Life
From Brno in the Czech Republic, Ondřej Fojtů, also known as Ondra, is a talented and fast-improving Strongman who at just 23 looks to have a big future in the sport. Already a World’s Strongest Man finalist, having placed 6th in 2025, he is renowned for his incredible overhead pressing ability and holds the U23 World Record with a 210kg/463lb Log Lift.
Ondra trained as an engineer, and when he isn’t putting in his hours at the gym, he earns a living designing children’s playgrounds. He is not one of the largest strongmen currently competing but combines tremendous static strength with speed and athleticism. He also owns a cat named Gigi!
Career
Ondra’s journey into strongman came after a successful career in handball, where he played at a national level. He has made tremendously fast progress in his new pursuit and made his first big impression on the sport during an extremely successful 2023 season. In May, he finished 2nd at the Czech Strongest Man contest, losing out by just 2-points to Lukáš Pepř. Ondra was 9.5-points clear of the rest of the field.
In August, he claimed 3rd place at the Official Strongman European Championships in London, which was good enough to earn him an invitation to make his Giants Live debut at the World Tour Finals in Glasgow. He finished a highly respectable 7th, in what was an absolutely stacked line-up, and had a best event placing of 5th, which came in the Sandbag Steeplechase.
Rounding off the 2023 season, Ondra was able to place 4th place at the Official Strongman Games in Charleston, West Virginia. Just three points shy of the podium, he was able to win the Load & Drag event, and finish 3-points behind Nathan Goltry, in 3rd, and 9-points shy of the overall winner Marcus Crowder.
In 2024 he produced an outstanding performance to place 4th on his debut at Europe’s Strongest Man, finishing just 2-points behind 2nd placed Oleksii Novikov. Making his first appearance at World’s Strongest Man soon after, he narrowly missed out on a qualification spot in the final after losing out in a Stone-Off with Mexico’s Austin Andrade. Later that year he would add to his U23 Log Lift world record, with a stunning 210kg press in Birmingham, at the Strongman Open.
Returning to Europe’s Strongest Man the following year he once again finished 4th, although on this occasion he would feel disappointed after being in the hunt for overall victory for most of the contest. At World’s he progressed through his group after placing second behind Trey Mitchell and seeing off challenges from the Canadian duo of Maxime Boudreault and Tristain Hoath. In the final. He produced a superb performance to claim 6th overall and underline his status as one of the Sport’s greatest young talents.
Best Title
At London’s ExCel, Ondra was able to take a podium place at the Official Strongman European Championships back in August 2023. With an event win in the Log Lift and a second place in the Super Yoke, he was challenging for the title after taking 3rd in the Deadlift Ladder. Fourth Place finishes in both the Shield Walk and Power Stairs saw him lose touch with the leader Oskar Ziólkowski of Poland who went on to claim victory. Ondra was eventually pipped for 2nd place by Adam Roszkowski.
Competition Results
World’s Strongest Man: 2025 – 6th place, 2024 – 3rd in group
Europe’s Strongest Man: 2025 & 2024 – 4th place
Giants Live:
2025 World Tour Finals: 2nd place
2025 Europe’s Strongest Man: 4th place
2024 Strongman Open: 7th place
2023 World Tour Finals: 7th place
2023 Official Strongman Games: 4th place
2023 Official Strongman European Championships: 3rd Place
Czechia’s Strongest Man: 2023 & 2022 – 2nd Place
2021 Slavic Cup: 3rd place
Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Log Lift: 210kg/463lb
18-inch Deadlift: 465kg/1,025lb
Flintstone Barbell Press: 220kg/485lb
Nicol Stones: 24.18m
Training Lifts
Deadlift: 400kg/882lb
Axle Press: 190kg/419lb
Dumbbell Press: 120kg/265lb
Bench Press: 260kg/573lb
Media
Fojtů’s performances at World’s Strongest Man and at Giants Live events will be televised on Channel 5 during the festive period. Fans of Ondra can follow him on Instagram: @ondrafojtu, and on Facebook his page is called: Ondra Fojtů. There are also several videos featuring his competitive performances on YouTube.
