Martins Licis (Latvian: Mārtiņš Līcis; born September 28, 1990) is a Latvian-American professional strongman, notable for winning the 2019 World's Strongest Man competition and placing second in the Arnold Strongman Classic.^[1]

Early life[edit]

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]

2019 World's Strongest Man Wiki

Strongman Hafthor Bjornsson Many fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the 2019 World’s Strongest Man competition, and the wait is finally over. The 2019 WSM contest location and dates have been set so far but that’s about all the information we have at the moment. A Strongman Photo Finish! I 2019 World’s Strongest Man. Next time on the Palace world's strongest man presented by Rogue Two events completed for group five, and there's a dead heat at the top will the Usa's Bryant put some distance between himself and the field,.

In 2010, Martins 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]

The latest tweets from @WorldsStrongest. 442.2k Followers, 121 Following, 1,200 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from The World's Strongest Man (@theworldsstrongestman). The 2019 World’s Strongest Man Arena Tour came to a dramatic close on 7 September at Manchester Arena. The star studded athlete line-up featured a host of international strongmen, including reigning champion Mateusz Kieliszkowski, the Scottish Stoltman Brothers, England-hating American Robert Oberst, Iron Biby and the “T-Rex” Evan Singleton.

Career[edit]

In 2015, Licis placed first in the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. In 2016, Licis reached 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.^[4] Licis' first pro triumph came in 2017 at the Ultimate Strongman Summermania, winning the competition representing his home country Latvia.

2019 World's Strongest Man Location

In 2019, Licis came in second during the Arnold Strongman Classic, placing behind current and 2x champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. In June 2019, he won his first World’s Strongest Man title, beating out Björnsson, who came in third after injuring his left plantar fascia. Licis also placed ahead of Mateusz Kieliszkowski, who placed second, and 4 times World's Strongest Man winner Brian Shaw, who placed sixth after injuring his hamstring competing alongside Licis in the Arnold Strongman Classic earlier in March of the same year.^[1]

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 in the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio on March 8.^[5] In the Arnold Strongman Classic Licis finished 3rd, behind the winner Björnsson and the second place Kieliszkowski.

In May 2020, Licis appeared on Game On! as an obstacle, engaging contestants in a strength contest.^[6][7][8]

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.^[9]

References[edit]

2019 World's Strongest Man Winner 2018 Winner

1. ^ ^ab'Martins Licis Wins 2019 World's Strongest Man'. barbend.com. 2019-06-16.
2. ^http://theworldsstrongestman.com/athletes/martins-licis/
3. ^ ^abcGrabowski, Kyle (13 September 2019). 'PUMPED: Martins Licis not stopping after becoming World's Strongest Man'. Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
4. ^'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.
5. ^https://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/sports-and-events/strongman/arnold-strongman-classic
6. ^'Martins Licis Competes Against Celebrities on CBS Show 'Game On!''. BarBend. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
7. ^'World's Strongest Man Martins Licis Competes Against Cast Of Popular Game Show'. Fitness Volt. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
8. ^'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. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
9. ^'To Tell the Truth' Michael Strahan, Patton Oswalt, Kristen Schaal, Taran Killam (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-08-29

External links[edit]

Who Is The Strongest Man Alive