Raivis Vidzis (born 22 March 1976) is a leading international

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These ...

competitor, former two-time holder of the World Strongman Cup title and repeat entrant to the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

. Now retired from strongman, Raivis currently competes in

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

Biography

Vidzis won his country's strongest man title when he was just 24 year's old. He went on to dominate in Latvia for four years whilst also making a reputation on the international circuit. In 2004 he won the overall title for the World Strongman Cup having thrown in his lot with them as opposed to the

International Federation of Strength Athletes The International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA or IFSA Strongman) was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995-2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland. History Origins In 1995, David Webster, ...

. He won it again in 2005, and made a number of appearances in the

Strongman Super Series The Strongman Super Series, known from 2001 to 2004 as the ''IFSA World Strongman Super Series'', from 2005 to 2008 as the ''World's Strongest Man Super Series'', and reverting in 2009 to the ''World Strongman Super Series'', is a sequence of grand ...

. He qualified for the prestigious

2005 World's Strongest Man The 2005 World's Strongest Man was the 28th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his third title. Jesse Marunde from the United States finished second, and Dominic Filiou from Canada third. The c ...

competition but did not make the final. In 2006 he was invited to the

2006 World's Strongest Man The 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man was the 29th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Phil Pfister, the first American to win the competition since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. The contest took place between the 14th and 23 September 2006, ...

where he made the final ten, finishing ninth overall. In 2007 a fourth place showing in

Europe's Strongest Man Europe's Strongest Man is an annual strength athletics competition which began in 1980. The event is held in various locations throughout Europe, and features exclusively European strongman competitors. Mariusz Pudzianowski holds the record for mos ...

was the highlight although he did make the

2007 World's Strongest Man The 2007 World's Strongest Man was the 30th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his fourth and record tying title. Sebastian Wenta from Poland finished second, and Terry Hollands from the United ...

competition but did not make the final. Vidzis, having been so active in the now defunct World Strongman Cup, reduced his competitive activity in 2008 and 2009. He competed in the

2008 World's Strongest Man The 2008 World's Strongest Man was the 31st edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrativ ...

competition but again did not make the final. An appearance at the 2009 Europe's Strongest Man was the only major engagement of that year.

Competition record

* 2000 ** 1. – Latvia's Strongest Man * 2001 ** 1. – Latvia's Strongest Man ** 7. – World's Strongest Team 2001 (with

Raimonds Bergmanis Total Raimonds Bergmanis (born 25 July 1966) is a Latvian politician and former Minister of Defence. He is a former Olympic weightlifter and retired strongman competitor. Athletic career Bergmanis was part of the L ...

) * 2002 ** 9. – Europe's Strongest Man 2002 ** 1. – Latvia's Strongest Man * 2003 ** 1. – Latvia's Strongest Man * 2004 ** 2. – World Strongman Cup 2004: Edmonton * 2005 ** 4. – Polish Giants,

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

** 2. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Ryga ** 5. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Armagh ** 8. – Strongman Super Series 2006: Milicz ** 2. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Mińsk ** 2. – Poland against Europe ** 9. –

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

** 10. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Vienna ** 6. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Grodzisk Mazowiecki ** 5. – World Strongman Cup 2006: Podolsk * 2007 ** 6. – Polish Giants,

** 2. – World Strongman Cup 2007: Ryga ** 4. – Europe's Strongest Man 2007 ** 6. – World Strongman Cup 2007: Dartford ** 4. – Grand Prix of Khanty-Mansijsk (WSMC) * 2008 ** 7. – Europe's Strongest Man 2008 ** 3. – Polish Grand Prix ** 8. – Strongman Super Series 2008: Lysekil * 2009 ** 8. – Europe's Strongest Man 2009

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Julius Zurauskis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WFCA – Fight Arena: Latvia vs. Russia , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 ,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vadim Gridiajev , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WFCA – Cage Fight Volume 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 ,

, Latvia ,

References

External links

Raivis Vidzis – Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidzis, Raivis 1976 births Latvian male mixed martial artists Latvian strength athletes Living people People from Ogre, Latvia Super heavyweight mixed martial artists