When you're born and raised near the Arctic Circle, it's propably to natural feel at home on top of the world. Now going into his eighth year as a professional, strenght athletics great Magnus Ver Magnusson is still enjoying life from his native vantage point - with just about everyone else looking up to him.
Although he didn't capture the World's Strongest Man in 1997, the four-time winner of the event has seemed destined for success in strenght athletics since taking his initial WSM championship in the Canary Islands in 1991. Since then, the 6-foot-3 inch, 290 pound force has taken home the crown in '94, '95 and '96. He finished second in '92 and '93, and will compete in this year's event with hopes of recapturing the title.
To read Magnusson's credentials, one might think of him as a modern version of Hercules. As a young man growing up in Seydisfjordur, a small town with a population of close to 1.000 on the east coast of Iceland, Magnusson had both mythical and historic warriors on his mind from an early age. He would dream of becoming like the Vikings of old, or perhaps more like a hero of a different sort.
"The Viking stories did influence me a lot, but I was always fascinated by the legendary hero Thor. I wanted to become a hero-like character too, so you could say I always wanted to be different," Magnusson said.
For Magnusson, different has often come in the form of better. Since he first picked up weightlifting as a 17-year-old, Magnus has excelled on every level. He started out with wins in two local powerlifting contests in '84, then entered his first strongman competition the following year. Magnusson finished third in the '85 Iceland's Strongest Man competition, falling to the great Jon Pall Sigmarsson. Magnus went on to take titles in several European powerlifting competitions before devoting his time solely to strenght athletics in '91.
"Prior to '91, I was doing very well in both powerlifting and strongman meets. After I won my first World's Stongest Man title, I just had no more for powerlifting," Magnus said. "Overnight I was famous in Europe, which never happened through powerlifting. The opportunity to make good money came up, so I decided to focus on being a professional strongman instead of an amateur powerlifter."
Now that his name is synonymous with strenght athletics, has the "Superhero" title he dreamt of as a young man actually come to reality?
"I think I've come to have somewhat of a Superhero appeal," he said laughingly. "Somebody's mentioned I'm a legend in the sport, but that only comes because I've been in it for a long time. And I'm still doing it well."
Magnus, who will celebrate his 35th birthday in April, loves the adulation that comes with success, but he admits being one of the sport's top athlete has its downside.
"I don't really have any time to train. I'm always out on business, traveling, or doing appearances and competitions all over," Magnus said. "Nowadays I really don't have a set time to go to the gym and build up for one meet. I still compete actively, but it's different to try and stay on top vecause I'm often doing something else besides working in the gym.
It can be a disadvantage to be so busy", Magnus added, "but I also get a lot of positive experiences from it, which helps even it out a bit."
Magnus said his ideal regimen would be to train five days a week, with a three hour session each day. When he is able to find the time to train for the various meets, Magnusson uses several different excercise styles to get himself in top condition.
"I like to do all sorts of things to train," Magnusson said. "I use some things from powerlifting, but I also borrow from Olympic lifting, and body building. Even a few exercises from track and field play a part for me.
In this sport, you have to be an all-around athlete. You have to be more than just strong. You must to be able to move, have some endurance and still be explosive as well. It's hard to combine all of that into a standard training program."
Such cross-training came early to Magnus. He has always enjoyed the rigorous physical demands associated with sports. Even at a young age, he could be found doing some sort of athletic activity with other children. But while many of his peers took part in team sports through organized league play, Magnus quickly grew tired of team games because they lacked the challenge he was searching for.
He knew there was only one place he could find his best competition - in the mirror.
"To battle agains yourself, that's the biggest challenge for me," Magnusson said. "I guess that's why I never got into soccer or other games like that."
In strongman events, the fight to stay on top isn't easy. Without losing pride, Magnusson is the first to admit he isn't what he used to be.
"I've lost a bit of that hunger to be No. 1," he conceded, "I do feel like it's coming back, though."
Win or lose, strenght athletics are still fun for Magnusson, who enjoys not only the athletic appeal of the sport but being around other athletes as well.
"I really enjoy the camaraderie between the guys," Magnusson said. "We're all friends, so we like to hang out and do things together."
While the companionship of fellow athletes is appreciated, Magnusson says that being away from home is one of the hardest aspects of the sport. He and his fiancée Asta are raising two daughters in their Iceland home. The couple is planning to have another child, their first together, in the near future.
"Asta and the girls are my family, and they really support me," Magnusson said. "I's hard when you're on the road. That can make things very hard, but Asta is very good to me, Asta is the greatest woman in the world."
As with anything popular in modern society, strenght athletics, which got its start in the rural farmlands of Europe, has taken a turn into the modern world. Money, endorsments and television rights now influence the way events are managed. As business interests in the strongman cometitions increase, Magnusson feels that a price is paid on the once simple purity of the sport.
"I don't like the commercialization of it, but I suppose that goes with the popularity." Magnusson said.
Like any athlete, Magnusson knows that his days as a world competitor are limited. In preparation for the day he sais goodbye to strenght athletics, Magnus has started to look into new avenues where he might apply his talents. Already popular with endorsment contracts, Magnus would lov to follow in the footsteps of some other European men known for their strenght and athletic ability: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme, for instance.
"I've been in this sport for so long that I'm starting to look for something else, som new opportunities and challenges," Magnus said. "Films are something I would love to try out. You can't go on forever doing this kind of work, and I think there might be a place for me in the movies."
While Hollywood might end up in his future, Mangusson says if he could redo tha past he might have made a name for himself in another sport where strenght and speed are key to success: the gridiron.
"One of the biggest things I'm dissapointed about is that we don't have American football over here," Magnus said. "That's something I'd have loved to have tried; I was quite fast on my feet, you know."
Magnusson said he once ran the 100 meters in 11 seconds, quite for a man close to 300 pounds. And even though American football is far from an individual sport, Magnus says in his younger days he could envision himself chasing down the likes of NFL greats like John Elway or Steve Young.
"Oh, yes. I would probably be the one who goes after the quarterback, but I guess I'm getting too old for that now," he said.
Fortunately for strongman fans - and maybe for a few NFL quarterbacks - Magnusson has madi his mark in the world of strength athletics. His next challenge: this year's World's Strongest Man Competiton.
"I'd really like to win one more WSM Championship. To have five wins, that would be great," Magnus said.
While a fifth title would be a major achievement for Magnusson, at this lata point in his carreer one more win will do little to change Magnus' standings as one of greatest competitors in sthrenght athletics history. Just as he'd hoped to become at a young age, Magnusson is now truly a legend. Whatever arena his future challenges might place him in - in films, the football field, or even as a family man - it would be wise to look for Magnus Ver Magnusson in his customary position.
Because these days more than ever, he's quite comfortable at the top.
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