After finishing in second place to Mark Felix in the Masters (50-plus) World’s Strongest Man competition during the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG) in Daytona Beach, FL, on Nov. 13, 2022, Best did something a little out of the ordinary. He left his performance shoes behind, revealing he would be retiring from strongman competition.

In a post-competition interview from the livestream, Best was understandably emotional over the weight of his decision. He had nothing but kind words for a rewarding endeavor of which he had dedicated himself to for years.

“Thank you all so much,” Best said. “I love this sport with all my heart, and it’s been a wonderful ride.”

The 2022 OSG was Best’s first strongman contest since an appearance at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM). After an unfortunate lat muscle tear in April 2021 that temporarily derailed much of his training and competitive plans — a second-place result in his strongman swan song roughly just a year and a half later is commendable.

According to BarBend, while Best is retiring from full-time strongman contests, he did not rule out featuring as a professional powerlifter or any future singular attempts at breaking a strongman record. One-off short strongman events aren’t out of the question either, depending on what is detailed. Best noted he will be participating in an undisclosed full powerlifting meet in May where he wants to become the oldest man ever to record a 1000-kilogram (2,204-pound) total.

Given the extended time he spent as a competitive strongman, Best can count on plenty of highlights on his strongman resume.

Among the potentially more notable achievements, Best won the 2009 Jesse Marunde Memorial Invitational, as well as the 2016 Masters (40-plus) World’s Strongest Man and the 2016 Giants Live North American Open contests. From 2010-2020, he was a mainstay at the flagship WSM, notching his best-ever result of sixth place in 2010 and once again finished in the top 10 in 2017.

While Best refocuses his energies outside of major strongman contests, this likely won’t be the last anyone in the strength sports community hears of the icon. For a dedicated and experienced athlete like him, it might just be the beginning of the next promising phase of his overall competitive career.

Featured image: nickbeststrongman / Instagram

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On Nov. 13, 2022, during the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG) in Daytona Beach, FL, Savickas successfully repeated to win the Masters (40-plus) World’s Strongest Man (WSM) title. The championship is the third Masters WSM victory (2017, 2021-2022) for the Lithuanian in his illustrious career. Joining Savickas on the podium were reigning World Deadlift Champion (WDC) Rauno Heinla (second place) — who Savickas eclipsed on a tiebreaker — and Jitse Kramer (third place).

Here’s an overview of the complete final standings from the 2022 Masters World’s Strongest Man:

2022 Master’s World Strongest Man Final Standings

1. Žydrūnas Savickas — 54.5 points (Winner by a tiebreaker)
2. Rauno Heinla — 54.5 points (Lost by a tiebreaker)
3. Jitse Kramer — 50.5 points
4. Matt Webb — 41 points
5. Dimitar Savitinov — 41 points
6. Dainius Repšys — 38.5 points
7. Romek Velt — 34 points
8. Washington Flores — 24 points
9. Tim Filus — 24 points
10. Peter Fundberg — 22 points

Here’s a quick synopsis of Savickas’ individual performance at the 2022 OSG, including how he overcame Heinla to take home the Masters title by the contest’s end.

Žydrūnas Savickas | 2022 Masters World’s Strongest Man Event By Event Overview

1. Viking Press — Third place (nine reps)
2. Farmer’s Walk — Third place (18.22 seconds)
3. Axle Deadlift — Third place (nine reps)
4. Sandbag to Shoulder — Third place (three bags in 24.47 seconds)
5. Car Walk — Fifth place (14.56 seconds)
6. Circus Dumbbell Medley — Fourth place (three dumbbells in 20.78 seconds)
7. Atlas Stones — First place (six stones in 33.28 seconds)

Day One — Nov. 12, 2022

Savickas opened the first day of the competition with a spate of solid third-place results.

He started with the Viking press, tying Heinla in third with nine reps of a 147.5-kilogram (325.2-pound) implement. The Lithuanian athlete would follow that output with another third-place finish on the farmer’s walk — when he used his terrific grip strength to successfully carry 150 kilograms (330.7 pounds) in each hand for the prescribed (undisclosed) distance in 18.22 seconds.

After that, Savickas would notch nine reps of a 300-kilogram (660.3-pound) axle deadlift for another top-three event finish. To close the day, Savickas managed to lift three of the four sandbags in 24.47 seconds during the sandbag-to-shoulder event for one more third-place outcome.

Day Two — Nov. 13, 2022

In two of the final three events of the contest, Savickas started to slow down before a final flourish.

The strongman could only manage a fifth-place result on the car walk when he carried the vehicle frame weighing 408 kilograms (899.5 pounds) in 14.56 seconds. Next, after Savickas finished in fourth during the circus dumbbell medley, an event win for Heinla gave him the lead over the Lithuanian heading into the climactic final segment.

Savickas left no stone unturned (or unlifted) during the Atlas stones, pacing ahead of the entire field in a stellar first-place performance (all six stones in 33.28 seconds). Fate would smile upon this result when an unfortunate fourth-place stones result for Heinla (five stones in 30.51 seconds) meant the two athletes finished tied on points at 54.5. Because Savickas won the Atlas stones outright, he was awarded the tiebreaker and the 2022 Masters WSM championship.

Even at his age, Savickas has participated in six strongman contests during the 2022 calendar year thus far, winning three of them. He might not necessarily be at the peak of his powers, but it’s evident this living legend still has a rabid taste for competition and victory the way the great ones almost always do.

Featured image: savickas_bigz on Instagram

The post Žydrūnas Savickas Wins the 2022 Masters World’s Strongest Man Title appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On Oct. 30, 2022, Best shared an Instagram clip of himself finishing a 272.7-kilogram (600-pound) deadlift for 16 reps from a narrow conventional stance. Per the caption of Best’s post, his demonstration of deadlift power and endurance came only a few days before his 54th birthday on Nov. 3. This specific deadlift set might have been motivated by a celebration of his latest age milestone. The athlete utilized lifting straps and also wore a lifting belt to help him with the pulls.

[Related: How to Do the Trap Bar Deadlift — Variations, Benefits, and Common Mistakes]

With this deadlift in the account, Best is currently in the final stages of his preparations for the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG). Best will compete in the Men’s Masters 50-plus division at the contest that will take place on November 11-13, 2022, in Daytona Beach, FL. It will be Best’s fourth appearance at the competition, and his first competitive strongman appearance since the 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM). (Note: Best returned to powerlifting at the 2022 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) FQ Classic 2 in a first-place performance with wraps in the Masters 50-54 division.)

Even without a formal contest on the way, Best would likely be hard at work training some kind of skill in his spare time. The athlete regularly makes it a point to share his unique progress on his Instagram profile. Most recently, he notably carried a 700-pound Yoke 50 feet in seven seconds in late October 2022. Before that, he dragged a 315-pound tire 25 meters back and forth at the midway point of the same month.

Here’s the list of confirmed events and the schedule for the 2022 OSG:

2022 Official Strongman Games Events

Day 1 — Friday, November 11th, 2022

• Viking Press
• Farmer’s Walk

Day 2 — Saturday, November 12th, 2022

• Axle Deadlift
• Sandbag to Shoulder

Day 3, Finals (Top 10 athletes in each division) — Sunday, November 13th, 2022

• Car Walk
• Circus Dumbbell
• Atlas Stones

[Related: The 12 Best Hamstring Exercises for Muscle Mass, Strength, and More]

Aside from Best, other notable competitors who will appear in their respective categories at the 2022 OSG include 2018 World’s Strongest Woman (WSW) Rhianon Lovelace, four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Žydrūnas Savickas, 2020 Ukraine’s Strongest Man (USM) Pavlo Kordiyaka, and Axle Deadlift American Record holder (299.4 kilograms/660 pounds) Nadia Stowers.

In the Men’s Masters 50-plus division, specifically, reigning champion Michael Saunders will return to defend his title. As a former OSG champion in 2016, a potentially revitalized Best might be the person who can topple Saunders off his perch in Daytona Beach, FL.

Featured image: @nickbeststrongman on Instagram

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