Ukrainian strongman athletes attempt to set a world record for pulling the world's largest cargo plane Antonov An-225 Mriya at an airfield in the settlement of Hostomel outside Kyiv, Ukraine August 26, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
KYIV - A group of eight Ukrainian strongmen athletes on Thursday pulled the world's largest and heaviest cargo plane, the "Mriya" Antonov-225.
Pulling the plane in two groups of four, the men managed to move the plane 4.3 metres along the tarmac, within 1 minute and 13 seconds.
The feat set a national record for the fewest number of people pulling the plane. In 2013, 10 men pulled the plane.
A representative of Ukraine's national record book said they would apply for a Guinness world record entry.
The Mriya plane is the only one of its kind in use and can carry up to 250 tonnes and travel for up to 4,000 km (2,485 miles).
Mriya, built in the Soviet Union in 1988, was developed to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle or other heavy cargo.
The Buran programme was shut down after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the plane was left on the territory of independent Ukraine.
