Contest Highlights: The 3rd Annual IPF World University Student's Cup was held on April 10-13, 2003 in Cherkasy, Ukraine. This was the same location and venue, where the IPF directed the 1998 IPF Men's World Powerlifting Championships. As for the trip itself, the flight from Miami, Florida was pleasant, and relaxing, with only half the capacity of the plain being filled - so it was enjoyable. After arriving in Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, and making my way through customs, I made contact with the Gabriel, the driver, whom the meet director, Anatoly Stetsenko sent to pick me up, and transport me to Cherkasy. Interestingly enough, during our discussion to Cherkasy, Gabriel related to me that he was one of the national team coaches for Ukrainian Gymnastics team, and studied under the very prestigious coach, Bella Karoli. The 2.5-hour drive to Cherkasy, which is situated up near the Belarus and Russian border, was without incident. This was due, in part, to having "clearance" through all of the checkpoints along the way to Cherkasy. The endless Kilometers/miles of farmland, with the many different battlefield monuments from WWII, was quite an interesting and impressive site to behold. Upon my arrival in Cherkasy, Gabriel provided me with a tour of the city, and with the university where he teaches athletics. After the brief sightseeing trip, I checked into the Rosova Hotel, and settled in for the evening for some much needed rest. Dinner that evening was spent in the hotel's nightclub, and restaurant, which is owned by former IPF World Champion and world record holder Vladimir Ivanenko. Vladimir related to me that he plans to come back next year to compete, and is looking forward to returning to the platform. The meal served in his restaurant was excellent! The seafood borsch, which was the tastiest and most appetizing part of the meal, was fantastic. The jazz saxophonist added the final necessary ingredients to make my first nights rest a splendid reality. Make sure you check the place out, the next time you're in town for a visit! The technical meeting for all lifters, coaches, and administrators was held the following day, with some surprises added to the list of nominations. As always, Heiner Koebrich dutifully handled it quite well! As a surprise, Sergey Mor, former IPF World Champion was inserted into the line-up at 90kg. He was utilizing this meet in his comeback from an injury, which he suffered two years ago. Needless to say, it was good to see him back on the platform, and I was looking forward to watching him lift on Saturday. Once the final nominations were in, the following nations were present for the contest: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Pakistan, and the United States of America. Even despite the quantity of lifters being somewhat light this year, this aspect of the contest was made up for by the quality of the lifting, which took place over the weekend, by some of the best university students in the world. Given this scenario, several new IPF world junior and open records were set, keeping Jari Tähtinen, the IPF's record keeper, quite busy. The venue for the contest was a large athletic center, which was perfect for a powerlifting contest. The warm-up room was large and spacious; with the Ukrainian Powerlifting Federation (UPF) providing one of the best computer programs, I have ever seen prepared to specifically direct a powerlifting competition. The computer program not only provided complete contest statistics, and summary for the scoring table, but also the warm-up room, the preparation area, and more importantly to the spectators in the audience. A picture of each athlete, with their nation's flag was projected and displayed onto a large screen, with he lifter's individual statistics. This was an effective instrument in allowing the audience to follow the contest. Anatoly Stetsenko, the contest organizer, and Sergey Minchenko, the technical secretary, directed the contest quite effectively, and efficiently. Sergey did an excellent job of organiazing the respective referee and administrative assignments. Gaston Parage, IPF Treasurer, Heiner Koebrich, IPF General Secretary, and Vasyl Aloyev, President of the Ukranian Powerlifting Federation, were on hand, which only added to the superb organization of the contest. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vasyl, and his lovely wife Zaina, for their most sincere and warm hospitality during my stay in the Ukraine. They are, without question, two of the nicest people, anyone could ever have the pleasure to meet. Moreover, I enjoyed spending time with Gaston, and his lovely wife - two very nice people themselves. I had the pleasure of flying back to Frankfurt, Germany with them on my way home. The following day the women took to the platform, with some outstanding performances being turned in by both the Russian and Ukrainian female lifters. Needless to say, there were some notable and outstanding performances turned in. Natalya Krikunova, last year's champion in Novgorod, Russia, pulled her last deadlift of 135kg to beat Iryna Trubilina of the Ukraine. Interestingly enough, her Natalya's father coaches the Novgorod University Powerlifting, where she goes to school. There program turns out some exceptional powerlifters, and it is my understanding, at one time, Mr. Krikunova was one of the best weightlifters in the former USSR. Anna Synelnykova from the Ukraine lifted conservatively and matched Anna Shulga of Russia in the deadlifts to win the 5kg class. Last years champion, Svetlana Botchko of Russia, repeated as champion this year, and totaled a super 462.5kg. Her lifts were all performed with room to spare, and I predict that she will eventually total well over 500kg in this class -- Great job for a master's level lifter. Marina Michailova, Marina Panferova, and Ganna Lytvyn all lifted quite well, registering some high marks, and numbers in their respective weight classes Each lifter won their respective weight class handily, and all were impressive, especially Lytvyn, of the Ukraine, who easily totaled 525kg, at just 20 years old. Look for her to do exceptionally well in the years to come. Finally, Julia Kurina of Russia, was absolutely incredible, and squatted a new junior and open world record effortlessly. Her technique was utterly perfect, and was definitely capable of squatting 275 kg - wow! She also set a new world junior record in the deadlift, and total. In speaking with Julia at the banquet, she related to me that she is relatively new to the sport; however, enjoys it tremendously. Julia comes from a small village just north of Moscow. Ladies look for her in the future; at the rate she is going, Julia will be one of the best ever. She is truly blessed with some terrific talent! Notwithstanding, by the time the final results were tallied, Julia was declared the outstanding female lifter for the contest. Russia took the team title with 72 points, over the Ukraine, which ended with 63 points. The men's performances were as equally impressive as the women. Notable was the performances turned in by Alexander Romanov, Sergey Skocheck, and Maxim Norutdinov, from the Russian team, who swept the first three classes right out of the gate. Significant was the balanced and precise lifting by Skochek who totaled a 592.5kg. Also, the 250kg squat, and 610kg total turned in my Maxim must be acknowledged as well. At just 21 years of age, look for Maxim to possibly break Sutrisno's junior world of 275kg, sometime in the near future. In the 67.5kg class, Alexander Borysov from the Ukraine won the class convincingly with a rock-solid 695kg total. In the 75kg class, Alexander Posheluk from Belarus lifted impressively ending with a 272.5kg squat, 197.5kg bench press, and super pull of 295kg. All of Alexander's lifts were performed with poundage to spare, and look for him to emerge as one of the best lifters in this class, or higher, sometime in the future. In the 82.5kg class, Arkad Bukhtiychuk from the Ukraine was equally impressive, with strong bookends of 300kg in the both the squat and deadlift. He won decisively over teammate Sergey Baburin. Alexander Zvarikin from Russia had some minor technical difficulty, by stepping after the squat command was given, and bombed. He would have provided some competition to Bukhtiychuk, if he was able to get at least one squat on the board. In the 90kg class, Sergey Mor, former open men's world powerlifting champion, lifted brilliantly, and came away with a well-done total of 862.5kg. Sergey's lifts were effortless, and easily came away with the best lifter award for the contest. Look for him to possibly show at either this year's Men's world Powerlifting championships in Denmark. At this point, I am not sure exactly which class he will be lifting at, but my guess is that he will remain at 90kg, instead of at 82.5kg. Nevertheless, look for him to win many more titles at this weight as well. In the 100kg class, Alexander Bashkatov of the Ukraine, at just 21 years old, took this category with well-balanced lifts across the board, and final total of 840kg. Gurgen Pogosjan from Armenia was impressive, and lifted quite well. He is a strong young man, with much talent. Look for him to do quite well in future championships. The 110kg class proved to be one, if not thee most exciting of the entire championship, with and Ignat Belausov from Belarus, and Arson Baikov of Russia, battling all the way down to the last deadlift. In the 125kg class, Alexander Kluschev had a tremendous day! His new IPF junior word record, sumo style deadlift of 360.5kg was strongly pulled, and believe it or not folks, has way more in him in the future. His total of 932.5kg was the highest of the contest. Look for major and tremendous things from this young man in the future. As for my performance, I was quite pleased, given the relative speed of the contest (75 minutes for all nine attempts, including warm-ups). I missed only my last squat, and last deadlift. However, I did have some kg left in me, after the successful 3rd attempt bench press. Overall, I was 10-15kg off what I projected from training, and look to go over 800kg next year. In the final class of the day, the 125+kg lifters, Victor Yurchenko of the Ukraine, originally nominated at 125kg, moved up just barely over the class limit to defeat Russian lifter Vyacjesl Aksianov of Russia. Yuri Koleshnikov, at just 19 years old, lifted impressively, and with his massive framework, will go on to be a very dominating lifter in the future. His father, a former IPF World Master's Champion was on hand to coach him. Interestingly enough, it is my understanding that Yuri is the great grandson of the inventor of the Koleshnikov rifle. Nevertheless, after the final deadlift was pulled, and with the final team points tabulated, found Russia just squeezing by the Ukraine 69 - 66 for championship team title. Needless to say, a very tight and spirited battle ensued between both teams all the way until the end. Belarus made an impressive showing, and was not very far behind. They came in 3rd with a respectable 58 points. At the conclusion of the contest, the traditional powerlifting banquet was held at the hotel Rosova, which was a very enjoyable time. The celebration included delicious food, luscious wine, and festive dancing. My journey home the following day, included a pleasurable and scenic ride and sightseeing tour through the capital city of Kiev with Mr. & Mrs. Aloyev, and Mr. & Mrs. Parage. I must say that it is an absolutely beautiful city, and a true jewel of Eastern Europe. The city is laden with beautiful and historical monuments, and cathedrals from many centuries past -- Some of the oldest and most historical shrines in Europe. This place is a must see, if you have the opportunity to travel to this region of the world, sometime in the future. To close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that made this trip possible: Larry Maile, and Greg Simmons, and the USAPL for nominating me for the championship, Inzer Advance Designs for their sponsorship and donation of my powerlifting gear, and to Sergey Ivanov, Russian national team coach, for coaching me at the contest. Needless to say, he is a terrific coach and friend - My sincere thanks! To my associates, and training partners at Iron Works Gym in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, who assisted me with my preparations for this contest - thank you guys, I appreciate it! Lastly, I would like to thank my university for allowing me the necessary time off from doctoral studies to represent them at this championship. On a final note, next year's University Student Championships will be held in Moscow, Russia, and I would like to encourage all USA collegiate lifters that are interested in attending this event, to contact myself, or Greg Simmons of your interest to attend next year's contest. Youw ill not be disappointed. See you there -- Robert Keller

Contest Photos

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