The Siberian Power Show (SPS), which featured a very strong lineup in 2021 and planned to have multiple American competitors such as Wesley Claborn and Gabriel Peña this year, has now officially confirmed that no international athletes will be able to make it to Krasnoyarsk in just under two weeks' time.
Getting in and out of Russia has become very difficult following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in late February. The Russian strongman champion, Evgeny Markov, was able to travel abroad for the Arnold Strongman Classic earlier in March, but he has lost his invite to Europe's Strongest Man due to the travel restrictions. Markov will also be unable to make it to World's Strongest Man, in May.
A Logistical Nightmare
The situation is difficult to accept for promoter Denis Kiyutsin, who wanted to build on last year's success at the SPS. Kiyutsin and his team had planned a contest featuring 5 Americans and 5 Russians to play on the old Cold War theme, months before the international situation soured. Iran's Peiman Maheripour was also supposed to be there in order to challenge the Max Deadlift world record.
Now, it will be a lineup of 10 very strong Russians, but the organizers know that the SPS will not draw the international attention it normally would have.
"Denis didn't cancel the tournament although he could have! He invests his money in the organization from year to year [...] and he dreamed of making an incredible show, now he has to change absolutely everything", bemoans Kseniya Kovalchuk, who is also part of the organizing team.
For those interested,
the Siberian Power Show can be watched here.
The competition features 25-year-old phenom David Shamey, who tied Travis Ortmayer on points at the SPS last year. Shamey is the favourite to win and should do extremely well in the Dumbbell Press. 130 kg could well fly up! Another athlete to look out for is Ivan Makarov, who will challenge the deadlift world record. Last year, Makarov managed 475 kg at the World Deadlift Championships.