Many of the events were the same with slight twists. Such as the silver dollar DL instead of the car/tire DL's of today. Instead of the Yoke they used fridges and other strange objects to carry on your back. Really it was the same as today only today it is geared more towards power than anything else. It used to be a lot of "the farthest distance wins" type of stuff but has been slowly shifting to "who can do it fastest in a set distance?" The events are a lot safer nowadays too. No uneven ground to walk on, unbalanced objects, and as many variables taken away as possible.
Also, people are just getting stronger and better at these events. More equipment is available and there are "standards" amongst events throughout the world. An example of the equipment availability giving advantages today is that, in 1997, they used a "custom" set of hand carved logs for Americas Strongest Man. Today we have 10"-12" steel logs. Not many people had logs and there was no standard so it was hard to get really good at it. So in the 97 ASM they used a ~220lb log and people were lucky to get 8 reps. Now, in ASM, they use no less than 285 and thats STILL too light for many. I believe Jason Kristal (sp?) put up 13 reps with a 300lb log in AM Nationals a couple years back.
The events of the past would have suited a shorter fellow very well compared to nowadays. They would have just shouldered a stone rather than load it on a 60" platform. Lots of deadlifting. Carrys for distance. Jerks off a rack. Bench pressing of sorts. Today is hard for the shorter man because of things like fingal fingers, high stone platforms, and truck pulls (more of a weight issue).
