# Strength athletics in the United States

Strength athletics in the United States refers to the various strongman competitions organized throughout United States and North America with the elements of all of strength athletics taken into account. United States has held a preeminent position as a nation due to the enormous success of its competitors on the international stage, who between them have won twelve World's Strongest Man titles and numerous other international strongman competitions. United States has both amateur and a professional sanctioning bodies.

## Pro/Amateur organizations

American Strongman Corporation ("ASC") is the sole sanctioning body for all professional American strength athletes and organizes the annual America's Strongest Man contest, as well as the NAS US Amateur National Championships, the winner of which receives their pro card to compete in professional contests. North American Strongman ("NASM") organizes the majority of the amateur contests in the United States, and holds pro qualifier events and national championship events throughout the year with men's, woman's, teen's and master's divisions as well as lightweight and heavyweight classes similar to ASC.
United States Strongman is a relatively new organization.

## America's Strongest Man

America's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition held in the United States and featuring only American athletes. It is the most prestigious of the national titles. The contest was established in 1997 in Primm, Nevada, with Mark Philippi winning the inaugural contest. It has been held twenty-six times in eighteen locations across the United States and has produced twenty champions.
Derek Poundstone holds the record for the highest number of wins with three, while Brian Shaw, Dimitar Savatinov, Steve Kirit and Brian Schoonveld share two wins each.

### Champions breakdown

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 1997 | Mark Phillipi | Harold Collins | Tommy Ingalsbe | Primm, Nevada |
| 1998 | Karl Gillingham | Doug Ahr | Harold Collins Odd Haugen | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 1999 | Brian Neese | Ken Brown | Odd Haugen | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 2000 | Brian Schoonveld | Phil Pfister | Whit Baskin | Maryland Heights, Missouri |
| 2001 | Brian Schoonveld | Phil Pfister | Johnny Perry | Kokomo, Indiana |
| 2002 | Steve Kirit | Johnny Perry | Karl Gillingham | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 2003 | Steve Kirit | Phil Pfister | Mark Phillipi | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 2004 | Van Hatfield | Phil Pfister | Karl Gillingham | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2005 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2006 | Steve MacDonald | Jon Andersen | Travis Ortmayer | Columbia, South Carolina |
| 2007 | Derek Poundstone | Nick Best | Van Hatfield | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 2008 | Jason Kristal | Jason Bergmann | Van Hatfield | Charleston, West Virginia |
| 2009 | Derek Poundstone | Travis Ortmayer | Andy Vincent | Morgantown, West Virginia |
| 2010 | Derek Poundstone | Mike Jenkins | Marshall White | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2011 | Travis Ortmayer | Dave Ostlund | Mike Burke | Hot Springs, Arkansas |
| 2012 | Mike Burke | Mike Caruso | Robert Oberst | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2013 | Brian Shaw | Robert Oberst | Dimitar Savatinov | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2014 | Dimitar Savatinov | Robert Oberst | John Posen | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2015 | Dimitar Savatinov | Martins Licis | Scott Weech | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2016 | Brian Shaw | Casey Garrison | Dimitar Savatinov | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 2017 | Jerry Pritchett | Dimitar Savatinov | Wesley Claborn | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2018 | Trey Mitchell | Jacob Fincher | Wesley Claborn | Long Beach, California |
| 2019 | Wesley Claborn | Trey Mitchell | Josh Reynolds | Miami Beach, Florida |
| 2020 | Marcus Crowder | Tyler Cotton | Jose Baez | Savannah, Georgia |
| 2021 | Josh Silvas | Tyler Cotton | Marcus Crowder | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2022 | Bobby Thompson | Tyler Cotton | Trey Mitchell | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2023 | Lucas Hatton | Marcus Crowder | Rob Kearney | Orlando, Florida |
| 2024 | Lucas Hatton | Tim Buck | Kevin Faires | Las Vegas, Nevada |

### Repeat champions

| Champion | Times & years |
| Derek Poundstone | 3 (2007, 2009, 2010) |
| Brian Schoonveld | 2 (2000, 2001) |
| Steve Kirit | 2 (2002, 2003) |
| Brian Shaw | 2 (2013, 2016) |
| Dimitar Savatinov | 2 (2014, 2015) |
| Lucas Hatton | 2 (2023, 2024) |

#### America's Strongest Woman

America's Strongest Woman was initiated in 2021 and features both American and foreign athletes residing and training in the United States. 18 athletes have participated in the competition over the past four years.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 2021 | Victoria Long | Cori Butler | Britta Maggard | Orlando, Florida |
| 2022 | Victoria Long | Olga Liashchuk | Inez Carrasquillo | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2023 | Angelica Jardine | Olga Liashchuk | Cori Butler | Orlando, Florida |
| 2024 | Olga Liashchuk | Nadia Stowers | Erin Murray | Las Vegas, Nevada |

## North America's Strongest Man

North America's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition consisting of athletes from both United States and Canada. The event was established in 1992 with Gary Mitchell of the United States winning the inaugural competition.
Despite the three hiatus periods (1994-1997, 2004-2006 and 2015-2022), the competition has been held seventeen times. Canada has produced five champions who shared ten titles among them while United States has produced seven champions with a title each for a total of seven.
The contest has been always held in Quebec.

### Champions breakdown

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 1992 | Gary Mitchell | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1993 | Steve Pulcinella | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1994–1997 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1998 | David Brown | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1999 | Steve Dmytrow | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2001 | Hugo Girard | Geoff Dolan | Phil Pfister | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2002 | Hugo Girard | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2003 | Jon Andersen | Chad Coy | Walt Gogola | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2004–2006 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2007 | Jessen Paulin | Brian Shaw | Christian Savoie | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2008 | Jessen Paulin | Christian Savoie | Pete Konradt | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2009 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Josh Thigpen | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2010 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Scott Cummine | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2011 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Karl Gillingham | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2012 | Jean-François Caron | Dave Ostlund | Jackie Ouellett | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2013 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Dave Ostlund | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2014 | Brian Shaw | Jean-François Caron | Simon Boudreau | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2015–2022 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2023 | Trey Mitchell | Lucas Hatton | Wesley Derwinsky | Victoriaville, Quebec |
| 2024 | Maxime Boudreault | Lucas Hatton | Tristain Hoath | Victoriaville, Quebec |
* Results courtesy of David Horne's World of Grip: http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/strongmanresults.html

### Repeat champions

| Champion | Times & years |
| Christian Savoie | 3 (2009, 2010, 2011) |
| Hugo Girard | 2 (2001, 2002) |
| Jessen Paulin | 2 (2007, 2008) |
| Jean-François Caron | 2 (2012, 2013) |

## NAS US Amateur Strongman Championships

The Amateur US Nationals were created in 1997 and are held annually in various locations throughout the United States, with the winner of each weight class earning their pro card to compete professionally. Traditionally, the winner of the men's heavyweight class will go on to compete in major national and international strongman contests such as the World's Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic.

### Men's Heavyweight Champions

| Year | Winner | Venue |
| 2004 | Travis Ortmayer | Indiana, Pennsylvania |
| 2005 | Tom McClure | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 2009 | Justin Warren | Carencro, Louisiana |
| 2010 | Eric Peterson | Reno, Nevada |
| 2011 | Adam Scherr | Tunica, Mississippi |