 Jenkins at the2011 World's Strongest Man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1982-11-03)November 3, 1982 Westminster,Maryland, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | November 28, 2013(2013-11-28) (aged 31) Dauphin County,Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 182 kg (401 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Strongman competitions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mike Jenkins (November 3, 1982 – November 28, 2013) was an American professionalstrongman competitor fromWestminster, Maryland.[2] During his short pro career, Jenkins competed at the highest level of the sport. In 2012, Jenkins won theArnold Strongman Classic, regarded as one of the most prestigious competitions in strongman.
Jenkins died at age 31 after only three years of pro-level competition.
Jenkins was a precocious athlete, reportedly weighing 225 pounds,squatting 400 pounds, andbenching 315 pounds in sixth grade.[3] He played college football, first atKent State and later atJames Madison University, where he was a starting offensive lineman for their 2004FCS national championship.
After college, Jenkins briefly played for thearena football team theGeorgia Force. After leaving football and throughout his strongman career, Jenkin worked as a high school athletics director atMilton Hershey School in Hershey, PA.[2]
Jenkins began pursuing strongman as he felt "aimless" without participating in sports.[4] His first competition was Maryland's Strongest Man contest in 2007. He won, qualifying him for the North American amateur national strongman championships later that year. There, he placed sixth against a field of approximately 100 competitors.[2] He placed second in the North American nationals in 2009.[2]
Jenkins competed in the inauguralArnold Amateur Strongman World Championships in 2010 and won that contest.[2] This victory earned him his pro strongman card, as well as an invitation to the 2011 Arnold Strongman Classic. He competed in the 2010America's Strongest Man later in the year and placed second behind 3-time championDerek Poundstone.[5]
He entered the 2011 Arnold Strongman Classic placing second overall ahead of the reigningWorld's Strongest Man,Zydrunas Savickas.[6] Later that year, he qualified for the finals of the2011 World's Strongest Man contest, where he won the first two events but ultimately finished in eighth place overall after withdrawing after suffering a back injury.
Jenkins won the 2012Arnold Strongman Classic, finishing ahead of former champions Derek Poundstone, Zydrunas Savickas andBrian Shaw,[7] and won theGiants Live event inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia on March 17, 2012, which qualified him for the2012 World's Strongest Man contest later in the year.[8] He set a joint world record in the hip lift event withNick Best with a lift of 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb).[8] In the2012 World's Strongest Man contest, Jenkins again reached the finals and finished in fifth place.[9]
His final professional strongman competition was the2013 World's Strongest Man contest, where he finished in fourth overall in the finals.[10]
Mike Jenkins died on November 28, 2013, aged 31, inDauphin County,Pennsylvania from an enlarged heart, suspected to be caused by long-term steroid use.[11][12][13]
Arnold Strongman Classic champions | |
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