NEWS

Thrillseekers Ride Rapids on Inflatable Dolls

By Christopher Hamilton

Special to The St. Petersburg Times

LOSEVO, Leningrad Oblast — Athletes and thrill seekers came from as far away as Samara for a three-minute wet and wild ride on inflatable women in the fifth annual Bubble Baba Challenge at the Losevo Rapids on the Vuoksa River, about 82 kilometers northwest of St. Petersburg.

“The rapids here are great and I get a rush from shooting them... so why not share this feeling with your ‘favorite woman’? ” joked five time veteran Igor Spivak. “Actually it’s a difficult swim, but what really makes this event are the crazy people. The crowd and participants are really enthusiastic. I don't have any ambitions to win, I’m just here with friends having a good time.”

In an atmosphere of smiles and giggles, competitors walked around in wet suits, life vests, helmets, and with their “women” in tow — actually blow-up sex dolls. But in contrast to the audience, participants often approached the race seriously.

“The course is scary,” said this year’s champion Dmitry Aleksandrov. “There are about one or two people who die in these rapids each year so there is a certain level of fear. I feel a wild rush of adrenaline that fades to fatigue as I fight the waves and swim against the rapids. It’s more difficult than it looks.”

Aleksandrov and his doll European Champion took first place with a time of 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Sergei Sergeyev and Bromhilda the Beautiful finished second, nine seconds later, quickly followed by third-place winner German Sergeyev and Silicon Valley clocking in at 2:51.

Baba in Russian generally means “country woman,” but is sometimes used in a sexually derogatory way. Other interesting “baba names” included Grudonosets (Breast Carrier), Barbie, The Queen of the Night, the Eighth of March Icebreaker, TITantic, Milkmaid, Sex Torpedo, Miss Vuoksa 2007, Rubber Mama, Sexana, and the Elastic Lady.

Aleksandrov is a retired professional swimmer and a four-year veteran of the event.

“As a professional athlete this event is just a personal challenge. In past years I’ve finished in second or third place and it has always been my goal to win. I won the European Swimming Championships in 1989 in England and 1990 in The Netherlands. I retired about 10 years ago, so this is just a test to see if I’m still in shape.”

“My swimming background certainly gives me an advantage,” said Aleksandrov, “But if you don’t navigate and choose a good trajectory through the rapids, you won’t have a chance. You need to pick a fast course through the rapids to make sure you minimize the amount you have to swim against the rapids.”

“We really don’t give any hints,” said the event’s creator and organizer Dmitry Bulavinov. “The most important thing is that people follow the rules. You’re not allowed to attach the doll to yourself, and if you’re moving slow, please yield to faster swimmers.”

“It’s actually impossible to ride on top of the doll,” Aleksandrov explains. “If I could have both hands free it would probably be easy for me to win. Here I have to tightly hold her under one arm while I swim with the other.”

Heats of about 50 swimmers took place throughout the afternoon at 30-minute intervals. The best five competitors from each heat qualified for the final championship race.

“Most of the heats are limited to the number of blow-up dolls we have available to rent,” Bulavinov said. “We bought them in bulk online so only paid about half price for them, but the course isn’t kind to them and they usually only last about two seasons. The dolls pretty much pay for themselves [with the 200 ruble rental fee] and [the 150 ruble] entrance fee and [50 ruble] life jacket rentals pretty much covers our costs. The event is staffed primarily by volunteers and the prizes are symbolic from sponsors which include a furniture store and a mobile communications company.”

This year’s competition saw a record 365 entrants, including 45 women.

“We originally came up with the idea while drinking during a camping trip. Somehow inflatable women came up in the conservation and someone wondered how well they would float and that we should make a trip on the Vuoksa. Somehow the idea really stuck with me and the following summer we held the inaugural competition, which attracted about 80 participants.

“After the first year a number of people and friends came forward with new ideas. A friend of mine who is really into cycling started organizing a 75 kilometer bike tour from St. Petersburg where cyclists inflate their dolls and ride with them attached to their backs. As a result, the Bubble Baba Challenge has grown into an all day event.”

“I love the camaraderie,” Bulavinov added.

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