Riku Kiri

Riku Kiri (born April 5, 1963 in Kotka, Finland) is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been referred to as: "the strongest man never to win World's Strongest Man."[3]

Riku Kiri
Personal information
Born (1963-04-05) April 5, 1963
Finland Kotka, Finland
OccupationPowerlifting, Strongman
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Spouse(s)Sari Kiri
Medal record
Strongman[1]
Representing  Finland
World's Strongest Man
3rd 1993 World's Strongest Man
3rd 1994 World's Strongest Man
2nd 1996 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 1997 World's Strongest Man
6th 1998 World's Strongest Man
World Strongman Challenge
1st 1988
1st 1991
Le Defi Mark Ten International
2nd 1985
2nd 2002
World's Strongest Team
1st 1997 w/Jouko Ahola
Europe's Strongest Man
1st 1995
1st 1996
1st 1997
European Hercules
1st 1990
1st 1991
1st 1992
1st 1993
IFSA European Open
1st 1995
1st 1997
Finland's Strongest Man
1st 1988
1st 1993
1st 1994
Powerlifting
Representing  Finland
EPF European Powerlifting Championships[2]
2nd 1986 +125kg
FPF Finnish Powerlifting Championships[2]
2nd 1984 125kg
2nd 1985 125kg
1st 1986 +125kg
NPF Nordic Powerlifting Championships[2]
2nd 1986 +125kg

Having competed in 25 International strongman competitions and winning 11 of them, Kiri is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.[4]

Life and career

The 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in), 145 kg (320 lb) Kiri is particularly noted for his static strength including a 300 kg (661.4 lb) single-arm deadlift and a 302.5 kg (666.9 lbs) raw bench press. He squatted 440 kg in the Dutch Open strongman contest of 1995 in a Smith machine apparatus. He also bench pressed 290.0 kg (639.3 lb) raw in an official WPC meet along with many other records. At 19 years old in 1983, Riku held a World Record in powerlifting in the squat lift in IPF competition, 350 kg (125 kg weight category).

In one of his first ever strongest man contests, he defeated reigning World's Strongest Man winner Jón Páll Sigmarsson, in 1985.

For most of his appearances in World's Strongest Man competition, Kiri has been hampered by ankle injuries. Although Kiri placed 3rd and 2nd respectively in 1993 and 1996, ankle injuries plagued him during both contests. In reference to the Car Carry event in 1993, Kiri's coach, Markku Suonenvirta, famously said: "His ankle is broken but he's a tough guy." Kiri's ankle was in fact not broken but badly injured and weakened. In the 1996 WSM final event (Power Stairs) Kiri was about to go head to head with Magnus Ver Magnusson. However, just after the starter's whistle, Kiri dropped out due to another ankle injury. Kiri was also forced to drop out of the 1998 World's Strongest Man final due to an ankle injury, finishing in 6th place.

His background is in security work, and he holds shares in Gold's Gym-Helsinki.

Powerlifting

Training records:

  • Squat: 400 kilograms (880 lb) raw[5]
  • Bench Press: 302.5 kilograms (667 lb) raw[5]
  • Deadlift: 390 kilograms (860 lb) raw[5]
  • Best deadlift set: 7 x 352.5 kilograms (777 lb), 4 x 380 kilograms (840 lb) raw[5]
  • Total: 1,092.5 kilograms (2,409 lb) raw[5]

References

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