- Title: RUSSIA: Strong men and women of Russian Siberia gather for sweating contest
- Date: 10th August 2008
- Summary: MEN QUEUING TO GET INTO SAUNA VARIOUS MEN IN SAUNA WATER BEING POURED OVER HOT STONES MAN WALKING OUT JUDGE CHECKING TIME MEN IN SAUNA, WALKING OUT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ROMAN TIMOVCHAK, COMPETITOR, SAYING: "The most difficult thing in sauna is that your ears burn if unprotected. It's far easier for those who have long hair. Another problem is breathing. One should work hard on breathing." MEN GETTING INTO SWIMMING POOL MEN RELAXING IN SWIMMING POOL
- Embargoed: 25th August 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVABLTGBDEO6MHHHI31JQBYFAZEE
- Story Text: Siberian city of Novosibirsk hosts sauna endurance competition.
Competitors from all over Russian as well as Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia and Finland came to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on Saturday (August 2) to brave temperatures of 110 degrees, hoping to win the coveted sauna endurance title in Siberia's sauna championship.
Medical workers were on standby and the competitors had to take a blood pressure check up and confirm they were fit to take part.
"They should not have conditions that need the attention of a general practitioner or cardiologist, they should not have other health problems, skin problems for example. And of course they should be clean,"
said competition doctor Tatiana Manokhina.
A sauna with big windows was set up on a stage for the 70 men and 11 women willing to brave the heat. A special cleaning fluid prevented the windows from steaming up.
The competitors had to agree to a set of strict rules to be allowed to take part.
"They should observe the following rules: to be sober, have a medical check up before the competition. The blood pressure should be normal.
They must sit erect when in sauna, they can't talk, move, or touch their bodies. If they observe all the rules and walk out unaided they can qualify and become champions," said Viktor Zelenko the chief judge of the Siberian sauna championship .
The starting temperature was set at 110 degrees C and every 30 seconds water was thrown on the stove to create more steam and boost the temperature.
"The most difficult thing in a sauna is that your ears burn if unprotected," said competitor from Ukraine Roman Timovchak. "It's far easier for those who have long hair. Another problem is breathing. One should work hard on breathing."
The winner of men's competition, Vladimir Ladyzhinsky from Novosibirsk, managed to sweat through 11 minutes and 41 seconds, followed by a competitor from Belarus in second place and another strongman from Novosibirsk in third place.
But the absolute winner was a woman - a competitor also from Novosibirsk, Lyudmila Yazykina -who managed to stay in the sauna for 11 minutes and 48 seconds. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None