On 22 March, the sports field of Arēna Rīga was fully occupied by strongmen participating the Tolmets Riga Grand Prix 2008 contest.  There were 14 athletes from 11 countries competing and dividing the first points in the Strongman Champions League.

Zydrunas Savickas, the six-fold victor of Arnold Classic and the repeated World Champion of IFSA was undoubtedly the star of the first magnitude of this contest. After 6 events, he was awarded the TOLMETS RIGA GRAND PRIX 2008. The American athlete Travis Ortmayer (second place), Russian Mihail Koklyaev (fourth place) and our athlete Agris Kazeļņiks who mounted the pedestal in such a large scale contest for the first time in his athlete’s career, however proved to be a serious competition to Savickas.  

The IFSA referees established also the so far highest world’s accomplishment: the Viking Press, made of about 700 kg pine tree log grown in the forest managed by Latvijas valsts meži was knocked off 15 times. This was done by even two athletes: Zydrunas Savickas un Mihail Koklyaev.

Results on the LVM Viking Press

Zydrunas Savickas (Lithuania)               15

Mihail Koklyaev (Russia)                         15

Travis Ortmayer (USA)                           14

Farzad Mousakhani (Iran)                      13

Agris Kazeļņiks (Latvia)                          12

Andrus Murumets (Estonia)                    11

Oleksander Pekanov (the Ukraine)          9

Jarno Hams (the Netherlands)                 9

Jan Salata (Czech Republic)                     6

Tamas Malatinszky (Hungary)                   6

Anders Johansson (Sweden)                    1

Mārtiņš Skujenieks (Latvia)                       1