h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dead or alive?

If you mean the Icelandic (country not the well known chain of discount freezer stores) strong bloke who likes lifting big stones and yelling alot then I think he bit the dust a while back

That's the bloke. That's what I thought. Think he popped his cloggs (do they have them in Iceland?) about 5 or 6 years back.

Anyone know anymore?

Ironically it was a heart attack!

Being super fit and all!

Sid

So what proof do we have? Other than he never appears on WSM any more.

I've been having an argument with my friend about this for a few years now.

NO! Was that the bloke who fought it out with Geoff Capes on The World's Strongest Man all those years ago? What a shame if its true.

Yep!

It's was him!

That six foot, blonde haired, thick necked brick s*it house of a man!

The strain of all that exertion all his life damaged his heart...

I think he had just announced his retirement as well.... such is life!

Sid

The cynical among us would suggest that to become that big & strong is only possible through the use of steroids, an abuse which might lead to heart problems. However I'm sure it was just a congenital problem, just as it was for FloJo .......

John Pall Sigmarrson's death was announced in bodybuilding magazines a while back. I will search and see if I can find it, and give you the reference, that at least is something concrete, not just hearsay.

Look, old-time strongmen like Louis Cyr, Arthur Saxon and so on became extremely strong very long before steroids, and looking at what those guys actually lifted they can give modern 'roid users a run for their money. So it is not NECESSARY to use steroids to become extremely strong. But, as for Sigmarrson, steroids were implicated in his death if I'm not mistaken. Modern strongmen and powerlifters typically use very heavily, and many are quite open about it. There isn't any kind of meaningful testing at the major contests, it's not like the Olympics. And anabolic steroids can and do cause damage to the heart, leading to premature death. In such a case it is often not possible to say that steroids CAUSED the death. Like smoking, drinking, and obesity, it is only one factor among many that can exacerbate cardiorespiratory problems.

Quite a lot of those very big and strong guys kick the bucket early, another example being Jeep Swenson, who dropped dead at forty, though he was as strong as twenty horses. He played in a number of movies, including one of the Batmans. He admitted that it was steroids that done him in. He's neither the first nor the last. Sadly, it's no longer a matter of being as robustly healthy on the inside as on the outside.

Things get so competitive nowadays, a guy needs a willpower millions of times stronger than the strongest muscles to resist the temptation of using ability-enhancing substances.

Thank-you. You present some interesting points that show a far better knowledge of the subject than myself.

One point I note with interest is your comment about Jeep Swenson admitting steroids had done him in. This reminded me of a journal article I read recently about drugs, the deaths of FloJo and John Matuszak (American football player).

Basically there is no scientific evidence to say how steroids affect the body because it's ethically unsound research. In FloJo's case the American press were very quick to distance her death from drugs. They used autopsy evidence that suggested there were no sign of drugs to support this. However she had given up competing 10 years prior and probably not touched a thing in the meantime. The general public will probably never know if she did, as it would mean 'trampling her grave'. Maybe she never did.

In the case of Matuszak because he had admitted taking steroids the press were quick to link this to his early death (age 40ish). However and I forget the exact arguments it is equally possible that it was a congenital problem. Again the press jumped on the bandwagon because that was what they felt the American public would want to hear (condemnation of drugs). As you say drugs are only one factor that may have played a part in exacerbating a problem.

When it is suggested Swenson & Matuszak died due to steriod use, we should remember there is no more proof of this than there is that FloJo did or didn't. Just because they say it is the cause of the problems, doesn't mean it is.

Thank-you for your time *gets down from soapbox*
BSS