A powerful return for Strongman

Editor's note: After a successful debut last year in Sandusky, the Strongman Champions League is returning for its second installment in September with more activities and events planned across Erie and Ottawa counties. SANDUSKY — Some of the strongest athletes in the world are coming to Ohio this Labor Day weekend as the Strongman Champions League USA returns Sept. 5-6 for two days of professional strongman competition, family entertainment and extraordinary feats of strength. Admission is completely free on both days. It's designed as a full Labor Day weekend experience for families, strength sport fans and visitors of all ages. The weekend follows Strongman Champions League's first U.S. event in Ohio in 2025, which attracted thousands of spectators and was filmed for a two-episode production later released on Amazon Prime Video and Roku. The 2026 event will again showcase Ohio and its host communities to audiences beyond the live competition. Strongman Champions League is the only global professional strongman league, bringing elite international athletes to destinations around the world throughout its annual season for head-to-head competition in classic and modern strength events. Events combine world-class athletic competition with distinctive host locations, cultural experiences and large-scale challenges designed to showcase strength in front of live audiences and international viewers. The Ohio stage gives spectators a rare opportunity to experience that level of international competition from only feet away without the cost or barriers of a traditional stadium event. Who's flexing their muscles? Fourteen professional athletes representing 11 countries will compete, including: • Patrick Eibel of Germany • Kane Francis of the United Kingdom • Jesper Hansson of Sweden • Kevin Hazeleger of Holland • Vilius Jokužys of Iceland • Peter Juhasz of Hungary • Jan Lacina of the Czech Republic • Andrew Langelaar of Canada • Adam Roszkowski of Poland • Marc Sanchez of the Philippines • American athletes Dj Doggett, Terrence Gilbert, Austin Hamm and Brian Kichton From established international competitors to national champions and rising athletes, the field represents the global character of Strongman Champions League and sets the stage for two days of competition where every event matters. Day 1 — Ottawa County Saturday, Sep. 5 begins at Erie-Ottawa International Airport, 3255 E. State Road, in Port Clinton where Strongman Champions League headlines the inaugural Rally on the Runway. The festival runs from noon to 5 p.m. with the strongman competition from 1-4 p.m. Families can also enjoy food and vendors, entertainment, a touch-a-truck experience, a scavenger hunt and other activities. The event is being hosted in collaboration with the Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ottawa County Improvement Corp. and the Liberty Aviation Museum. One of the signature moments of the entire weekend will bring together strongman and aviation history in spectacular fashion: Athletes will attempt to pull the PBY Catalina. The aircraft at Liberty Aviation Museum is a historic 1945 Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A Catalina, a World War II-era aircraft originally designed for maritime patrol, bombing and search-and-rescue operations. With its massive wingspan and unmistakable profile, the Catalina will become the centerpiece of one of the most visually unique strength challenges ever staged at a Strongman Champions League USA event. Day 2 — Erie County On Sunday, Sept. 6, the competition moves east along Lake Erie to downtown Sandusky, returning to the community that hosted the centerpiece of Strongman Champions League's first U.S. appearance in 2025. Shores & Islands Ohio, the city of Sandusky and the Greater Sandusky Partnership worked together to bring the international competition back to the region for a second year. Competition begins at 1 p.m. near Columbus Avenue and Water Street with the primary event area at Schade-Mylander Plaza, 108 W. Shoreline Drive, along the Sandusky waterfront. Some of the world's top professional strongmen will battle through another lineup of enormous strength challenges in the heart of downtown. The Sunday experience will extend well beyond the professional competition: • The Sandusky Library Little Legends Challenge will run from 1-5 p.m., giving younger spectators the chance to get involved through the Future Champions Arena. The free experience will feature hands-on obstacle stations inspired by strongman competition with no registration required. • Additional entertainment, vendors and audience-participation moments are planned throughout the weekend, creating an event where families can spend the day together while watching professional athletes perform feats of strength rarely seen outside the highest levels of the sport. A weekend unlike any other Professional strongman is a sport that has to be experienced in person to fully appreciate its scale. The implements are real. The vehicles are real. The athletes are among the strongest people on the planet. For families looking for something different to do over Labor Day weekend, Strongman Champions League USA offers a chance to see international professional sport combined with a festival atmosphere, aviation history, the Lake Erie waterfront, food, entertainment and activities for younger spectators — all without an admission charge. Fans can attend one day or make a weekend of it, beginning with planes and strongmen at the airport in Port Clinton on Saturday before following the competition to downtown Sandusky on Sunday. Building on a historic first year in America The 2026 event follows Strongman Champions League's first U.S. competition in Ohio in 2025. Last year's weekend brought international strongman to Toledo and Sandusky and was filmed as a two-episode production that is now available on Amazon Prime Video with additional streaming availability, including Roku. The event also produced one of the defining moments in Strongman Champions League USA history when Canadian strongman Wesley "The Moose" Derwinsky pulled the 261,953-pound Goodtime I passenger ferry more than 20 meters along the Sandusky waterfront, setting a Guinness World Record. Fans who missed the inaugural American event can learn more about the series and find the Amazon Prime Video episodes through Strongman Champions League's official coverage, strongmancl.com/scl-usa-amazon-prime-ohio-premiere/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. Strongman Champions League plans to, once again, capture the 2026 Ohio event for its international media programming, giving the athletes, host communities and the atmosphere surrounding the Labor Day weekend competition exposure beyond the live audience in Port Clinton and Sandusky. Ohio is only the beginning The Labor Day weekend competition is part of a much larger international season. After Ohio, Strongman Champions League USA heads south for its next American destination on Saturday, Oct. 10, making its first appearance in Florida at Olustee Park in downtown Lake City. The Lake City stage will bring another international athlete field to a free, family-friendly competition with one of the featured challenges set to include a massive Lake City Fire Department ladder truck pull. From there, the Strongman Champions League World Tour continues toward its world finals in South Africa in November where the season will culminate with a $200,000 prize pool. Combined with a season-long international points race, professional athletes from around the world, major destination events and extensive international broadcast distribution, the schedule reinforces what makes Strongman Champions League unique: a truly global professional strongman championship fought across countries and continents.