Jean-François 'JF' Caron (born June 29, 1982) is a French-Canadian strongman and powerlifter from Les Hauteurs, Quebec, Canada.
Having competed in 73 International strongman competitions and winning 10 of them including the World's Strongest Viking twice, Caron is among some of the most decorated strongmen of all-time.
Caron held the world record in the deadlift for WPA Powerlifting organization. He pulled raw on March 14, 2010, at the CPA Provincial Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the weight class, weighing in at only .
Caron has competed eleven times in the World's Strongest Man contest: in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Out of them, He reached the final nine times: in 2012 and then each year between 2014 and 2021. Caron's record in the finals has progressively improved over time: he placed 8th in 2012, 6th in 2015, 5th each year between 2016 and 2018, 4th in 2019 and 3rd in 2020 - his best finish. In the 2021 competition, Caron returned to 5th place, having torn his hamstring during the first event.
Caron won Canada's Strongest Man a record nine consecutive times, from 2011 to 2019. In 2016, he won all eight events in the contest, the only time a competitor has managed a clean sweep at the Canada's Strongest Man competition.
In 2011, Caron finished in 2nd place at the Strongman Champions League events in Canada and Latvia. Caron finished 2nd again at the 2011 SCL Finals in Sarajevo, Bosnia on Feb. 7, 2012, and 4th overall for the 2011/2012 SCL season.
In 2012 and 2013, Caron won North America's Strongest Man after coming in 2nd place the two previous years.
In 2020, Caron placed 2nd in the inaugural Shaw Classic. At that event, Caron set a new world record at the time in the Hummer Tire Deadlift, lifting 1,202 lb (545.2 kg).
In 2021, Caron placed in 2nd in the 2020 World's Ultimate Strongman (also known as the 2021 WUS Strength Island) held in Riffa, Bahrain. Later that year, Caron placed 3rd in the 2021 Shaw Classic and 5th at the 2021 Rogue Invitational.
In 2022, while competing at the 2022 Arnold Classic, Caron suffered two torn patellar tendons and an injured ankle during the Austrian Oak Log Press.
Upon his retirement, Caron became a strongman referee and has been refereeing international competitions such as Siberian Power Show and Shaw Classic in addition to organizing and refereeing Canadian national competitions.
Winning percentage: 13.70%<br>Podium percentage: 47.94%