Ari Gunnarsson

Ari Gunnarsson is an Icelandic strongman competitor from Reykjavík, born on 15 November 1983. He began lifting heavy weights as a teenager and became known for the static strength of his shoulders. On the domestic circuit he took third place at Iceland's Strongest Viking in 2010 and repeated that result the following year, when he also finished second at Strongest Man in Iceland and at Iceland's Strongest Man, the most prestigious title in Icelandic strength sport. Between 2011 and 2020 he reached the podium of Iceland's Strongest Man seven times, four as runner-up and three as third, behind Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, and he won the Strongest Man in Iceland title in both 2018 and 2019. Internationally he took part in the World's Strongest Man in 2016 and 2017, both held in Botswana, but placed third in his qualifying group each time and did not reach the final. His recorded personal bests include a 340 kilogram deadlift for five repetitions and a 15,000 kilogram bus pull over 25 metres.