Russian bogatyrs at the Exposition: the country's strongest athletes set spectacular records
On May 10, under the auspices of the International Bogatyrs' Movement World's Strongest Nation a show-tournament of strongmen "Bogatyrs" was held. The guests of the show saw a series of attempts to set spectacular records from the strongest athletes of Russia. The event was timed to coincide with Victory Day. The start of the bogatyr performance was preceded by a minute of silence in memory of the fallen Soviet soldiers.
The records were registered by a group of experts: Mikhail Paller, president of the International Bogatyr Movement World's Strongest Nation, Alexei Savchenko, vice-president of World's Strongest Nation, Mikhail Ivanov, advisor to the president of World's Strongest Nation on records and unique achievements, Mikhail Shivlyakov, the face of World's Strongest Nation, expert of the Russian Book of Records on strength, Maksim Dvoretsky, curator of the World's Strongest Nation development in the Central Federal District, Ivan Mechishev, member of the Board of the World's Strongest Nation, president of the Russian Power Extreme Federation, and Andrei Smolnikov, president of the Russian Kettlebell Lifting Federation.
"It is no coincidence that today's strength festival is dedicated to the great Victory Day. Victory is a feat, overcoming. Our great-grandfathers did the impossible and we want to honor their memory with incredible feats of strength," addressed the guests of the event its host, actor, athlete, the strongest man of Kuzbass Valery Ostapenko.
Sergei Artamonov, the head of the RUSSIA EXPO sports program, took part in the opening ceremony of the tournament.
"We wish you, the athletes, to set the records you are aiming for, and the spectators to get a high and drive from the power of these athletes. Let sport become a norm of life for each of you," said Sergei Artamonov.
The president of the International Bogatyr Movement World's Strongest Nation Mikhail Paller told about the uniqueness of the festival.
"We have gathered unique people with superpowers on one platform, they will demonstrate them today to the guests of the Exposition. We have gathered the strongest people from all over Russia, from Irkutsk to Crimea. I wish all our athletes to set the planned records and not to get injured," said Mikhail Paller, president of the International Bogatyr Movement World's Strongest Nation.
Nazar Dolitsky, a volunteer, participant of the special military operation, also addressed the guests of the Exposition.
"In our time, which poses a serious challenge to our entire nation, it is very important to be in good shape. The slogan "faster, higher, stronger" now takes on a special meaning. The bogatyrs gathered here will show how to be faster, higher and stronger, will motivate the guests to become better," emphasized Nazar Dolitsky.
Several records were set during the show. Sergei Kharlamov, the strongest man in Russia in 2010, lifted a bogatyr log weighing 140 kg, thus setting a Russian record among veterans over 50 years old.
Ramil Ramazanov and Dmitry Logunov updated the Russian record for lifting a pair of bogatyr log weighing 250 kg, lifting it five times.
Sergei Agajanian, nicknamed "Russian Hulk", and Yuri Kolmakov set a Russian and world record in stage extreme sports, destroying 79 objects in 30 minutes, including aluminum frying pans, rubber medical warmers and galvanized steel rods.
Dmitry Samoilov performed a 260 kg deadlift on a yoga board with nails (sadhu board), and together with Roman Druzhinin they set a world record for a pair of deadlifts on a sadhu board with the same equipment but weighing 400 kg. Dmitry Samoilov lifted an Atlas stone weighing 145 kg on his shoulder in 13.5 seconds, setting a record among juniors under 23.
The record of Russia and the world was set by Alexander Klokov, who crossed ten meters with two suitcases weighing 200 kg each in 22.26 seconds.
Alexander Kuzmin did nine repetitions in a minute in the push press from the chest of a five-pound kettlebell (82 kg) with a diameter of 50 mm above the head with his right hand after taking the kettlebell by the snatch method. Dmitry Logunov performed the same exercise with the same tool, but with his left hand, three times in one minute.
Finally, Pavel Dudakov set a Russian record for hammering slate nails into a board with his bare hands in five minutes, hammering 29 hundred-millimeter nails during this time.
