“I Will Win It for America”: 375-Pound Legend Who Delivered on His Promise to His Country

The world of sports is full of delights, and sports personalities have the ability to inspire youngsters like no one out there. The competitive spirit combined with the zeal to perform better is what stays in the memory of millions around the world. One such memorable instance, that sticks out from the bodybuilding and strongman world, took place in Sanya, China in 2006. However, to better understand the gravity of that achievement, one must go back 5 years from then.

In 2001, American strongman Phil Pfister earned the fourth position at the World Strongman competition. The competition was held at Victoria Falls, New Zealand, and is widely remembered for the brazen words of Pfister after he failed to win it. Here’s what he said.

Pfister’s willpower and determination had no bounds

“I’m going to the finals, I will be the world’s strongest man one day. I will win it for America. America will have the world’s strongest man someday,” were Pfister’s famous words in front of a crowd at Victoria Falls in 2001. Come 2006, he lived up to his words. A YouTube video by ‘Hustle Reality’ combined both footages successively, to show modern netizens about the sheer determination and confidence of Pfister.

It said in the video, “353 pounds to decide the winner. And it’s Pfister, American Phil Pfister has done it, he has won the title of the world’s strongest man,” as Pfister screamed to the top of his lungs, “Yeah! Yeah!…”

Pfister was doing the famous Hercules Hold in Victoria Falls when he uttered those words. He then qualified for the 2003 edition, in Victoria Falls again, but failed to win then as well. However, determined to fulfill his promise, the next time Pfister showed up in Sanya, China, he shocked the world by lifting the championship. He also came third in the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2002. Evidently, the best times of his life had just begun.

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Phil Pfister became a worldwide sensation after 2006

Pfister then became a celebrity in his own right. That same year after winning the Strongman competition, he appeared in The Late Show With David Letterman. The strongman, weighing 375 lbs and 6’6″ in height, flipped a car in front of Letterman’s studio in an exemplary display of strength. Pfister, who was previously a firefighter, broke a 24-year-old American dry spell by winning the Strongman competition in China.

Among other inspiring stories, something as recent as rugby player-turned-strongman Adam Bishop securing Britain’s Strongest Man title for the second time, Pfister’s story continues to serve as one of the many highlights across the histories of strongman competitions.

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