Translated by Selby Mashakova
Edited by Mayachela Garcia, CSCS

Fedor Mikhailovich Fuglev is an Honored Master of Sport of Ukraine in Kettlebell Lifting, a 10X Champion of Ukraine, 15X World Champion in biathlon and long cycle and an 8X World Record Holder (80kg weight division).

Early Years

Fedor was born on November 12, 1962, in Cherkasy-Porechnoe Village in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region (USSR) to a family of peasants. Fortunately for Fedor, his family was interested in a variety of sports and as a young boy he skied, played football and hockey.  One of Fedor’s childhood dreams was to become a professional hockey player.

In 7th grade, Fedor started lifting heavy kettlebells that were laying around his village in almost every yard. Later he trained with a group of gymnasts and young weightlifters. By the age of 15, he completed the 3rd most advanced level of (Olympic) weightlifting in the 75 kg weight class, jerking 107.5 kg and snatching 80 kg, before graduating from Sudzhansky public school in 1980.

Entering Combat Sport

For the next two years, Fedor served in the Soviet Army in the cities of Zhitomir and Yavorov.  After military service and a growing interest in combat sport, Fedor enrolled at the Faculty of Physical Culture & Sports of the Voronejskiy State Institute, where he met the Russian heavyweight champion in karate, A. N. Kotenko. He began learning karate under Kotenko’s leadership and after several months of hard training Fedor won over one of the strongest karate masters of Voronezh and joined their team to participate in the Championship of Russia in 1984.

Unfortunately, the long-awaited championship was never held because the sport was once again banned in the USSR.

Becoming a Multidisciplinary Athlete and Coach

During this time Fedor also took part in his first of many amateur lifting events: a kettlebell lifting championship held by the Sudzhansky district. Competing with 24 kg kettlebells he performed 30 jerks and 40 snatches per hand (weight class – 80 kg) and won first place.

Fedor returned home to work on a collective farm in Kuibyshev while continuing to train and conduct classes in karate, judo, kettlebell lifting and weightlifting.  He also began training athletes in volleyball, football, table tennis, and cross country skiing.  From that point forward,  Fedor’s students began to dominate athletic team events in the Kuibyshev region.  His greatest success as an instructor during that time was training wrestlers in judo who then went on to become winners of national competitions in judo.  In 1985, Fedor also won his first kettlebell lifting competition in the professional division (weight class – 70 kg), performing 15 jerks and 24 snatches per hand with the 32kg kettlebell, and laying the initial groundwork for a remarkable future within the sport.

In the following year, Fedor was offered an opportunity to work as an instructor at the gymnasium within the Crimean Experimental Station of Tobacco Growing.  He also began work as the director of a youth sports club.  Fedor once again took eager students to district level competitions across several different sports. While coaching his students to multiple victories, he continued lifting kettlebells, weightlifting, and mixed martial arts including, judo, karate, and kickboxing.  He also pursued competitive powerlifting, earning first place medals throughout Crimea.  His diverse athletic background transferred directly to his students, many going on to become champions in kettlebell lifting, weightlifting, and martial arts.

Among them:

• I. Andreychuk: Honored Master of Sport of Ukraine, multiple world record holder in kettlebell lifting in Ukraine

• N.A. Jankowski: Master of Sport of Ukraine, winner of multiple world championships in weightlifting

• SV Lobanovsky: Master of Sport, Champion of Europe and winner of world championships in weightlifting

• A. Kondrashov: winner of the FIFA World Junior Weightlifting competition

• SV Buylov: winner of the FIFA World Junior Weightlifting competition and a multiple winner of international competitions in kickboxing

• P. Lobod: European Champion in women’s division of weightlifting, champion in powerlifting, multiple winner of international competitions in kickboxing

Road to Kettlebell Mastery

In 2000, in Kharkov, Fedor took part in the Ukrainian Championship of Kettlebell Lifting, where he took second place, losing by only one point to the winner.  A year later Fedor was drafted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine as an instructor for commandos in the mountains for the Russian Special Forces. Fedor has spent the past several years serving as their Director of Platoon Sports Training.

In 2003, 2005 and 2008, Fedor made the prestigious list of the Best Athletes of Crimea. Within that time, he had won the most gold medals among all kettlebell athletes of Ukraine, European Cups, and World Championships.  Fedor received numerous awards soon after, including a badge of “Courage, Honor, the Law” by the Interior Ministry of Ukraine and a “Cross of Honor” for development and establishment of internal troops by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko, the President of Ukraine, awarded Fedor M. Fuglev a distinguished “Merit” award in 2008.

While achieving these top honors, Fedor continued to pioneer the sport of kettlebell lifting, eventually earning his Master of Sport World Class rank in both biathlon and long cycle, then becoming a multiple world champion veteran and world record holder, as well as an Honored Master of Sport for his enormous historic contributions to the sport.

His legacy speaks for itself. Fedor’s best results in the -80 kg weight category are as follows:

• 32 kg kettlebells: jerk -153 repetitions (2007), snatch – 222 repetitions (2005), biathlon total – 354 lifts (2011)
• 24 kg kettlebells: jerk – 210 repetitions (2005), snatch – 308 repetitions (2000), biathlon total – 468 lifts (2005)

Fedor and Tatiana with their son, Fedor Jr.

Man Behind the Medals

Fedor is married and has two children: daughter Tanya (currently 26 years old) and son Fedor Jr. (currently 20 years old).  In addition to his professional career, Fedor advanced his family legacy forward by coaching his wife and son to multiple world championships. Fedor Jr. won several amateur division Ukrainian kettlebell lifting championships and like his father, went on to become a junior champion in powerlifting, and multiple winner of competitions in weightlifting, judo, and kickboxing.  Meanwhile Fedor’s wife, Tatiana Fugleva, is a bronze prize World Champion in snatch (San Diego, 2007), and a Champion of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, and the World in the masters division.

Fedor's gym in Simferopol

World Class Achievements in Kettlebell Sport:

• 8X World Record Holder

• 5X World Champion in biathlon (2003 – Ventspils, 2006 – Ogre, 2007 – San Diego, 2008 – Shatillon, 2009 – Maardu)

• 4X World Champion in long cycle (2006, Kazan, 2007 – Zhitomir, 2008 – Hamburg, 2009 – Maardu)

• 2X European Champion in biathlon (2007 – St. Petersburg – European Champion in snatch as well; 2008 – Ventspils)

• 10X Champion of Ukraine and 15X Champion of Europe

• Winner of the Champions Cup in jerk (2007 – New World Record, Crimea)

• 3X European Champion in long cycle (2007 – St. Petersburg, 2008 – Ventspils, 2010 – Siauliai)

Fedor's personal trophy case

• 2X Winner of the European Cup in biathlon (2006 – Ventspils, 2009 – Siauliai)

• Winner of the Cup of Europe in long cycle (2009 – Siauliai)

• Quadruple World Champion of police force (2009 – Kirov)

• World Championship silver medalist in the classical biathlon (2005 – Moscow)

• World Championship silver medalist in jerk (2005 – AVS)

• World Championship silver medalist in snatch (2005 – Kharkov)

• Bronze medalist in long cycle (2005 – Kazan)

• Silver medalist of European Championships in jerk (2007 – Saint-Petersburg)

• Silver medalist in the European Cup jerk (2009 – Siauliai)

• Silver medalist of European Championships in biathlon (2010 – Siauliai)

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