Žydrūnas Savickas

Lithuanian strongman
the Lithuanian strongman

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. 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 ,

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. 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. 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.

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
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
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.

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 This was his 8th consecutive Log Lift world record. During the SCL Holland event, Savickas set another world record in the Log Lift with a lift of 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.

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 , but failed to lockout the weight overhead. 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 .

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.

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.

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.

Savickas placed 4th in the 2018 Europe's Strongest Man and 10th overall in the 2018 World's Strongest Man.