Magnus Ver Headed to World's Strongest Man?
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2004
Four-time World's Strongest Man (WSM) winner Magnus Ver Magnusson banged out an impressive win at the Iceland's Strongest Man contest this weekend, and appears to be headed toward qualifying for yet another trip to WSM.
Magnus Ver won five of the nine events and finished with 72 points out a maximum possible of 78.
"My knees feel the best they have in years," Magnus Ver told IronMind, explaining that he had started squatting again, and had recently broken the IPF masters Nordic record in April with a lift of 353.5 kg (along with a 275-kg bench press).
Incidentally, don't assume this represents anything less that brute strength, because Magnus Ver pulled 340 kg for a double in the deadlift a couple of weeks before that contest and figured he was good for about 370 if he needed it for the win.
Qualifying for WSM will be based on the combined scores from this contest and the upcoming Iceland's Strongest Viking. Magnus Ver has won the coveted invitation to WSM the last two years, but has let the second-place finisher, Jon Valgeir, go instead.
This year, Magnus Ver says, "I've thought about it and if I feel comfortable about being able to place in the top three, I will go. If my knees were good, I am sure that I could give these guys a run for their money."