Vidas Blekaitis hits 202.5 kg, for a joint victory (with Robert Kerney) at the 2016 SCL Log Lift World Championships. IronMind® | Photo courtesy of SCL
When a last minute injury caused Zydrunas Savickas to withdraw from the 2016 Log Lift World Championships, Vidas Blekaitis (Lithuania) and Robert Kerney (USA) seized the opportunity.
Lithuania and USA Win the SCL Log Lift Worlds
by Marcel Moster
MHP Strongman Champions League
Vidas Blekaitis and newcomer Robert Kearney from the USA won the MHP/SCL Log Lift World’s 2016.
In a very nice sunny day in Kaunas, with a great stadium and a fantastic cheering audience, it was these two men who caused a sensation: With both hitting 202.5 kg, they shared first place after 4 attempts. Vytautas Lalas (Lituania) could have ruined their party with an almost good lift on 205 kg. He was very close.
Marcos Ferrari from Brazil made a new national Brazilian record with 182.5 kg. Patrick Baboumian ripped his right tricep after he tried 180 kg.
Zydrunas Savickas injured himself just before, with a muscle in his neck. He expects it will be recovered soon. Therefore he could not compete, which was of course a pity for the world record holder, but for the contest of course it was very excited to see who would be number 1 in this crazy log lift battle and the 3rd stage of the MHP Strongman Champions League was again a hard one.
Final Results
| Place | Counrty | kg | Ranking Points |
| 1-2 Vidas Blekaitis | Lithuania | 202,5 | 25 |
| 1-2 Robert Kerney | USA | 202,5 | 18 |
| 3 Vytautas Lalas | Lithuania | 200 | 15 |
| 4 Dimitar Savatinov | Bulgaria | 195 | 12 |
| 5-7 Dainis Zageris | Latvia | 190 | 10 |
| 5-7 Gregorz Szymanski | Poland | 190 | 8 |
| 5-7 Graham Hicks | England | 190 | 6 |
| 8 Bjorn Solvang | Norwey | 185 | 5 |
| 9 Marcos Ferrari | Brasil | 182,5 | 4 |
| 10 Matjaz Belsak | Sovenia | 189 | 3 |
| 11 Saulius Brusokas | Lithuania | 175 | 2 |
| 12 Patrick Baboumian | Germany (injured) | 170 | 1 |
Marcel Mostert (right) interviews Vidas Bleikaitis (Lithuania) at the 2016 SCL Log Lift World Championships, where Blekaitis shared the victor with Robert Kerney (USA). IronMind® | Image courtesy of SCL
The next stage will be 11 June in Holland, with stars as Vytautas Lalas, J-F Caron and Gregorsz Szymanski and Dainis Zageris at the start. 15 athletes will be there in a total over 6 events. It promises to be a great battle again, so stay tuned!
