Life
Aivars Šmaukstelis is a highly experienced strongman from Latvia who has competed more than sixty
times internationally. Winning over twenty of those contests, he is a consistent all-rounder who is
able to perform well across the full spectrum of events.
The 2016 and 2019 Latvian champion works as a sales manager in the steel industry and claims that
being a fully professional athlete is not an option in his home country due to a lack of interest from
sponsors.
Aivars is a veteran of World’s Strongest Man and has made the grand final twice, in 2020 and 2024.
He says that what he likes most about strongman is enjoying conversation and jokes with his
competitor friends. He is known to possess excellent grip strength and is a first-class stone lifter, as
well as being a strongman who can last the distance in more endurance-based events.
Career
Šmaukstelis first began his involvement in strength sports as a powerlifter aged just sixteen. He
competed for two years, achieving an equipped total of around 800kg/1,764lb as an eighteen-year-
old. His coach encouraged him to try strongman, and he entered his first local town competition
soon after. He stopped training for a two-to-three-year period, but then re-joined the sport.
He began international competition in 2014, competing in Strongman Champions League events in
his home country.
In 2016 he took his first national title, wining Latvia’s Strongest Man. His first
international victory came that same year at the SCL event in Latvia, and he won further SCL events
in Serbia and Romania that year. In 2018 he won the Imatra Strongman Showdown.
Aivars made his World’s Strongest Man debut in 2018, where he placed 4th in his group. He returned
in 2019 to place 3rd in his heat, losing out in a stone-off to 2021 & 2022 World’s Strongest Man, Tom
Stoltman. The following year he faced another stone-off, but this time managed to progress to the
grand final where he placed 8th.
In 2021 he lost out in yet another stone-off to Maxime Boudreault of Canada, who went on to place
3rd in the final. He was eliminated, in 4th place, in the 2022 contest. The curse of the stone-off was to
repeat itself in 2023, where after a titanic battle with New Zealand’s Mathew Ragg, he was forced to
watch the final from the sidelines.
The following year Aivars fared better in his stone-off against Tom Evans of the USA and was able to
come through his heat and take his place in the final, eventually finishing 10 th . Earlier in the year he
placed 2nd at Europe’s Strongest Man having finished 3rd the year before. It was the 3rd time the
Latvian had made the podium at a Giants Live event.
Best Title
Aivars was the overall Strongman Champions League World Champion in 2019, in Porto, Portugal. He
won the title that boasts past winners such as Zydrunas Savickas, Krzysztof Radzikowski and Terry
Hollands. He led the all-Baltic nation podium by seven points from second placed Marko Remlik and
compatriot Dainis Zageris. Aivars has been a prolific winner on the Champions League circuit and is
in the running for another title in 2022.
Competition Results
World’s Strongest Man:
2024 – 10th place
2023 – 3rd in heat
2022 – 4th in heat
2021 – 3rd in heat
2020 – 8th place
2019 – 3rd in heat
2018 – 4th in heat
Giants Live:
Europe’s Strongest Man: 2024 – runner-up, 2023 – 3 rd place, 2022 – 6th place,
2022 World Tour Finals – runner-up
2024 Strongman Open – 8th place
2021 Strongman Classic: 10th place
Shaw Classic:
2024 – 14th place
2023 – 12th place
2022 – 7th place
2021 – 9th place
Strongman Champions League victories:
2024 & 2023 World Record Breakers
Finland 2024
Holland 2023
Turkey, Latvia, Gibraltar & England 2022
Romania 2021
Russia & World Finals 2019
Romania 2018 & 2017
Serbia Romania & Latvia 2016
Arnold Pro Strongman World Series:
Warwick, Canada 2019 – 4th place
Latvia’s Strongest Man: 2016 & 2019 Winner
2023 World Strongman Championships: Winner
Magnús Ver Magnússon Classic 2024 – 9th place
WUS: Dubai 2021: 3rd place, Strength Island 2021 – 3rd place
2023 Dainis Zageris Cup – winner
Pasaulio Taurè: 2021 & 2019 – winner, 2020 – runner-up
Marijampolè International: 2020 & 2018 – winner, 2017 – runner-up
Savickas Classic: 2020 – winner, 2016 – 3rd place, 2015 – 7th place
Imatra Strongman Showdown: 2020, 2019 & 2018 – winner
Best Lifts (Competition)
Deadlift: 373kg/820lb
18” Deadlift: 400kg/882lb
Hummer Tyre Deadlift: 408kg/899lb
Log Lift: 181kg/399lb
Present Day
In his most recent competitive outings Šmaukstelis finished 9th at the Magnús Ver Magnússon
Classic, shortly after his 3rd place result from the Strongman Champions League Finals in Alanya,
Turkey. Looking forward, could 2025 be the year that Aivars takes the European title? He has placed
3rd and 2nd in the last two years, and with the right events, it’s a title that is within his grasp.
Media
Aivars is active on social media and keeps an up to date account on Instagram where his handle is
@aivars.smaukstelis. On Facebook he can be found under aivars.smaukstelis. YouTube contains
numerous videos featuring the Latvian, including a interview on Laurence Shahlaei’s channel Big Loz
Official, as part of his “talking strongman” series. He has appeared on UK terrestrial television on many occasions over the last few years for his performances at World’s Strongest Man and at Giants Live Arena Tour events, both of which have featured on Channel 5’s festive schedules. His 2024 exploits are available on My5.
