Four defenders of Mariupol — Roman Meshcheryakov, Serhiy Dubov, Mykhailo Budyka and Serhii Stratichuk — took part in the international Strong Spirit Games competition held on October 11 in Madrid as part of the Arnold Classic Europe sports festival. Representing Ukraine as part of the national team, they brought a total of 16 medals to the team.
According to the press service of the team, Serhiy Stratichuk won 7 medals in his category: gold in bench press, rowing (for time, distance and in a team), kettlebell jerk, air bike, as well as silver in maximum bench press. In addition, Stratichuk won the strongman competition in the heavyweight category at the World Strongman Championship held as part of the Arnold Classic 2024 festival.
Serhiy Dubov won 5 medals: gold in bench press, deadlift and air bike, as well as silver in rowing for 100 meters and 100 seconds. Dubov noted that regular training and the desire for self-improvement are necessary to achieve such results
Mykhailo Budyka won three medals for the team: two silver medals in the bench press (repeated and maximum) and bronze in the deadlift. Roman Meshcheryakov won silver in the air bike, noting that this victory has a special meaning for him:
“For me, this is a personal victory over myself, because 4 months ago, I could not lift a dumbbell even once”, – he emphasized.
Defenders were prepared for the competition by the non-governmental organization “Heart of Azovstal”, which helps defenders of Mariupol. The organization is also a partner of the Strongman Federation of Ukraine, which became one of the organizers of the Strong Spirit Games.
