Žydrūnas Savickas (born July 15, 1975) is a Lithuanian retired strongman and powerlifter. Due to his 84 international wins in strongman including four World's Strongest Man titles, eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as the greatest strongman of all time.

Career

Žydrūnas Savickas first became interested in strength sports after watching a Lithuanian strongman contest on TV in 1989. Three years later, he took part in that same strongman contest and defeated a number of older and more experienced competitors. At age 17, Savickas began to train in powerlifting. In his second powerlifting contest, he broke all the Lithuanian records. In 1998, Savickas won his first Lithuania's Strongest Man contest. He would later go on to win this contest a total of 17 times, with the latest coming in 2022. Savickas then competed in the 1998 and 2000 World's Strongest Man contests, but failed to qualify for the finals both times. He won the silver medal in the World powerlifting championship in Japan with a total of 1020 kg, just 2.5 kg behind Brad Gillingham.

2001–2008

In 2001, a contest in the Faroe Islands dealt Savickas a major setback, as he tore both patellar tendons during the Conan's Wheel event. Many believed that the extent of the injury meant that his career was over. However, nine months later, Savickas won the Lithuanian powerlifting championships and a short time later, he also won the 2002 Lithuania's Strongest Man contest. Savickas would go on to finish in 2nd place at the 2002 World's Strongest Man in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He would finish in 2nd place five more times in 2003, 2004, 2011, 2013 and 2015 and 1st place at the 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014 World's Strongest Man contests. Savickas won the Arnold Strongman Classic six consecutive times from 2003 to 2008. Savickas won the IFSA European Championships in 2005 which qualified him for the IFSA World Championships. In September 2005, he broke three world records and won the IFSA Strongman World Championships in Quebec, Canada. In December 2005, Savickas won the IFSA World Team Championships with Team Europe and won the IFSA World Championships for the 2nd time in 2006 in Reykjavík, Iceland. On October 24, 2005, Savickas represented Lithuania in a team competition with Vidas Blekaitis, Saulius Brusokas, and Vilius Petrauskas. Team Lithuania placed 5th overall at the IFSA World's Strongest Nation contest in Ukraine. In September 2007, Savickas finished in 3rd place at the last ever IFSA World Championships behind runner-up Mikhail Koklyaev and champion Vasyl Virastyuk in Geumsan, South Korea. Savickas won 5 out of the 7 total contests during the inaugural 2008 Strongman Champions League season and won the 2008 overall title 58 points ahead of second-place finisher Ervin Katona.

2009–2010

In June 2009, Savickas won Fortissimus after finishing runner-up in 2008 behind Derek Poundstone. On October 3, 2009, Savickas won the 2009 World's Strongest Man competition ahead of defending champion and five-time winner Mariusz Pudzianowski. He had not competed at WSM since 2004. On the set of Lo Show dei Record in Rome, Italy on April 1, 2010, Savickas set a record of 70 metres (229 ft 7 in) for the longest distance carrying a 300 kg yoke. The record was part of the Italian TV series Lo Show dei Record. In June 2010, Savickas won the Europe's Strongest Man competition. In September 2010, Savickas and Brian Shaw tied for points at the 2010 World's Strongest Man competition, but Savickas won the championship on countback. He also set a new world record for the Giant Wooden Log Lift by lifting 210 kg. Savickas also won the World Log Lift Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2011 (no contest was held in 2010).

2011

In April 2011, Savickas set a new Guinness World Record performing a 20-meter Farmer's Walk in 7.55 seconds with 150 kg implements in each hand. The event was broadcast on the Guinness TV show in Europe. Savickas won five Strongman Champions League events during the 2011/2012 season, in Finland in March 2011, Germany on April 16, 2011, the SCL Semi-finals in Canada in October 2011, Latvia in November 2011 and the SCL Finals in Sarajevo, Bosnia on February 7, 2012. Ervin Katona won the overall championships, with Savickas as the runner-up. During the SCL Finals in Sarajevo, Savickas set a new world record in the Log Lift with 215 kg. This was his 7th consecutive world record in the Log Lift, not including his world record in the Giant Wooden Log Lift set at the 2010 World's Strongest Man contest. In September 2011, Savickas lost his WSM crown to Brian Shaw at the 2011 World's Strongest Man contest at Wingate University, North Carolina, coming in second place for the fourth time.

2012

Savickas won the 2012 Europe's Strongest Man contest on June 23, 2012, his second ESM title after winning in 2010. Savickas also set a new world record in the Log Lift with a lift of 216 kg. This was his 8th consecutive Log Lift world record. Savickas won 11 of the 14 Strongman Champions League contests in the 2012 season and won the overall championships title. During the SCL Holland event, Savickas set another world record in the Log Lift with a lift of 217.5 kg. This was Savickas' third Log Lift world record in 2012 and 9th consecutive Log Lift world record. On October 1, 2012, Savickas regained the WSM crown by winning the 2012 World's Strongest Man contest in Los Angeles, California. This was Savickas' third WSM title, and became the fifth competitor in WSM history to win three or more WSM titles. Savickas also set a new Log Lift world record in the finals with a lift of 220 kg (484 lb). On October 7, 2012, Savickas won the 2012 World Log Lift Championships which was held at the same venue as the SCL Savickas Classic event. This was his fourth consecutive World Log Lift Championships title.

2013

Savickas won his inaugural 2013 contest, the Strongman Champions League Holland event held in Kalkar, Germany on June 22, 2013. Savickas also attempted a new Log Lift world record of 221 kg, but failed to lockout the weight overhead. Savickas won seven SCL contests in the 2013 season and came second in the overall championships behind Krzysztof Radzikowski. On June 29, 2013, Savickas won his third Europe's Strongest Man title. He also set a new Log Lift world record with a lift of 221 kg. In August 2013, Savickas finished second in the 2013 World's Strongest Man contest behind Brian Shaw.

2014

At Giants Live Poland, Savickas set a new world record on the Log Lift for 227 kg. In the 2014 World's Strongest Man, he managed to win his fourth title with just half a point difference over the second placed Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson. He became the oldest WSM winner in history, at 38 years and 258 days. Zydrunas also set a new world record in the giant barbell squat event by squatting 329 kg for 15 repetitions. Savickas also won the 2014 Arnold Strongman Classic, edging out perennial rival Brian Shaw.

2015

Savickas placed 2nd in both the 2015 Arnold Strongman Classic and the 2015 World's Strongest Man competitions, this year losing to Brian Shaw. He also won the 2015 World Log Lift Championship.

2016

Savickas again won the 2016 Arnold Strongman Classic, a record 8th time. However, Savickas would miss the 2016 World's Strongest Man competition because of a back injury.

2017

In 2017, Savickas returned to the World's Strongest Man competition. While he made the finals, he was hampered by past injuries, and finished in 9th place. This was the first time he placed lower than 2nd at WSM since the year 2000.

2018

Savickas placed 4th in the 2018 Europe's Strongest Man, and 10th overall in the 2018 World's Strongest Man finals. Savickas had to withdraw from the WSM finals due to injuries to his Achilles and bicep. As of 2024, this would be his last appearance so far at the WSM.

Personal records

Powerlifting

''Done in official powerlifting competitions under IPF rules (single-ply equipment).

Strongman

During training (Self-claims):

Legacy

In his career which spanned 25 years facing 3 generations of strongmen, Žydrūnas has competed in more competitions than anyone else (153) and has won more international competitions than anyone else (84) as well. His winning percentage of 55% is seconded only to Mariusz Pudzianowski. However, the winning streak and number of victories of Žydrūnas Savickas, as evidenced by nearly 250 trophies and 200 medals, may never be matched. During an interview with strongman analyst Laurence Shahlaei in 2020, Žydrūnas said that Mariusz Pudzianowski, Svend Karlsen, Derek Poundstone, Brian Shaw and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson are the 5 greatest strongmen he has competed against. In brief, Žydrūnas has dominated the following competitions:

Achievements

Placements: 130 x 1st places, 32 x 2nd places and 22 x 3rd places = 184 x podium finishes from 218 total competitions.

Gallery

Political career

Savickas entered politics as a member of the Liberal and Centre Union and expressed interest to run for office since 2008. In 2012, he explained that participating in politics was a "pastime", as he saw his sporting career as his free time and didn't understand what sportsmen are "supposed to do all day". In 2011, he joined the nonpartisan team of former Mayor of Vilnius, Artūras Zuokas, and won a seat in the Vilnius municipal council in the 2011 local elections. He stated that he does not have large political ambitions and will be an "observer". During his time in office, he led a councillor group on promoting culture and combating alcoholism. He ran with Zuokas's political party YES in the Biržai-Kupiškis constituency in the 2012 parliamentary election, however, he did not get to the second round. After it merged with the Liberal and Centre Union to form the Lithuanian Freedom Union, he joined the Liberal Movement instead. He ran as their candidate in the Naujoji Vilnia constituency in the 2016 parliamentary election. Describing his political views as a candidate to the Seimas, he identified as a businessman as well as a sportsman, and expressed his desire to lower taxes and reduce the bureaucratic apparatus. From 2020 onwards, he has been accused of spreading misinformation about George Soros, Antifa, and the COVID-19 vaccine. In 2020, it was reported that he was a moderator of a Lithuanian QAnon conspiracy theory group on Facebook. He was one of the leaders of an anti-restriction protest during the commemmoration of the January Events in 2022 and described the pandemic controls of the Šimonytė Cabinet as a "dictatorship" and "anti-constitutional", which got members of the municipal council in his home town Biržai to propose revoking his honorary citizenship. He switched to the Lithuanian Regions Party and was elected to the council of Molėtai District Municipality on their list in 2023.

Personal life

Savickas married his longtime girlfriend Jurgita Savickienė on July 24, 2010, in Lithuania. At the end of September 2010, a biography entitled Žydrūnas Savickas – žmogus iš geležies (Žydrūnas Savickas – A Man Of Iron) was published in Lithuania. Zydrunas Savickas has a YouTube channel where he talks on strongman related topics such as recovery, diet, and training habits. In June 2021, Žydrūnas and his wife Jurgita got divorced. He got married for a second time on October 12, 2022, in Molėtai taking Brigita Lacytė to be his spouse.