Competitive strongman contests may have seen the last of nine-time Canada’s Strongest Man JF Caron. Fellow strongman Laurence Shahlaei interviewed the 2022 Força Bruta champion on Shahlaei’s YouTube channel on March 29. 2022. The two discussed Caron’s ongoing recovery from the leg injuries sustained at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) during the Log Lift event — two torn quads and a hurt ankle — and how Caron is unlikely to return to competitive strongman.
Since the 2022 ASC, Caron dropped 60 pounds of body weight and is in the process of relearning to walk. Given the two decades “of strongman on his body,” Caron assessed with his surgeon that he is unlikely to ever return to the sport in the shape necessary to post good results. Caron “still has a fire in him” to compete in strongman and did not officially retire. However, the sun seems to have set on the days of Caron competing for a podium spot at elite strongman contests. Check out the full interview below:
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Caron’s decision to step away from competitive strongman is in part in consideration for his quality of life after he officially retires. He and Shahlaei reiterated that Caron is not in his early 20s anymore — he is 39 at the time of this article’s publication. If Caron were to return and reinjure his legs, “it would be hard to come back from that” — meaning back to full health. Shahlaei expressed that the sport’s fans often overlook life post-competitive strongman:
Sometimes fans don’t appreciate…you’ve got another half of your life to live.
Caron explained that the injury at the 2022 ASC was sustained due to a slight slip by his left foot, which put excess strain on his quads to stabilize him, and they ultimately gave out. His injured ankle was a product of his subsequent fall — the log did not cause any additional injury as the crash mats stopped it from falling on him. Caron expects a full recovery to take approximately a year.
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JF Caron’s Strongman Career
Caron is undoubtedly one of the all-time strongman greats. Though he never won the sport’s most coveted title — the World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest — he was one of that competition’s most consistent athletes in his professional career. He is also notorious for his strength in squat and deadlift events and currently holds the Hummer Tire Deadlift world record of 1,202 pounds from the 2020 Shaw Classic. Below are Caron’s most notable results:
- 2008 WSM — Qualified
- 2011 WSM — Qualified
- 2012 WSM — Eighth place
- 2014 WSM — 11th place
- 2015 WSM — Sixth place
- 2016 WSM — Fifth place
- 2017 WSM — Fifth place
- 2018 World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) — Fourth place
- 2018 WSM — Fifth place
- 2018 ASC — Fifth place
- 2019 WUS — Seventh place
- 2019 ASC — 10th place
- 2019 WSM — Fourth place
- 2020 ASC — Fourth place
- 2020 Shaw Classic — Second Place
- 2020 WSM — Third place
- 2021 WUS — Fourth place
- 2021 Shaw Classic — Third place
- 2021 WSM — Fifth place
Though we may have seen the last of Caron in elite strongman competition, he stated that he would not leave the sport entirely. He is open to special appearances, exhibitions, and the like and remains in positive spirits during his recovery.
Featured image: @jfcaronstrongman on Instagram
