TBILISI, November 29 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian record-holding strongman Lasha Pataraya set a new record on Thursday by pulling an 8.28-ton truck attached to his left ear by a cord.
Pataraya pulled the truck a total of 71 feet (21.5 meters) at Rustavi International Motorpark near the country’s capital, Tbilisi. The record was verified by a special commission.
“It took me two months to prepare for this record,” he said, adding that he did not expect such an achievement.
“I expected [to pull the truck] to a distance of 10 meters but the result surpassed my expectations,” he said.
This is Pataraya's seventh record, said Gvandzhi Mania, head of the Georgian Union of Sporting Achievements and Records.
After he set the record Pataraya’s friends threw him into their air several times. His health was then checked by a special medical team.
Free-style wrestler Pataraya set his first record for dragging heavy weights with strings attached to his ears in October 2003, when he pulled a 2.35 ton microbus for 135 feet (41.1 meters).
He is also famous for breaking a Chinese-held record for carrying a 115 pound (52.5 kg) weight by his ears for 19.9 seconds. In October 2007 he hauled by his ears a helicopter weighing almost eight tons for 86 feet (26 meters).
Mania said Pataraya had been ready for some time to make a new attempt on the record, but a lack of sponsorship had been a problem. "We are grateful for the support of the Platinum vodka company which has sponsored the event," he said.
