What Were The Most Unusual Weightlifting Competitions?

The new year is a time when a lot of people make a commitment to uplift and better themselves.

For some, this means joining a gym, for others it means setting up a home gym, whilst for weightlifters already on the hunt to better themselves this year, it could involve fitting additional rubber bumper plates to their barbells to advance their form.

Wherever you are on your fitness journey, we believe in you, and we have the equipment you need to help reach your goals and the next step in your development, regardless of where that takes you.

In many cases, the key to choosing equipment is in standardisation; the closer your equipment is to competition-grade, the easier it will be to gauge your true strength and transition your skills from practice to the competition stage.

However, sometimes weightlifting competitions have used rather unusual weights or competition criteria, even transcending the likes of the Atlas Stone or the Apollon Axle.

Here are some of the oddest, wildest and most unusual weightlifting competitions, why they are no longer used and what lifters can learn from them.

Murder Ball

Strength athletics events tend to structure their events in a similar way to weightlifting; everyone has a turn at the event, and the highest score, heaviest weight or fastest time wins.

However, particularly in the early days of the World’s Strongest, there were several events where two strength athletes competed with each other, all of which had their own bizarre quirks.

By far the weirdest of these was Murder Ball, a truly bizarre and very short-lived competition where a globe filled with 100 gallons of water was pushed by two competitors, and the person who got it out of the circle in their opponent’s half would win.

It was similar in concept to the Sumo Ball from the UK game show Gladiators, although that ball was made of foam and hung from the ceiling.

Murder Ball was only used once, but it was so surreal that it has lingered in the memories of many strength athletes and their fans.

What Can Weightlifters Learn From Murder Ball?

• There are a lot of variables in one-on-one competition.

• Fair competition typically requires a relatively equal playing field.

• The balance between competition and entertainment can be complex.

The Cheese Deadlift

Possibly the most infamous event in strength athletics history was also one of the closest to conventional. After all, the deadlift is the quintessential powerlifting event, so how could it possibly become an odd competition?

The answer comes not from the type of lift but from what people were expected to lift. Instead of regulation weights, competitors were expected to lift 525kg of cheese in a partial deadlift.

Exactly why cheese was chosen is presumably lost to time, but it has remained a historic example of how even the most conventional competitions can be undertaken in a strange way.

What Can Weightlifters Learn From The Cheese Deadlift

• Anything can become weightlifting equipment.

• However, it often becomes clear why standardised weight plates are used in conventional competitions.

• It is very difficult when lifting cheese to keep competitions fair and even.

Sledge Ride

In the early years of the World’s Strongest, there was a concerted effort to give each event a sense of place, and given that the 1984 WSM contest was held in Sweden, it is perhaps not a surprise that there was a sledge pushing contest.

A “spectacular new event”, according to the commentators, the athletes were tasked with pushing a sledge with two people in a straight line, with points awarded for the fastest time.

It was particularly unusual, and Geoff Capes’ win and profound shove of the sledge into a snowbank has gone down in history. 

What Can Weightlifters Learn From The Sledge Ride?

• Environmental factors matter in competition; several of the athletes struggled with the bitter cold.

• Lifting people can not only lead to variable weights but also variable weight distribution, both of which can possibly negatively affect weightlifting performance. It is essential to keep weights secure.

• When lifting people, make sure that they are kept safe and can safely get back onto terra firma.

Sumo Wrestling

The world’s oldest professional sport, sumo wrestling is far from an unusual competition but an exceptional test of skill, speed, technique and explosive power. Sumo wrestlers train and prepare their bodies and minds for decades to master what is a remarkably precise art.

What it is not, however, is a weightlifting-style event, and the 1982 WSM’s sumo wrestling contests quickly lapsed into farce as none of the contestants understood what it truly took to compete. It was tried once and never repeated.

What Can Weightlifters Learn From Sumo Wrestling

• Technique matters more than anything else, and improving your form can lead to much greater results.

• A moment of explosive power comes from minutes, if not days or months, of preparation.