Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of December each year.

[2] Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx,[3] Commerce Hotel and Casino,[4][5] DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.

Three of the champions, Bill Kazmaier, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Brian Shaw, have been inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

[10][11] The concept behind "The World's Strongest Men", as it was originally named, was developed in 1977 for CBS by Langstar Inc. David Webster, a Scot who later received an OBE for his services to sport, was the head coordinator of the competition from its inception.

Two-time winner Bruce Wilhelm (USA) retired and was succeeded by Don Reinhoudt in 1979, a 162 kg (357 lb) heavyweight powerlifter of the US.

[13] In 1979, newcomer and legendary powerlifter Bill Kazmaier (USA) made his appearance, coming in 3rd after leading much of the competition.

Sigmarsson won the event, and the much larger Wilson finished way down the field, meaning Jon Pall became the first man to claim four titles.

In 1995, Edmunds and Webster, along with representatives from the competitors including Jamie Reeves, Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert formed a governing body called the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA").

Previously, in 2001, the IFSA in its former guise had entered an agreement with World Class Events (WCE), headed by Ulf Bengtsson, to run the Super Series.

In recent years, the competition has been broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, TSN, Televisa Deportes and Five, and currently CBS Sports Network in the US.

This has led some critics to say that contests such as the Arnold Strongman Classic or Fortissimus are the true strongest man competitions.

However, it is routinely described as "the Worlds" by top strongman competitors[16] and despite the critics, it is the leading brand name in the field.

Conversely, in 1993, Welshman Gary Taylor became the shortest man to ever win the contest at just 6 feet tall, defeating Magnús and Riku Kiri of Finland.

He retained his title the following year, with South African Gerrit Badenhorst and Finland's Marko Varalahti completing the podium.

In 1996, Magnús made it to three titles in a row, with his closest competitor Kiri pulling out of the final event due to injury, but still finishing in second.

The relatively small 125 kg (275 lb) but dynamic Jouko Ahola from Finland won two titles in three years during this period, 1997 and 1999.

Pudzianowski's first title was in 2002, as the era of Scandinavian dominance came to an end, with Lithuanian Žydrūnas Savickas and Latvian Raimonds Bergmanis completing the podium.

He would win the contest with an event to spare ahead of runner up Jesse Marunde, who with 3rd place Dominic Filiou became the first non-Europeans to reach the podium of WSM since O.D.

Pudzianowski and Poundstone then battled for the title of World's Strongest Man in the last event, the Atlas Stones.

Žydrūnas Savickas repeated his victory in 2010, winning by countback[20] against Brian Shaw in the closest finish in WSM history.

This opened the door for Savickas to capture his third WSM title, with fellow Lithuanian Vytautas Lalas coming in second and the Icelandic giant Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson finishing third.

Hall also set a new strongman deadlift world record with a regular bar at 472.5 kg (1,042 lb) performed with just straps.

[24][25] The contest was won by Martins Licis of the United States who defeated defending champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson of Iceland.

[29] The 2020 contest was to be held on Anna Maria Island from 11 to 15 November, with no physical spectators allowed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The contest was won by Oleksii Novikov, who set a new partial deadlift record of 537.5 kg (1,185 lbs) during the finals.

[36] Defending champion Novikov failed to advance from his qualifying heat, after finishing 4th in a tightly fought group which saw just one point separating 1st and 4th position.

Mitchell Hooper continued his rapid rise after his debut the previous year and secured 1st Place with 4 events wins in the Final.

[42][43] For a complete timeline, see the official WSM site:[44] Initially, eight men representing various sports and strength disciplines were invited to compete against each other in unique events designed to test each individual to the fullest extent.

They each have twenty seconds to do this, and once one cannot complete the drop, he is eliminated and the next highest scoring competitor entering the event takes his turn.

Australia, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Samoa, Serbia, Slovenia and Mexico as of 2024 have all placed in the Top 10 but have not yet won a medal.