heart at times, feats of strength such as dead lifting 500kg does not come without its risks, but fortune favors the bold. Occasionally as with every journey in life you will suffer a setback from time to time, in this sport some are mild, some catastrophic (Atlas stones falling on your rib cage).
The very unlucky who have had such injuries mid competition also had the cameras rolling, however their fortitude of course more defined by their resilience and recovery. A risk we on this journey accept, but take the appropriate steps to minimize including proper supervision and coaching.
This is why we plead to the young and inexperienced – strongman is a journey best learned from the seasoned and experienced.
Here we have some of the worst injuries that have been seen in strongman.
Atlas Stone Drop – Craig Bongelli
A man lucky to still be alive after dropping a 360lbs atlas stone to the central mass of his body during an Oktoberfest strongman competition.
At 22 years old at the time Craig from Canada was tackling the fourth and final stone when he said he blacked out mid lift.
“I felt super uncomfortable, I knew everything was straining to a fairly large degree,” said Bongelli. “But all I was thinking in my head was that I could feel the ledge. And the only thing I was thinking was one more inch.”
Despite this Bongelli finished forth for the atlas stone event and an overall tied third position in the competition and was amazingly not seriously injured.
Eddie Hall – Crushed Genitals During Leg Press
A cringe worthy title to read, Eddie hall reveled to The Mirror –
“I piled a load of heavy weights on a leg-press machine and then heard a loud thud. It had come crashing down and the weights had landed on my penis.”
“I nearly bled to death. “It was bad. The worst ever. I didn’t cry for help though. I just lifted them off, drove myself to hospital and got stitched up. I was back training soon enough.”
Other injuries in his time include popping his eyeball out of its socket, dislocating his hip, detaching his bicep and cerebral / cardiovascular trauma after his half tonne lift.
This did not deter him from moving forward to win worlds strongest man in 2017.
Scott Mendelson – Pec Tear During Bench Press
Though not a strongman competitor, Scott is a veteran arm wrestler and power lifter with a specialty in bench press.
After first lifting 645lbs he went to take a shot at the world record of 715lbs
Unfortunately this did not go his way, but not through lack of trying, Mendelson testing the limits of both humanity and the Olympic bar in his hands with an extraordinary 6 plates loaded each side, successfully dipped the weight to his chest, taking the strain, unfortunately when pushing to re rack what would have been the world record, his left pectoral muscle detached causing an urgent trip to the ER, luckily he had spotters to prevent the bar from crushing his chest.
Joe Sullivan – Squat Barbell Near Miss
Joe Sullivan – a world record holder for his weight class who once squatted 822.3lbs in 2020.
Joe quoted – “That was still warmup weight and I was like wtf, why is this so heavy? As I started pushing the weight up the bar started bending as my knees were extending. So like there was a moment when my body was going up but the weight was going down. That was like the worlds worst feeling I’ve ever had on my back. It was so overwhelming and so much pressure. It was literally the closest I’ve ever felt to dying under the weight. I didn’t think of fear at that moment, like looking back yeah I was scared I guess. It was literally just like you stand up or you die and once I stood up I knew I was going to be ok but doing the movement I was like stand up or you are dead. So it was just fight or flight, I wasn’t really thinking about anything except doing it.“
Sullivan was rather lucky to survive this rather bad ass encounter uninjured. One thing is certain, the bar was not rated to the weights he was lifting.
Ensure if you have graduated to hitting big numbers that your bar is capable and well made.
Terry Hollands – Career Ending Bicep Tear
A man who needs no introductions on this list, Terry Hollands age 42 who last competed in 2021 Worlds Strongest Man announced retirement after two events in the competition. In the deadlift event tragically suffered a total long head detatchment of his bicep during the loading medley event.
With a long road of recovery ahead of him in his injury we wish him all the best. He defined an era as one Britain’s best strength athletes in the history of the sport. Holland has retired from strongman, focusing on bodybuilding in recent years.
The amount of functional strength required to succeed in the sport of strongman takes its toll over the years. Strongman is known for its non traditional lifts and challenges such as pulling planes and trucks.
However Terry has quoted in his video regarding his injury and retirement
“Inspiring people is better than any trophy”
