Matjaz Belsak

Matjaz Belsak (in Slovenian Matjaž Belšak; born 23 September 1992) and powerlifter.

Biography

Early life Matjaž Belšak was born in a village Seničica, He grew up in a family of cooks; his parents own a restaurant "Gostilna Belšak" where he still occasionally works as an apprentice chef.

Powerlifting career Matjaž started working out in 2008, when he was 15, After that competition he only focused on the sport of strongman.

Strongman career

Beginnings A former Slovenian strongman and Slovenia's strongest man at that time Gregor Stegnar and did it again in 2015 and 2019 he again won the title back to back. The contest was again not held during the next two years due to COVID-19.

From 2022 onwards, besides competing, Matjaž also took over the organizing and hosting of the competition. He won the title in 2022, 2023 and 2024, taking his tally to 7 titles.

Strongman Champions League

During the 2013–2016 seasons, Matjaž did only a few competitions during his first two years of competing in the Strongman Champions League, as he was mostly focusing on becoming stronger, but he competed in a lot of SCL events in 2016 and finished the season by taking the 5th place in the finals. In the season of 2017, Matjaž won all of the SCL competitions he took part in and even won the final in Mexico, becoming the 2017 Strongman Champion's League world champion,

World's Strongest Man After a few successful years of competing on the international level, Matjaž was invited to compete in the World's Strongest Man.

In the 2015 World's Strongest Man in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Matjaž successfully made his first appearance he finished 3rd in his heat. In the 2016 World's Strongest Man in Kasane, Botswana, Matjaž made it to the finals, finishing 9th overall. In the 2017 World's Strongest Man in Gabarone, Botswana, he was unable to make it to the finals, finishing 3rd in his heat. In the 2018 World's Strongest Man in Manila, Philippines, Matjaž had his best performance at WSM, finishing 7th place overall in the finals.

World's Strongest Team

Matjaž competed for the first time in this event in 2015 World's Strongest Team, taking the 1st place with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson who competed under the name 'Vikings'. Yankees (Jerry Pritchett & Mike Burke) placed second while the Saxons (Eddie Hall & Mark Felix) placed third. He also competed in 2019 World's Strongest Team, finishing on 3rd place with Mikhail Shivlyakov.

Europe's Strongest Man Matjaž competed on three different Europe's Strongest Man competitions, always finishing in the top 10:

In 2015 Europe's Strongest Man he made his first appearance, finishing the competition on 5th place. In 2017 Europe's Strongest Man he placed 6th. In 2018 Europe's Strongest Man Matjaž finished on the 7th place.

Arnold Strongman Classic Matjaž competed on Arnold Strongman Classic events all over the world. His most important placings were:

6th place at 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic USA in Columbus, OH. 5th place at 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic USA in Columbus, OH. 1st place at 2017 Arnold Strongman Classic Europe in Barcelona, Spain. 2nd place at 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic Europe in Barcelona, Spain. 1st place at 2017 Arnold Strongman Classic Poland. because of an old injury. The injury made him unable to compete for some time. His first strongman competition after the hip replacement was Slovenia's Strongest man 2022,

Physical characteristics Matjaž is 187 cm tall (6 ft 2 in) Circus Dumbbell press for reps (in 60 seconds) – x 10 reps (2016 WSM - Group 1) (Former Joint-World Record) Circus Dumbbell press for reps (in 60 seconds) – x 14 reps (2017 SCL World Finals) (World Record) Atlas Stone to Shoulder – x 8 reps/ bouncing technique (2014 Giants Live Hungary) (Former World Record) Max Atlas Stone – (2019 Arnold Africa) Húsafell Stone – 186 kg (410 lb) for 55.07 meters (180 ft 8 in) (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) Odd Haugen tombstone to shoulder – (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) Sandbag over bar – over 4.57 metres (15 ft 0 in) (2018 Arnold Strongman Classic) Front hold – for 15.94 seconds (2015 SCL Poland) Power Medley – log carry for 20m course and sled drag for 20m course in 34.50 seconds (2017 SCL World Finals) (World Record) Conan's Wheel of Pain – 32.16 meters (105 ft 6 in) (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) Arm over arm truck pull – for 25m course in 43.67 seconds (2015 SCL Martinique) (World Record) Arm over arm truck pull – for 20m course in 37.28 seconds (2015 SCL Austria) (World Record) In 2018 he gave an interview for the Slovenian national television. In 2020 he gave an interview during one of the most watched Slovenian news shows on Pop TV.