The World's STRONGEST Man you've never heard of

Did I find the real World's Strongest Man? Olympic Shot Putter Joe Kovacs' raw strength can put anyone to shame, but do you agree?

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[mitchellhooperstrongman]

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[benoitterneyre]

The tragedy of Joe's career is that he is the clear-cut second greatest shot putter of all time. He just so happens to be in the same generation as the GOAT of the sport, Ryan Crouser:

- Kovacs is a three time Olympic silver medalist, in Rio, Tokyo and Paris. Every single time he lost the gold to Crouser. As far as I know there is no other instance of that kind in any olympic event.
- Kovacs has thrown 5 of the 25 longest throws of all time in the sport. Crouser has thrown 15 of them
- Only four men in the history of the sport have ever thrown over 23 meters. Kovacs did it twice, Crouser did it 9 times.

Had Crouser not been there, or even been born a few years later, Kovacs could have made history as the one who finally broke through the records that had remained unchallenged since the late 80s and one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time.
Instead he'll most likely always be stuck as the second best ever.

[dr.ohhimark]

I bet his circus dumbbell would be something ridiculous.

[leojamesfitness]

Elite throwers have INSANE gym lifts. Can bench like powerlifters, press like strongmen and squat like weightlifters, with a side of reactive/plyometric power to put us all to shame

[dylanlasky]

Joe is so strong and athletic he competes with crowser while 7 inches shorter. Crazy

[roohaa]

Shot putters can do very well in strongman. WSM winners Virastyuk and Geoff Capes were shot putters before strongman.

[Bertziethegreat]

Mitch, the direction is clear. You need to reach out to Joe for a collaboration.

[camtabor]

I can’t stress enough that Joe Kovacs and Ryan Crouser are the two greatest Shot-putters of all time. If you feel so inclined go look up video of the Doha 2019 world Championships. Joe’s throw to win that competition is the single greatest shot-put throw of all time, not the farthest but the greatest, all things considered.
The only knock on Joe’s career as a shot-putter is he existed the same time as Crouser. The old World record stood from 1990( no drug tests )until 2021 when Crouser broke it then the next year Joe threw past the old WR. Joe and Crouser throwing together has been the golden age of Shot-put. Watching Joe compete over the years has truly be a pleasure.

[Dadof-]

As a former thrower and current high school throwing coach, I don't think a lot of people realize the power a track and field can have. Thank you for seeing that in Joe.

[crk]

You should train with him on your channel!

[TheAgeGroupTriathlete]

Geoff Capes twice world's strongest man was a shot putter before he moved over to strongman. Lots of transferable skills and those guys as Mitchell says in the video are athletic and really strong.

[lemmiwinks]

His last throw in 2024 Olympics was the highlight of the Olympics for me! All on the line in the rain and he crushed it

[ulhasanzk]

Shot putters are crazy i have said this for some years now, they are super underrated strength/power athletes

[inferno]

As a former thrower myself (shot, discus), I love the fact that you are highlighting Joe Kovacs. Throwers are the most explosive athletes around since they have to produce all that force within an 8ft (discus) or a 7ft (shot) circle/ring. Some top throwers can do standing long jumps close to 12ft (3.7m) and high jump 2m. Being 5'8" (91kg), I could do a standing jump of 9.5ft (2.9m) and dead squat 300kg (660lb) from 1in below parallel. 30m sprint 3.58sec.

[kieganlenihan]

I met Joe at the NCAA regional meet a few years ago. Super nice guy. I was amazed at how short he was, but his hand felt like I was shaking a double cut pork chop. His strength is incredible, but he has unbelievable gymnastics as well. I've seen videos of him doing high bar giants in straps...

[KyleRawlins]

I love this. I've been saying for years that Shot putters are some of the most well rounded strength athletes in professional sports. I would like nothing more than to see Joe Kovacs enter into the world of strength sports.

[JaceLovesStrength]

I'm always surprised when people suggest that you are arrogant or conceited. You seem not only humble to me, but incredibly respectful (perhaps more than necessary) to other athletes.

I think sometimes people misinterpret your confidence and cerebral approach to training and competition as being cocky or narcissistic. They couldn't be any more wrong. You're a class act and a credit to the sport!

[_mark]

Check out Daniel Ståhl, Swedish discus thrower. Also not a weak guy.
🥇

[StephenCarlockVO]

Kovacs is a beast. I've heard some high squat and bench numbers from Ryan Crouser as well, though not near what Kovacs is messing with in these lifts. A lot of these guys also have a very fast sprint time and great standing long-jump distances from what I've seen and heard. These shotput guys are some bad dudes - strong as a train and extremely athletic to boot. Very impressive.

Not sure if it could happen but it would be cool to see you have a sit-down with Kovacs or other extremely strong athletes from other disciplines to discuss their strength development and focuses.

[OvercomingInertia]

Never met a shotputter that couldn't be a walk on at a powerlifting meet and not be a threat. Crazy combination of strength and power.