Ivan Galkin from Russia is a Master of Sport of International Class in Mas-Wrestling!

Please, welcome Ivan Galkin, born in 1998. Weight - 115 kg, height - 192 cm. Graduated fr om Kaluga College of Technology. Served in the Army. Works as a loading operator at the Car Window factory and as an instructor at the “Vympel” sport complex. Not married. «It’s too early» he said.

And what is special about this information? What makes him different fr om other Russian guys named Ivan? The thing is, our Ivan is a Mas-Wrestler! And henceforth he is a high-flying Mas-Wrestler. He is a Master of Sport of International Class of Russia!

Ivan Galkin took the news of achieving such a high status calmly, as he was confident that the Federal Law on Physical Culture and Sport in Russia works and that his victory at the 2018 World Mas-Wrestling Championship guaranteed him this sport title.

He trains under the guidance of coach Vladimir Tsukanov, who has made a great contribution to his formation. According to the athlete himself, there is a significant part of the work of the personal trainer in his victories and in the sports titles he has won. For which he is immensely grateful to him.

Congratulations to the new "international" and without any comment we give him the floor. Read his interview in one sitting, to feel his attitude toward Mas-Wrestling. It is serious. It would seem so much time has passed, and he remembers everything to the smallest detail. Well, read it for yourself.

Ivan Galkin about himself and his path to the Mas-Wrestling:

"I came to Mas-Wrestling in 2016. The first competition was the Championship of Russia among juniors in Kaluga. By a lucky chance, or maybe not, it turned out that I won. Then there was a competition of the All-Russian tournament in memory of Roman Dmitriev, where I took the second place, defeating Roman Kalinin. It was our first meeting. But then I lost to Erchim Bappagay.

Then there was the 2017 All Russian Mas-Wrestling Championships. I gained a good form but failed my grip. At the time, I didn’t give my full attention to the grip. As a result, I took only fifth or sixth place. In the same year, I had the opportunity to take a part at the final stage of the World Cup, wh ere I took second place. In the final, I lost to Kalinin. After that, I realized something had to change. I’ve watched all my videos a hundred times. I picked the most convenient angles for wrestling, strengthened the grip, learned to do the «stand» on the automaton at the right moment. Year of hard work.

I want to pay tribute to my colleagues and friends - Mikhail Zhuravlev and Yuri Vasiliev. Without their help, I certainly would not have succeeded. They supported me and helped me in everything. As a result, for the 2018 Russian Mas-Wrestling Championship I got excellent form. The weight was 130 kilos, so I had to lose some. And in the future I was going to compete with such weight. After weighing, I always ate well. In the hot final, I defeated Bappagay. I was full of emotions, what can I say.

Then there was the Russian Mas-Wrestling Championship in the absolute weight category of 2018. I went there just to compete for myself, with the big guys. But I didn’t think about winning. After reviewing a lot of videos, I figured out who could come. Prepared. I knew with whom and how to fight. First I beat Andrei Markin from Ural region , but lost to Sergey Frolkin. He was trickier and stronger at that time. Next was the final with Viktor Kolibabchuk. Taking advantage of the fact that he and I never had a fight, I took the first fight with a lightning start. And the second one was a real struggle. As a result - the first place and the coveted ticket to the “Cup of Kolmar”. Hard work started. Since the weight category was absolute, I specifically took 140 kilos. Probably my best form ever. I won this tournament, although, frankly, it was not easy.

And of course, it is worth remembering the 2018 World Mas-Wrestling Championship in Yakutsk. I had to lose the weight to get into my category. It was very difficult to do.

Yakutia impressed me with its hospitality and excellent organization of the championship. It was nice, to be honest. I knew I was in good shape. I was right to compete, and I had a bit of confidence in winning. I went to all the fights calmly and judiciously, which helped me win. I didn’t want to leave Yakutia. Probably foreboding. As soon as I arrived my region, they immediately called me from the recruitment office, and said: “It is time!”. I decided that I would better go to the army, and after that I will start the athlete's path again. I knew that I could not fully engage there. And so it happened.

I served in the Arkhangelsk region at the “Plesetsk” cosmodrome in the city of Mirny. Aerospace Forces Training Center No. 834. The army fed me well, but only three times a day, which was new to me. I used to eat six times a day in prep. But I got used to it quickly. I started doing a little training at the end of my service thanks to the company commander. In order not to come absolutely zero prepared muscles and ligaments for heavy loads. When I got back from the army at the end of last year, I weighed only 106 kilos. And I was leaving with 133 kilos. Something like this.

I began to train hard six times a week and gain weight. In three months of training, I got into good shape. In terms of strength, the indicators became even higher than before the army. But not enough sparring. But again, thanks to my faithful friends, whom I have already mentioned, we solved this problem too. The weight was already 118 kg and everything was going according to plan. The goal was the Russian Mas-Wrestling Championship. But, alas! Due to the situation in the country and the whole world, it was postponed. The gyms are closed. All I have to do is train at home, which I do. Now I start preparing again, until I know wh ere. But it is necessary at least to return forces and simply to maintain them. Waiting for tournaments».

Waiting for tournaments. How accurately expressed is the current state of all Mas-Wrestlers not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Patience, friends! Will still be!