South Africa's Strongest Man
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Africa |
| Established | 1989 |
| Format | South Africa's Strongest Man |
| Current champion | |
| Kelin Mills (2025) | |
South Africa's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition held in South Africa and features primarily South African strength athletes.[1] It has been held since 1989. Gerrit Badenhorst and Ettiene Smit holds the record for the most titles with 8 wins each.[1]
South Africa has also been the venue for Africa's Strongest Man competition which is the continents largest strongman competition. It has been held since 2015.
National competitions
South Africa's Strongest Man
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | 3rd place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Wayne Price | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1990 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Wayne Price | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1991 | Wayne Price | Gerrit Badenhorst | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1992 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Wayne Price | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1993 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Wayne Price | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1994 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Anton Boucher | Wayne Price | |
| 1995 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Wayne Price | Anton Boucher | |
| 1996 | Event not held | |||
| 1997 | Johan Rheeder | Gerrit Badenhorst | Pieter de Bruyn | |
| 1998 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Pieter de Bruyn | Johan Rheeder | |
| 1999–2000 | Event not held | |||
| 2001 | Gerrit Badenhorst | Pieter de Bruyn | Ettiene Smit | |
| 2002 | Johan Ver Heerden | Ettiene Smit | David Cooks | |
| 2003 | David Cooks | Ettiene Smit | Gerhard Botha | |
| 2004 | Ettiene Smit | David Cooks | Arno Lambrechts | |
| 2005 | Ettiene Smit | David Cooks | Arno Lambrechts | |
| 2006 | Ettiene Smit | Rory Scheepers | Hennie Jordaan | |
| 2007 | Ettiene Smit | Hennie Jordaan | Rory Scheepers | |
| 2008 | Ettiene Smit | Hennie Jordaan | Rory Scheepers | |
| 2009 | Ettiene Smit | Hennie Jordaan | Rory Scheepers | |
| 2010 | Frankie Scheun | Gerhard van Staden | Willem Moore | |
| 2011[2] | Gerhard van Staden | Ettiene Smit | Hennie Jordaan | |
| 2012[3] | Tristen O'Brien | Andre Sweeney | Ettiene Smit | |
| 2013 | Event not held | |||
| 2014 | Ettiene Smit | Sholto Luiters | Kelin Mills | |
| 2015 | Frankie Scheun | Tristen O'Brien | Theron Kleinhans | |
| 2016 | Ettiene Smit | Dean Shelley | Andre Sweeney | |
| 2017 | Johan Rudd | Stefan Smit | Tristen O'Brien | |
| 2018 | Kelin Mills | Dean Shelley | Chris van der Linde | |
| 2019 | Kelin Mills | Ryan Preston | Dean Shelley | |
| 2020–2021 | Event not held | |||
| 2022 | Jaco Schoonwinkel | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 2023 | Rayno Nel | Chris van der Linde | Dean Shelley | |
| 2024 | Rayno Nel | Jacque De Jager | Jacques Boshoff | |
| 2025 | Kelin Mills | Dean Shelley | Armand Goosen | |
Regional competitions
Africa's Strongest Man
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Gerhard van Staden | Andre Sweeney | Johan Rudd |
| 2016 | Johan Els | Mark Felix | Frankie Scheun |
| 2017 | Dean Shelley | Andre Sweeney | Sven Reimers |
| 2018 | Johan Els | Johan Rudd | Dean Shelley |
| 2019 | Chris van der Linde | Tristen O'Brien | Kelin Mills |
| 2020 | Dean Shelley | Chris van der Linde | Tristen O'Brien |
| 2021 | Thobelani Mabaso | Jaco Schoonwinkel | Ben Bucarizza |
| 2022 | Kelin Mills | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) |
| 2023 | Rayno Nel | Dean Shelley | Chris van der Linde |
| 2024[4] | Rayno Nel | Jacque de Jager | Jacques Boshoff |
| 2025 | Jaco Schoonwinkel | Evans Aryee | Dean Shelley |
References
- ^ a b David Horne's World of Grip
- ^ Gerhard Van Staden (Strongman/Lionheart) – 2011 South African Stronges | Strongman
- ^ 2012 South Africa’s Strongest Man – Tristen O’Brien | Strongman
- ^ "Strongman Archives - Contests". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 2025-05-24.