| Ervin Katona | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ervin Katona January 5, 1977 Serbia |
| Residence | Subotica, Serbia |
| Occupation | Strongman |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 155 kilograms (340 lb) |
Ervin Katona, (Ервин Катона) (born January 5, 1977, Subotica, Serbia)[1][2][3] is a leading Serbian strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition.
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Ervin Katona was a junior national kickboxing champion in his youth. He later moved into the field of Strength athletics, and started weight training at the age of 25. He had soon won a number of Balkan titles and became the winner of the Serbia's Strongest Man title.
Katona became a member of the International Federation of Strength Athletes and following the latter's schism with World's Strongest Man could not compete in that event. He did compete, however, in the IFSA version in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he was a major figure on the Strongman Champions League circuit and consistent podium finishes earned him the overall runner-up spot behind his great friend Zydrunas Savickas. In early 2009 in the Strongman Champions League event in his hometown Ervin suffered a torn biceps.[4] Despite this, Ervin was able to recover in time to compete in the prestigious 2009 World's Strongest Man event in Malta, he was unable to qualify for the finals. In 2010, Katona was able to qualify for the World's Strongest Man finals and finished in 7th place. Katona also won 3 Strongman Champions League events in Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovakia in 2010.[5] Ervin finished second overall for the 2010 SCL season behind Terry Hollands.[6]
Ervin owns a gym in his home town of Subotica, which he cites as his greatest personal achievement.[7] He entered in Big Brother VIP 2010 house and finished in fifth place after 28 days. Ervin set a Guinness World Record on April 25, 2009 for longest time to restrain a vehicle weighing 980 kg (2,156 lbs) in Milan, Italy. His time was 1 minute 2 seconds.[8]