He's already won the Arnold Strongman contest this year, as well as the inaugural Strongman Champions League contest, and this weekend Zydrunas Savickas chalked up a win in the second Strongman Champions League competition, in Serbia, extending his string of 2008 strongman victories.


Here's the podium at the Strongman Champions League contest in Serbia (left to right): Ervin Katona (second), Zydrunas Savickas (first), Andrus Murumets (third). IronMind® | Photo courtesy of Marcel Mostert.
 

But don't think this was a slam dunk for the big man from Lithuania. Contest organizer Marcel Mostert told IronMind® that Zydrunas Savickas, "really had to go to the bottom of his power, as he said after the deadlift, to secure his overall win. He had to win in the deadlift."

"Because of a bad start in the first event, arm-over-arm car pull, where Zydrunas got eighth place, he lost valuable points against the winner of this event, Andrus Murumets, and the Serbian hero and second-place finisher in this event, Ervin Katona."

Next up was the Viking Press and "even with a new world record on the Viking Press (with an impressive 20 reps with 140 kg), Zydrunas still had to fight the whole competition as Ervin Katona was leading until the second-to-last event.

"Both men had 44 points starting the deadlift. Ervin Katona and Vladimir Kalinchenko (the new Russian strongman, who replaced Misha Kokylaev, who had a bad flu) both did an impressive 12 reps at 320 kg deadlift, using a normal bar from the ground. Zydrunas never had to push himself so hard, he said, to get the last 13th rep just in time to win the deadlift, and to take the lead overall. He was almost falling down after finishing the deadlift.

"With a second place just behind Andrus Murumets on the last event, a medley, Zydrunas secured his overall win, with Ervin Katona getting a great second place and Andrus Murumets finishing in third place.

"It was a great event in total with 5,000 spectators on a sunny 25-degree [Celsius/ 77-degree Fahrenheit] day in Serbia.

"I am very happy with the event and we will have a spectacular broadcasting from this in four weeks on Eurosport," Marcel Mostert said.

TOTAL FINAL STANDINGS

1. ZYDRUNAS SAVICKAS (LITHUANIA) 69 points
2. ERVIN KATONA (SERBIA) 65.5 points
3. ANDRUS MURUMETS (ESTONIA) 63.5 points
4. AGRIS KAZELNIKS (LATVIA) 57.5 points
5. STEFAN SOLVI PETURRSSON (ICELAND) 48.5 points
6. ZDENEK SEDMIK (CZECH) 41 points
7. ESA QVINTUS (FINLAND) 37.5 points
8. VLADIMIR KALINCHENKO (RUSSIA) 34 points
9. IGOR WERNER (GERMANY) 30.5 points
10. RADOJCA MARINKOVIC (SERBIA) 30.5 points
11. BERND KIRSCHBAUMER (AUSTRIA) 29.5 points
12. IGOR MIZTROVIC (SERBIA) 22.5 points
13. JARNO HAMS (HOLLAND) injured