Kojumkul
Kojumkul was born in 1889 and died in 1955 at the age of 67. He was 2.3 meters tall - seven feet five inches - and weighed 164 kg . – 361 lbs or nearly 26 stone .
In his youth he would easily beat other “strong” men in wrestling competitions. On one occasion, already famous for his feats of strength, he received an invitation to participate in a competition in the neighboring Toktogul area, (at that time wrestling competitions were an integral part of any celebration), being organized by one of the local bais, (one of the richest and noblest people in the area). Participation in that competition made Kojomkul even more famous as he beat several well-known wrestlers and won prizes comprising 50 sheep and several mares, which, apparently, the young fighter then distributed amongst the poor residents of the village.
He fought many bouts but by the end of the 1920s there was no-one to rival Kojomkul in Kyrgyzstan . One contest of note was against the Kazakh wrestler, Cholok Balaban. At this time Kojomkul was the Chairman of the District Council and thought he had no right to participate in such competitions. It took the intervention of “Higher-ranking” authorities to persuade him that he should compete for the Republic. He won in the 23rd minute of the match.
Kojomkul had eagerly adopted Soviet ways – having worked as a labourer for bais. He served as Chairman of the collective farm in the Suusamyr Valley for 20 years. All was not well, however, and in 1937 he was imprisoned for a year for refusing to write information against the Chairman of the neighbouring collective farm. In prison he was “an authoritative person” for both prisoners and guards.
During the years of the Second World War, he is reputed to have saved the poorest villagers from hunger. He was an excellent hunter and every day his wife, Akmadai, prepared food for needy villagers.
There are many versions about his death. Some people say that it was caused by an insect which got into his food which caused him to fall ill. The doctors in the capital tried to treat him, but could not cure him.
The village named in his honour has a small museum where you can see huge stones which he is reputed to have lifted onto his shoulders. A little out of town you can see a stone weighing almost 700kg which he is supposed to have lifted and placed on the grave of a local official. He is also reputed to have carried a horse for over 100 meters .
In the museum there are also some photographs of him and a display of some of his clothes - so you can get a good impression of the size of the man … which helps to give credence to the various stories they tell about him.
The Sports Palace in Bishkek (on Togolok Moldo) is also named in his honour – and in 2004 a large statue was erected on Togolok Moldo, outside the building, showing the feat of him lifting a horse.
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