Warning: Graphic Content
Amur.info/YouTubeWhen lifting heavy objects, everyone always says ‘lift with your legs’.
And while that’s true for the most part, one weightlifter in Russia may have something to say about the theory.
You see, for the whole ‘lift with your legs’ thing to work, you need your legs to be strong enough to hold the weight you’re proposing to lift. For the majority of us that’s fine, because we’re not competitive weightlifters trying to outdo one other with how much we can lift.
But when you are a competitive weightlifter, trying to lift 250kg for the third time after already failing to do so twice, the term ‘lift with your legs’ should probably be replaced with ‘mate, just chill, sit this one out yeah’.
Amur.infoYaroslav Radoshkevich was one such weightlifter, who was attempting to lift a 250kg weight after failing on his first two attempts at the World Raw Powerlifting Eurasian Championship in Khabarovsk, Russia.
The 20-year-old had entered the competition despite a slight ankle injury he had recently picked up, reports RT.
Radoshkevich had apparently struggled to lift the starting weight at 250kg, but decided to press on.
The third time however, he didn’t so much struggle as buckle under the weight of the bar, reportedly breaking his right leg in several places.
You can watch the moment here, but be warned – it is graphic:
As the video shows, his legs suddenly collapse under the weight, being forced to bend in a wholly unnatural way, leaving onlookers in a state of shock.
Medical examinations revealed the 20-year-old had sustained a double closed fracture of his shinbone, and a complete fracture of his ankle. Radoshkevich was taken straight to hospital and will reportedly need around six months to recover from the injury.
Amur.infoThe young weightlifter told local media:
I can hardly return to this sport following such an injury. I had achieved a lot but I will have to quit my hopes and ambitions as rehabilitation will approximately take six months.
Hopefully Radoshkevich will make a speedy recovery, comfortably be able to lift with his legs again before too long, and maybe not compete in a weightlifting competition when he’s already got an ankle injury.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.