First launched in 1983, the Farmer’s Walk is one of the most well-known and most iconic WSM events.

It originally made its debut in Christchurch, New Zealand, but back then was known as the Fergus Walk. Initially, wooden implements weighing 80kg were carried by the athletes and it was the thickness, rather than the weight, that caused competitors the most problems. When this event launched, the emphasis was on the distance the Strongmen could travel with their weights. Whoever made it furthest around the oval track was declared the winner.

Today, the re-named Farmer’s Walk focuses on covering a set distance within a certain time limit and the apparatus the athletes carry can be dropped and picked up without limit. As the objects become heavier and heavier over the years, the event has come to be known as the Giant Farmer’s Walk – with each item tipping the scales at 160kg each…

That means since the event’s creation in 1983, the weight of a single object is now the same as the old combined weight, showing that each year really does bring with it a new calibre of Strongmen!