Every sport has a select group of athletes that cause fans and insiders to ponder “what might have been.” Basketball has Greg Oden and Grant Hill, already renowned for their skills, but impacted by numerous injuries. Golf fans debate whether Tiger Woods would have surpassed Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major wins had he not faced injuries and controversies.
Strongman is no exception. Many competitors walked away early or had their careers end suddenly before hitting their peaks. One name usually near the top of that list is the late Jesse Marunde, an American superstar in the making who never had the opportunity to fulfill that potential.
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Early Success and Notoriety
Marunde was born on Sept. 14, 1979 in Glennallen, AK. He was the brother of mixed martial artist (MMA) fighter Bristol Marunde. Their family moved to Sequim, WA, where Jesse played multiple sports and was involved with Olympic weightlifting. He excelled in football and earned a scholarship to play at Montana State.
Marunde’s strength prowess was recognized early, thanks to the famed Captains of Crush Grippers (CoC), revered for the challenge they offer those who use them. They are ranked numerically up to the most challenging: the number four CoC.
At age 18, Marunde was the youngest athlete to successfully close the CoC number three gripper, which requires 127 kilograms of grip strength. He was the youngest to earn CoC status.
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Strongman Career
When Marunde entered the world of strongman, no American had won the World’s Strongest Man (WSM) since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. Marunde gave American fans hope when he became the youngest American to qualify for the WSM in 2002 at age 22. Marunde was the first athlete to lift the famed Odd Haugen Tombstone (186 kilograms) to his shoulder.
Marunde competed in 19 strongman competitions between 2002 and 2007; he podiumed 10. His most famous effort was at the 2005 WSM in Chengdu, China, where he silvered behind Mariusz Pudzianowski, who earned his third of five titles.
Marunde was the highest finishing American in the WSM since O.D. Wilson took the same position in 1990. Marunde’s strongman career summary, as shown by Strongman Archives, is as follows:
Jesse Marunde’s Strongman Career
- 2002 Northeast Strongman Showdown — 3rd
- 2002 America’s Strongest Man — 5th
- 2002 World’s Strongest Man — Did Not Make Final
- 2002 IFSA North American Strongman Championships — 8th
- 2003 America’s Strongest Man — 4th
- 2003 World’s Strongest Man — Withdrew Due to Injury
- 2003 X-Treme Strongman Championships — Withdrew Due to Injury
- 2004 Strongest Man Alive — 2nd
- 2004 America’s Strongest Man — 7th
- 2005 WSMC England — 3rd
- 2005 Met-Rx Grand Prix — 2nd
- 2005 Nautilus Grand Prix — 3rd
- 2005 Vulkan Grand Prix — 3rd
- 2005 World’s Strongest Man — 2nd
- 2005 WSMC Russia — 2nd
- 2006 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix — 2nd
- 2006 WSMC Belarus — 5th
- 2006 World’s Strongest Man — Did Not Make Final
- 2007 Venice Beach Grand Prix — 3rd
Marunde did not reach the WSM final in 2006 but kicked off the 2007 season winning bronze in the Venice Beach Grand Prix, a sign that he would return to the WSM and contend again.
Unfortunately, the Venice Beach event was his last. Marunde died on July 25, 2007, at age 27, two months before that year’s WSM contest, following a workout in his hometown of Sequim, WA. The cause of death was deemed to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart defect. Strongman fans could not see how much further Marunde could have taken his career in his sport, but fans remember and are inspired by him to this day.
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Featured Image: @hechoshistoricos_ on Instagram
