Jón Páll Sigmarsson was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's Strongest Man four times. He is regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of all time, and is credited with developing Iceland's national identity. He was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1981, and was one of the best-known Icelandic athletes. In 2012, Jón Páll was inducted into the World's Strongest Man Hall of Fame.
Wikipedia
“There is no point to be alive if you can't do deadlift.”
As quoted in Dhani Jones, Jonathan Grotenstein, The Sportsman (2011), p. 169
Jones & Grotenstein comment that this quote refers to Sigmarsson's "ability to lift enormous weights off the ground. Jón Páll was only 32 when he died of a heart attack brought on by - you guessed it - a deadlift."
