THE “AMBER PRIX” IN WORLD SPORT.

WHO CAN COMPARE?

As they leaf through this book, many readers may wonder why it does not describe bodybuilding events that were taking place at the same time in other Lithuanian cities or in other countries. The reason is simple: this book is dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of the “Amber Prix”.

Comprehensive information about the development of bodybuilding in Lithuania, the USSR, the socialist countries, Europe, and the rest of the world has been collected and documented since 2012 in our ongoing “World Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding”. The first volume of the encyclopedia—one of a planned three-volume series—is already nearly ready for publication.

In this book, we seek to reveal everything connected with the “Amber Prix” competition: its history, circumstances, background, and behind-the-scenes events. It is difficult to find another bodybuilding event in the world whose history encompasses such a remarkable variety of experiences and occurrences—both positive and negative, extraordinary and unforgettable.

Few bodybuilding events have had as great an influence on the development of this sport as the “Amber Prix”. Throughout its history, it has been described in many different ways: as an illegal competition, a Lithuanian tournament, and an international event. The USSR Ministry of Sports even referred to it as the “Unofficial USSR Bodybuilding Championship.”

For athletes, participation in the “Amber Prix” was always a matter of honor and prestige. Their names have been permanently inscribed in the history of the sport. At a time when opportunities to travel abroad and compete in European and World Championships were extremely limited, the “Amber Prix” provided many athletes with an alternative that allowed them to experience the atmosphere of high-level international competition.

A look at the history of these contests reveals an astonishing abundance of facts and events. Naturally, there were people who did not approve of them. There are still such people today. Yet that is human nature: alongside the ability to appreciate and create, there is always a tendency to criticize and reject. Such is an inseparable part of every significant story.

More information is on international site www.wff.lt

WORLD FITNESS FEDERATION
(W.F.F. - International)
(W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Since 1968, 141 Country Members, 60 Annual International Events World Wide)
HISTORIC "AMBER PRIX INTERNATIONAL"
OVER ALL WINNERS
(1967 - 2026)

MEN
Date, Name, Country
2026 GRAZVYDAS NARUSEVICIUS, Lithuania

2025 SZYMON LUBECKI , Poland

2024 RAHUL JOSHI, India

2023 ALEKSEJ LAPSHIN, Estonia

2022 VASILIJ BESPALENKO, Ukraine

2021 ARTUR KAMIENIAK, Poland

2020 MAROS KANASZ, Slovakia

2019 GOLAP RABHA,  India

2018 ALEKSANDR SACHAROV, Uzbekistan

2017 MAROS KANASZ, Slovakia
2016 JORG FUCHS, Germany
2015 AHMADI ARASH, Iran
2014 ANDREJ RUMIANCEV, Estonia
2013 ANDRZEJ BRZEZINSKI, Poland
2012 PIR SARANDIB MEHDI, Iran
2011 NAFTEJ SINGH, India
2010 DHARMENDER SINGH, India
2009 ALEKSANDR SCIOGOLEV, Russia
2008 DARIUS BUKSNAITIS, Lithuania
2007 ALEKSANDR SEVCOV, Estonia
2006 ALEXANDR LIUBOMIROV, Latvia
2005 IVAN SERGEJEV, Russia
2004 ALEKSANDR MASLOVSKIJ, Latvia
2003 AIVARS VISOCKIS, Latvia
2002 RADIK MANAFOV, Lithuania
2001 ALEKSANDR MASLOVSKIJ, Latvia
2000 RADIK MANAFOV, Lithuania
1999 DARIUS BUKSNAITIS, Lithuania
1998 RICARDAS GURSKAS, Lithuania
1997 ROLANDAS POCIUS, Lithuania
1996 ALGIRDAS KILCIAUSKAS, Lithuania
1995 SERGEJ OGORODNIKOV, Russia
1994 ALGIRDAS KILCIAUSKAS, Lithuania
1991 OLEGAS ZURAS, Lithuania
1990 OLEGAS ZURAS, Lithuania
1989 VIKTORAS JUCYS, Lithuania
1988 VIKTORAS JUCYS, Lithuania
1987 VIKTORAS JUCYS, Lithuania
1986 ROLANDAS BUCINSKAS, Lithuania
1985 ALGIRDAS IVANAUSKAS, Lithuania
1984 VINCAS DUBICKAS, Lithuania
1983 VINCAS DUBICKAS, Lithuania
1982 JEVGENIJ GORELIK, Lithuania
1981 SAULIUS MISEVICIUS, Lithuania
1980 VLADAS KAPCEVICIUS, Lithuania
1979 OLEV ANNUS, Estonia
1978 OLEV ANNUS, Estonia
1977 STASYS CUKANOVAS, Lithuania
1976 RISARDAS KRINICKIS, Lithuania
1975 RISARDAS KRINICKIS, Lithuania
1974 VYTAUTAS ZENKEVICIUS, Lithuania

1970 ANTANAS MINEIKIS, Lithuania
1969 ANTANAS MINEIKIS, Lithuania
1968 LEONAS PIVORIUNAS, Lithuania

1967 KLEMENSAS ALSAUSKAS, Lithuania.

International Secretary UGNE RAUDYTE - DAUBARIENE

INFORMATION.
More detailed information on the Global International Site www.wff.lt, see forum topics.

CONTEST REGISTRATION: www.worldfitness.lt

KLAIPĖDA’S TRADITION CONTINUED. The “Amber Prix” Tournament, 1969–1970.

In 1969, a strong wave of sporting enthusiasm swept across Lithuania, including the rapidly growing sport of bodybuilding. Public interest in this new athletic discipline was remarkable. Bodybuilding competitions were staged at prestigious venues such as the Vingis Park stage in Vilnius and the Kaunas Sports Hall, attracting significant public attention. The events were covered extensively by the press and even broadcast on national television.

The results of the earliest bodybuilding tournaments, however, should be viewed with some reservation. Judged by modern bodybuilding standards, the outcomes would likely have been very different. At the time, bodybuilding competitions always included a strength component, which encouraged competitors to invite weightlifters to participate. As a result, many early champions owed their victories primarily to outstanding performances in strength exercises rather than to muscular development or physique aesthetics.

This became particularly evident during the 1970 competition held in Kaliningrad (RSFSR), where Klaipėda weightlifters Algis Eidukas and Alfonsas Mėcius outperformed nearly all the bodybuilders and emerged victorious. Among the champions, only Antanas Mineikis could be considered a true bodybuilder in the modern sense, distinguished both by his impressive muscular physique and strong results in the strength events.

The 1969 “Amber Prix” tournament was held at the Palace of Culture of the Klaipėda Construction Trust. In keeping with tradition, the competition consisted of two parts: athletes first competed in strength exercises and later demonstrated their physiques.

The event featured musical accompaniment by the popular jazz ensemble “Žėrutis.” On this occasion, former rower and member of Klaipėda’s amateur circus group Antanas Mineikis not only won his height category but also captured the overall champion title. In his category, he defeated the favorite and reigning 1968 champion Leonas Pivoriūnas.

In the second height category, victory went to Klaipėda heavyweight athlete Alfonsas Mėčius, while the first category was won by Kaunas representative Giršas Langevičius. Prize-winning places were also secured by Klaipėda athletes Kestutis Rumsas, Petras Lenkauskas, Jonas Vaiciulis, and Bronius Kilinskas.

By 1970, the “Amber Prix” tournament attracted somewhat less attention, as Lithuania was hosting several other international bodybuilding events, while the national team celebrated a successful appearance at competitions in the Polish People’s Republic. The winners of the fourth “Amber Prix” tournament categories were Antanas Mineikis, Pranas Cesnulevicius, and Juras Janciauskas. The latter two, together with the 1968 overall “Amber Prix” champions Valdas Aliubavicius and Leonas Pivoriunas, represented the Vilnius sports club “Viktorija,” which had already gained recognition as the center of the emerging “Vilnius School of Bodybuilding.”

The school was led by the talented coach Ceslav Tamulevic (1945–2023), whose influence played an important role in the development of Lithuanian bodybuilding.

In 1970, Antanas Mineikis was declared the overall winner of the “Amber Prix” tournament. Among the prize winners were also Klaipeda athletes Nikolaj Caika, Kestutis Rumsas, and Genadij Sevelkov.

Following the 1970 tournament, Klaipeda organizer Antanas Jonuskutis withdrew from organizational activities. Until bodybuilding was officially banned in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in 1973, the “Amber Prix” tournament was no longer continued.

Nevertheless, the popularity of bodybuilding continued to grow. In 1971 and 1972, two “USSR Bodybuilding Championships” were organized within the territory of the RSFSR. Lithuanian athletes participated in both events, although no representatives from Klaipėda took part. In 1971, Estonian athletes established the international tournament Georg Tenno Memorial, which became one of the most prominent traditions in Baltic bodybuilding.

More information is on International Site www.wff.lt

2026 INTERNATIONAL SPORTS NEWS.

PLANNED OFFICIAL VISIT OF WFF-WBBF WORLD FEDERATION LEADERSHIP TO POLAND.

An official visit of the leadership of the World WFF-WBBF Federation to several cities in Poland is planned in the near future.

The visit's agenda will include a series of important international meetings, sporting events, as well as meetings with representatives of the Polish government and state authorities.

One of the key objectives of the visit is to discuss the possibility of organizing the 47-th prestigious international "WFF-WBBF World Grand Prix" tournament for professional and amateur athletes in Poland in 2027.

The planned event is expected to become a significant international sporting occasion, contributing to the development of bodybuilding, strengthening international cooperation, and expanding the WFF-WBBF Federation's activities across Europe.

Further information on the Federation's international projects, events, and activities is available on the official international website:

www.wff.lt

WFF-WBBF – International Cooperation, Sports Development, and New Opportunities for Athletes Worldwide!

WHAT IS N.A.B.B.A.? DRAWING CONCLUSIONS. WE SHOULD KNOW AT LEAST SOMETHING ABOUT OUR SPORTING HISTORY.

We have already described the detailed history of the N.A.B.B.A. association on numerous occasions in our previous articles. Follow our international website www.wff.lt, where extensive information about the history of world bodybuilding and fitness is available.

Following the death of Oscar Heidenstam, N.A.B.B.A. no longer had a leader capable of providing the organization with a new strategic direction. The organization preserved its traditions and historical heritage, but ceased to pursue ambitious international expansion goals.

Nevertheless, N.A.B.B.A. remains one of the oldest and historically most significant bodybuilding organizations in the world. Since its establishment, it has served as an important alternative to other international bodybuilding structures and has left a lasting mark on the history of the sport.

In 1998, the International Olympic Committee refused to support bodybuilding's aspirations to become an Olympic sport. Furthermore, following the cessation of activities of G.A.I.S.F. (Global Association of International Sports Federations) in 2023, the status of international bodybuilding organizations became even more complicated and less clearly defined.

N.A.B.B.A. IN LITHUANIA. SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL EVENTS

Following the collapse of the socialist system, many people expected a Western miracle. Lithuanian athletes were no exception.

In December 1990, during the “Miss Olympia” event in New York, IFBB President Ben Weider told Edmundas Daubaras that he did not recognize Lithuania's independence and would not admit Lithuanian athletes into the IFBB federation separately from the Soviet Union.

Edmundas Daubaras had to find an independent path. At that time, there was virtually no information available about international bodybuilding organizations, so everything had to be researched and organized independently.

The restored Lithuanian state needed international recognition and support.

With the assistance of Lithuania's Minister of Sport, Algirdas Raslanas, in May 1991 we established the first national bodybuilding organization in Lithuania – the Lithuanian National Bodybuilding Association (LNKA).

Having united the country's best bodybuilders of that time, we participated in the N.A.B.B.A. European Championships in France in May 1991. Natalija Murnikovienė from Klaipėda and Rolandas Bučinskas from Šiauliai became the first historic bodybuilding champions of independent Lithuania.

Soon afterwards, Edmundas Daubaras brought back an official document from London in which N.A.B.B.A. recognized Lithuania's independence and expressed its support for the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee. The document was handed over to LTOK President Artūras Poviliūnas.

With the support of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, we organized N.A.B.B.A. European Championships in Klaipėda, Vilnius, and Palanga in 1996–1998. Edmundas Daubaras was appointed Vice President of the international N.A.B.B.A. association.

Gradually, through our communication with N.A.B.B.A. President Ivan Dunbar, we discovered that in England N.A.B.B.A. was legally registered as a public club. This raised numerous legal and financial questions.

Since 1995, we had been actively developing the activities of the World Fitness Federation (WFF). Support from the Lithuanian state for our events was also growing.

Ministers, prime ministers, and members of the Lithuanian Parliament became chairpersons and members of the organizing committees of our events.

Following the spectacular WFF World Championships held at the Vilnius Congress Palace in 2004 and 2005, the records set at those events remain unsurpassed to this day. The reaction of N.A.B.B.A. leaders in London became increasingly tense.

At that time, the scale of our activities and our international presence clearly exceeded those of N.A.B.B.A.

As tensions increased, in 2005 we decided to leave N.A.B.B.A. and continue on our own independent path.

Our objective was clear – we sought international recognition for bodybuilding and fitness, official government support, and broader opportunities for organizational development. These objectives were not priorities for N.A.B.B.A.

Essentially, this situation remains unchanged to this day.

The position we left within the N.A.B.B.A. organization was subsequently occupied by other representatives of Lithuania.

History is history. It must be known, respected, and lessons must be drawn from it.