Martins_Licis

Martins Licis

Martins Licis

Latvian strongman

Martins Licis (Latvian: Mārtiņš Līcis, pronounced [ˈmaːrtiɲʃ ˈliːtsis]; born September 28, 1990) is a Latvian-American professional strongman, notable for winning 2019 World's Strongest Man, 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.[1]

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He's the fourth strongman in history to win both World's Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman Classic competitions following Žydrūnas Savickas, Brian Shaw and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

Licis is the current world record holder of the Steinborn squat, Sorinex Saxon bar deadlift, Thor's Hammer one arm grip lift, Inver Stones loading, 'Rogue-a-Coaster' arm over arm pull and Conan's Wheel of Pain strongman events.

Early life

Licis was born in Riga on September 28, 1990.[2] He holds dual citizenship with Latvia and the United States, and speaks Latvian fluently. He represents the United States in competition, having moved there with his family at the age of four. He grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. During summers, he visited his grandparents' farm in Latvia, where he was first introduced to stone lifting by his grandfather Imants Līcis, a sculptor who formerly competed in Olympic weightlifting.[3] After being bullied at age 12, he turned to weight-training to, as he said, become “outrageously strong so that nobody can touch me.”[4] Licis wrestled in high school and began competing in strongman contests while still a teenager.

In 2010, Licis moved to California together with his friend Mikel Monleon. Licis eventually found a job as a personal trainer in West Hollywood, and later found out about the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. Through this, Haugen invited Licis to train at his gym, but only let him compete in the Strength Classic three years later in 2015.[3]

Career

In 2015, Licis placed first in the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. In 2016, Licis reached the World's Strongest Man finals for the first time and placed sixth. He placed fourth in the World's Strongest Man finals in 2017 and 2018.[3] Besides Strongman, Licis also competes in mas-wrestling, a variation of stick wrestling. He won gold in the 2016 MAS Wrestling Open World Championships in Columbus Ohio, beating out previous champion Viktor Kolibabchuk.[5] Licis' first pro triumph came in 2017 at the Ultimate Strongman Summermania, winning the competition representing his home country Latvia.

In 2019, Licis came in second during the Arnold Strongman Classic, behind Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.[6] In June later that year, however, he won his first World's Strongest Man title, beating out defending champion Björnsson, who finished in third after suffering a torn plantar fascia in his left foot during the heats that significantly hampered him in the final. Licis also placed ahead of Mateusz Kieliszkowski who placed second, and 4-time World's Strongest Man winner Brian Shaw who placed sixth, still recovering his hamstring injury sustained in the Arnold Strongman Classic earlier in March of the same year.[1] Licis dominated the final, finishing in the top three in all five disciplines, and winning two events outright.

On January 18, 2020, Licis won the Arnold Strongman Santa Monica Qualifier, beating out Brian Shaw by 1 point. This earned him a spot to compete at the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio on March 8.[7] At the Arnold Strongman Classic, Licis finished 3rd, behind the winner Björnsson and the second place Kieliszkowski.[8]

Licis spent most of the 2020 and 2021 strongman season in recovery, with his ultimate comeback taking place in the inaugural Rogue Invitational Strongman competition in 2021, which boasted the biggest prize purse in the history of strongman competition with four WSM champions competing.[9][10] Licis beat Tom Stoltman and Oleksii Novikov to win the competition and a top prize of $133,685.[11] The next day he set a new record in Thor's Hammer Lift by lifting a 136-kilogram (300-pound) hammer.[12]

In March 2022, at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, Licis performed consistently well in all five events, with first, second, or third finishes in all but one event. His win in the last event Stone-to-Shoulder for Reps secured him the title of the Arnold Strongman Classic for the first time, after finishing runner-up and third place in 2019 and 2020.[13][14]

In May 2022, Licis returned to World's Strongest Man for the first time since winning the 2019 contest. He finished 2nd, behind the winner Tom Stoltman and beating Oleksii Novikov on a tie breaker. [15]

In November 2022, Licis competed at the 2022 Rogue Invitational looking to defend the title he won the year before. He picked up a bicep injury midway through the competition and finished 4th.

Media appearances

In May 2020, Licis appeared on Game On! as an obstacle, engaging contestants in a strength contest.[16][17][18]

In August 2020, Licis appeared on an episode of To Tell The Truth with two other people all of them claiming to be the reigning World's Strongest Man.[19]

In March 2021, Licis appeared in a Geico commercial titled "Worlds Strongest Man Takes On The Recycling".[20]

Personal records

References

  1. [1]
    "Martins Licis Wins 2019 World's Strongest Man". barbend.com. 2019-06-16.
  2. [2]
    "Martins Licis - World's Strongest Man". theworldsstrongestman.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19.
  3. [3]
    Grabowski, Kyle (13 September 2019). "PUMPED: Martins Licis not stopping after becoming World's Strongest Man". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. [4]
    Merritt, Greg (12 September 2022). "Martins Licis: What You Need to Know About the World's Strongest Man". The Barbell. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  5. [5]
    "Invincible defeated: Martins Licis became an absolute world champion in mas-wrestling having prevailed over Viktor Kolybabchuk". International mas‑wrestling federation. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  6. [6]
    "Arnold Strongman Classic 2019: Strongman Results And Prize Money". Fitness Volt. March 3, 2019.
  7. [7]
    "Arnold Strongman Classic: Arnold Sports Festival USA".
  8. [8]
    "Arnold Strongman Classic 2020 Results And Prize Money". Fitness Volt. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  9. [9]
    Blechman, Phil (October 19, 2021). "Strongman Athletes To Watch At The 2021 Rogue Invitational". BarBend.
  10. [10]
    Hall, Derek (August 26, 2021). "2021 Rogue Invitational Features Return Of Martins Licis and Mateusz Kieliszkowski". Fitness Volt.
  11. [11]
    Reddy, Rajneesh (October 31, 2021). "Martins Licis Wins The Inaugural Strongman Contest At 2021 Rogue Invitational". Fitness Volt.
  12. [12]
    Lockridge, Roger (October 31, 2021). "Martins Licis Sets World Record 300-Pound Thor's Hammer Lift". BarBend.
  13. [13]
    "Martins Licis Wins the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic". BarBend. 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  14. [14]
    "Martins Licis Wins the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic". Men's Health. March 7, 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Strongman Archives - 2022 WSM Final". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  16. [16]
    "Martins Licis Competes Against Celebrities on CBS Show "Game On!"". BarBend. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  17. [17]
    "World's Strongest Man Martins Licis Competes Against Cast Of Popular Game Show". Fitness Volt. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  18. [18]
    "Martins Licis on Instagram: "A one of a kind experience to be a part of @gameon ! Thank you for having me be on as an obstacle 😎💪 Absolutely epic. @romarkweiss Manager:…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  19. [19]
    "To Tell the Truth" Michael Strahan, Patton Oswalt, Kristen Schaal, Taran Killam (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-08-29
  20. [20]
    Worlds Strongest Man Takes On The Recycling - GEICO Insurance, retrieved 2021-02-28
  21. [21]
    "Arnold Strongman Classic 2022 Squat Event All Lifts". YouTube. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
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