Lithuania’s Zydrunas Savickas is arguably the greatest competitive strongman of all time. At least, that’s what the majority of the 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competitors think, and for good reason. He is a four-time WSM champion, an eight-time Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) champion, has a trophy room decorated with literally hundreds of accolades, and recently won his 16th Lithuania’s Strongest Man (LSM) competition.
The 45-year-old strongman legend has not lost that title in the last 13 times he’s competed since 2002 (he did not compete in 2003, 2010-11, and 2016). The three appearances where he missed gold were still podium finishes — second place in 1997 and 2001 and a third-place finish in his debut in 1996.
You can check out video coverage of the 2020 LSM contest below, courtesy of Savickas’ YouTube channel. The video commentary is in Lithuanian and doesn’t offer subtitles, but here is the breakdown of the six events covered:
- Log Lift for Max Reps (starts at 2:27) — Savickas is the current log lift world record holder and five-time World Log Lift Champion.
- Farmer’s Carry (starts at 9:10)
- Crucifix Hold Variation (starts at 17:33) — athletes raised a 30-kilogram weight with both hands in front of them and held it there for as long as possible.
- Heavy Squat for Max Reps (starts at 23:08)
- Tire Flip & Loading Medley (starts at 30:07) — a keg, sandbag, and small tire were loaded following four flips of a large tire.
- Truck Pull (starts at 37:46)
SPOILER ALERT: Savickas won five out of six events. His only blemish was third place in the tire flip and loading medley.
Even if you can’t understand the commentary, you can still enjoy watching Savickas put on an absolute strongman clinic. Check out the entire event below:
[Related: Brian Shaw Reveals Event List For Shaw Classic]
The 2020 Shaw Classic
Four-time WSM Champion Brian Shaw announced on Aug. 13, 2020, that he would host and compete in an elite strongman contest called the Shaw Classic on Dec. 11-12, 2020, in his home gym in Colorado. Savickas accepted an invite to compete alongside nine other strongmen, including 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov and 2020 WSM bronze medalist JF Caron.
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[Related: Zydrunas Savickas Wins 2020 Static Monsters Worldwide]
Savickas has since had to withdraw from the competition due to an undisclosed injury, and he has since been replaced with Kevin Faires, who finished in seventh place at the 2020 WSM. The Shaw Class will be available to view to members of the Shaw Elite Club via club.shawstrength.com.
It’s unfortunate that Big Z won’t be in attendance for the event, but at least there’s this footage to hold us over until his next competition. Considering he’s 45 years old, his competitive career may be coming to an end sooner rather than later. Though, it’s clear that Savickas still at the top of his game.
Feature imaged: @savickas_bigz on Instagram