Tartyl Fest: Sport is my hobby and job, says finalist Akhmet Terlikbayev

Akhmet, the winner of Tartyl Fest competition in Ust-Kamenogorsk, is a personal coach. The 32-year-old started doing sports in childhood, taking on wrestling early on.

«While in school, a classmate brought me to do freestyle wrestling. I did not hesitate and agreed. I have been doing pull-ups since I was a child,» says the Tartyl fest finalist, boasting his personal record of 30 pull-ups in a row.

«The competition in Ust-Kamenogorsk was held at a high level. There were many contenders. I trained on a daily basis and was sure of my victory,» he said, adding that he did not even know about the project.

Akhmet outperformed his contenders in the +90kg category after pulling up 24 times. Vadim Salmankhanov was second and Adilet Abylgazinov was third with 17 and 15 pull-ups, respectively.

«I'm looking forward to participating in competitions in bodybuilding and powerlifting and achieving high results in the future. Sport is my hobby and job,» says Akhmet.

He went on to say that competitions such as Tartyl Fest (Pull-up competition) are important, expressing his hope that the tournament will be held on an annual basis.

Notably, the Tartyl Fest Grand Finale scheduled for February 18 is to bring together 170 athletes aged from 14 to 51.

Photo from the personal archive of Akhmet Terlikbaev