Kristján Jón Haraldsson is the winner of the 2022 Iceland’s Strongest Man (ISM). This year’s strongman competition took place on August 6-7, 2022, in Reykjavík, Iceland. According to Strongman Archives, it’s the 24-year-old Haraldsson’s second major victory in Iceland in 2022 after winning the Strongest Man in Iceland contest early in June.
Here are the final standings from the 2022 Iceland’s Strongest Man:
2022 Iceland’s Strongest Man Results
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 36 points
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 33 points
- Páll Logason — 31 points
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — 21 points
- Kristján Páll Árnason — 15 points
- Sigurjón Gudnason — 11 points
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The six-athlete field competed in seven events throughout the two-day strength competition. They were the Truck Pull, Max Deadlift, Front Hold, Weight Toss, Super Yoke, Overhead Press, and the Natural Stones in successive order. Haraldsson had a dominant performance, winning four of the seven events, edging defending champion Stefán Karel Torfason by a three-point margin.
2022 Iceland’s Strongest Man Event Rundown
Here’s an overview of the 2022 ISM’s schedule and the path Haraldsson took to his title, per Strongman Archives.
Day One — Saturday, August 6, 2022
Truck Pull
At the time of this writing, the weight of the truck the athletes pulled is undisclosed. Nonetheless, the competitor who could pull it the farthest distance won the event.
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 9.28 meters
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 6.7 meters
- Páll Logason — not shown
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — 21 points
- Kristján Páll Árnason — 15 points
- Sigurjón Gudnason — 11 points
Deadlift
The deadlift event in the 2022 ISM had the athletes pull the heaviest possible one-rep max.
- Páll Logason — 370 kilograms (815.7 pounds)
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 360 kilograms (793.6 pounds)
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds)
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — 340 kilograms (749.7 pounds)
- Kristján Páll Árnason — 320 kilograms (705.5 pounds)
- Sigurjón Gudnason — 270 kilograms (595.2 pounds)
Front Hold
Competitors held an implement of undisclosed weight attached to a handle at shoulder height for as long as possible. The handle required a supinated grip.
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 41 seconds
- Páll Logason — 39 seconds
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 37 seconds
- Kristján Páll Árnason — 36 secnods
- Sigurjón Gudnason — 34 seconds
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — 32 seconds
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Day Two — Sunday, August 7, 2022
Weight Toss
In the Weight Toss, the respective competitors tossed implements (two kegs, two sandbags, and one weight with handles) with progressive weight (undisclosed) in the quickest time they could manage.
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — Five in 12.64 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — Five in 12.70 seconds
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — Five in 36 seconds
- Kristján Páll Árnason — Three in 14 seconds
- Páll Logason — Three in 14.78 seconds
- Sigurjón Gudnason — Three in 21.80 seconds
Super Yoke
The weight of the Yoke in this event was 400 kilograms (881.8 pounds). The victor was who could carry it down the length of the course faster than their peers.
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — 47.02 seconds
- Páll Logason — 48 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — 18.73 meters
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — 15.56 meters
- Sigurjón Gudnason — 9.25 meters
- Kristján Páll Árnason — 5.45 meters
Overhead Press
Similar to the Weight Toss, the Overhead Press gave the athletes the objective of overhead pressing four implements (natural stone, a heavy dumbbell, a monster dumbbell, and a log). The winner was whoever lifted the most successfully (weight unclear). Speed was the tiebreaker in the event any competitors lifted the same amount of implements.
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson — Three in 28.50 seconds
- Stefán Karel Torfason — Three in 35 seconds
- Páll Logason — Two in 28.65 seconds
- Sigurjón Gudnason — One in 12.5 seconds
- Kristján Páll Árnason — One in 14.8 seconds
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson — no lift
Natural Stones
To conclude the contest, the competitors had to lift awkwardly-shaped stones (weight undisclosed) to their respective platforms in succession. The format could potentially be reminiscent of the more famous Atlas Stones, where strongmen lift the titular stones onto podiums.
- Hilmar Örn Jónsson
- Páll Logason
- Stefán Karel Torfason
- Kristján Jón Haraldsson
- Kristján Páll Árnason
- Sigurjón Gudnason
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A Promising Future
At just 24, despite already achieving plenty, like his two consecutive Icelandic strongman titles, Haraldsson seems to have a bright career ahead of him. Given the history of elite strongmen from the country, he would be following a quality precedent. For example, his fellow countryman — 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Hafthor Björnsson — won the first of 10 consecutive ISM titles at the age of 22.
At this moment, Haraldsson is a far cry achievement-wise from an athlete many consider one of the greatest strongmen of all time. However, if he continues his pace and perhaps one day elects to compete on an international scale outside the famed Nordic country — Haraldsson might become a household name.
Featured image: @kristjan.haraldsson on Instagram
