Martins Licis
Martins Licis (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]
 Licis in March 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Mārtiņš Līcis |
| Nickname(s) | The Dragon |
| Born | September 28, 1990 Riga, Latvia |
| Height | 6 ft 2 ½ in (1.89 m) |
| Weight | 331 lb (150 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Strongman |
| Competition record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  | ||
| World's Strongest Man | ||
| 6th | 2016 World's Strongest Man | |
| 4th | 2017 World's Strongest Man | |
| 4th | 2018 World's Strongest Man | |
| 1st | 2019 World's Strongest Man | |
| Arnold Strongman Classic | ||
| 8th | 2017 | |
| 2nd | 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic | |
| 3rd | 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic | |
| Giants Live | ||
| 3rd | Wembley 2019 | |
| America's Strongest Man | ||
| 2nd | 2015 | |
Representing  | ||
| Ultimate Strongman | ||
| 1st | 2017 Ultimate Strongman Summermania | |
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, who was a sculptor. At the age of 20, he moved to Los Angeles, CA. He soon got a maintenance job and worked that for the first year and then eventually got a job as a personal trainer. Eventually wanting to get into strongman he contacted the man in charge of the All American Strength Classic at the LA Fit Expo. That man turned out to be the one and only Odd Haugen. He asked if he could compete and told Odd his lifts but Odd said he wasn't strong enough yet. Martins said he just wanted to meet other competitors and network so Odd said well come to my house and you can train with me. 3 years into training Odd let him compete at the LA Fit Expo Where he took 1st and got his pro card. Odd Haugen eventually opened his own gym, the Training Hall, and eventually Martins became part-owner. [3] He continues to work as a personal trainer and part-owner of the Training Hall when not competing.
Career
In 2015 Martins placed first in the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. In 2016 Martins 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. Besides Strongman, Martins 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. 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, placing behind current and 2x champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. In June 2019, he upset the strongman world and won his first World’s Strongest Man title, beating out Bjornsson, who came in third after injuring his left plantar fascia. Martins 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.
On January 18, 2020 Martins 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.[4] In the Arnold Strongman Classic Licis finished 3rd, behind the winner Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and the second place Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
In May 2020, Licis appeared on Game On! as an obstacle, engaging contestants in a strength contest.[5][6][7]
In August of 2020 Martins 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.
References
- "Martins Licis Wins 2019 World's Strongest Man". barbend.com. 2019-06-16.
- http://theworldsstrongestman.com/athletes/martins-licis/
- By. "Martins Licis - World's Strongest Man". Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- https://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/sports-and-events/strongman/arnold-strongman-classic
- "Martins Licis Competes Against Celebrities on CBS Show "Game On!"". BarBend. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- "World's Strongest Man Martins Licis Competes Against Cast Of Popular Game Show". Fitness Volt. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- "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. Retrieved 2020-08-18.