Mathew Ragg
New Zealand strongman (born 1991)
Mathew 'Mat' Ragg (born 21 September 1991) is a Strongman from New Zealand. He is the Oceanian deadlift record holder and a seven-times winner of New Zealand's Strongest Man competition.
01Background
Ragg started his sporting career as a sprinter but a recurring shin injury caused him to move towards weight training. In 2013, he started competing in local strongman competitions and broke some national records in the process. This paved him to join 2016 Arnold Amateur World Championships, where he secured third place behind Zach Hadge and Evgeny Markov, resulting in his pro debut.
Following a hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic, Ragg competed at 2022 Official Strongman Games and won third place which qualified him for the World's Strongest Man. At 2023 World's Strongest Man, he qualified for the finals, finishing in 9th place. At the 2023 Giants Live World Tour Finals, he won second place behind Tom Stoltman and ahead of the reigning World's Strongest Man champion Mitchell Hooper.
In 2024, he won the Beasts of Burden competition by scoring 41 of a possible 45 points. Ragg found further success in the 2024 season, coming fourth place at the 2024 World's Strongest Man and Giants Live Strongman Classic. He was also invited to compete in the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth competition (coming 12th out of 16) and the 2024 Rogue Invitational (coming 7th out of 10).
02Personal life
Ragg is of Samoan descent. He works full time as a shift supervisor at McDonald's.
03Personal records
- Deadlift (Equipped with straps), 460 kg (1,014 lb) (2024 Trans Tasman Strongman Championship at Meatstock)
- Deadlift (Raw), 431 kg (950 lb) (2024 Rogue Invitational)
- Log press, 191 kg (421 lb) (2026 World's Strongest Man)
- Axle press, 170 kg (375 lb) (2024 Giants Live Strongman Classic and 2024 World's Strongest Man)
- Circus Dumbbell press, 125 kg (276 lb) (2023 World's Strongest Man)
- Viking press, 240 kg (529 lb) (2023 New Zealand's Strongest Man) (World Record)
- Keg toss, 15 kg (33 lb) over 7.32 metres (24 ft 0 in) (2024 Strongest Man on Earth)
Training:
- Squat (Raw with wraps), 320 kg (705 lb) x 5 reps
- Log press, 200 kg (441 lb)
- Axle press, 180 kg (397 lb)
- Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone), 220 kg (485 lb) over 4 ft bar
04Competitive record
Winning percentage: 6.25%
Podium percentage: 31.25%
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 22nd | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International competitions | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
05Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2026 | World's Strongest Man | Himself, Competitor |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mathew Ragg”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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