On 30 October, in Minsk, in front of several thousand spectators, the Byelorussian athlete Kirill Shimko (who’s a Guinness Book of World Records holder) pulled along a 55-tonne (60.6-ton) BelAZ lorry and set new world record.
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The new world record was set as part of the all-Republic campaign Сильная Беларусь! (Silnaya Belarus!: Strong Belarus!), which has the goal of encouraging young people to adopt healthy lifestyles and attend to their physical development. We should note that extreme power sports are becoming more popular in Byelorussia.
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The 33-year old athlete set the new record set at the Minsk Hero City Monument on his third attempt. Before that, he tore in half two thick magazines tied together. He also tore apart a metal chain, which two motorcycles, driving in opposite directions, had previously failed to break {the chain was fastened to the two bikes… it doesn’t say what happened to the bikes or the bikers. Perspirin’ minds wanna know…: editor}.
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In order to overcome inertia and tug along the BelAZ, Shimko had to exert a force equal to 700 kilogrammes (1,543 pounds), which meant that he had to have very strong ligaments and tendons. As Shimko admitted a week before this attempt, he had already tried to move the lorry, and all that he did was to injure his leg. However, this didn’t stop him from recovering his strength to have another go at the record.
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Earlier, the Byelorussian strongmen Kirill Shimko and Pavel Soroka had already established a number of national records. They had pulled along a Boeing 737 passenger plane, a train with five passenger coaches, an Il-76 aircraft, and a T34 tank.
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Voice of Russia World Service
31 October 2011
