The World Kettlebell Club World Championships were held this weekend in Chicago.  With around 90 lifters participating it was the biggest kettlebell sport event in the US to date and the school gym in which it was held was a hive of activity throughout the day.  The number of people who attended to lift and spectate is a sign of the growing popularity of kettlebell sport outside of Eastern Europe - it's been slow progress but we're getting there!

Three Australians competed in the competition: me, David Tabain and Natalie Turner.  Despite the jet-lag and nerves, each Aussie placed first in their event.

It was an exciting day with several athletes hitting Master of Sport, including Scott Tighe who is only the second male MS in biathlon (pictured above).  There were also quite a few Candidate for Master of Sport ranks given out, one of which was awarded to William Metcalf who underwent brain surgery only 15 weeks before the competition - and he was able to achieve this largely because his all-round fitness from kettlebell sport training prior to the operation made his recovery miraculously quick.

Ivan Denisov, absolute world record holder in all kettlebell sport events, was there to judge then showcased his incredible athletic prowess in the Pentathlon.  Watching Denisov lift is always mind boggling: not only is he precise and powerful, but he is so relaxed even under extreme duress that his eyelids get heavy and he looks like he might nod off at any moment.

You can see the full table of results from the competition here.

Here are some highlights from the competition:

Tags: Kettlebells kettlebell sport Australia Kettlebell sport kettlebell Emily Friedel australian kettlebells