Trees Fall at the 2012 World Logging Championships

Russian lumberjack Alexander Sokolov won the 2012 World Logging Championships held in Belarus on Saturday.

The woodsman beat out the field in which competitors from Great Britain and Finland got second and third, respectively.

Over one-hundred lumberjacks from nearly thirty countries competed in the events, with their skills showcasing the most precise and fastest in the business.

Starting in a nearby forest, Sokolov and his competitors cut down trees, attempting to make them fall in an exact direction determined by judges.

[Alexander Sokolov, Contestant]:
"We looked at the trees yesterday, it was windy and we were calculating which way we should cut the trees. The wind went down today, so we looked at it the other way, without the wind, and decided to change the direction. So in the end we got what we got - we got the medal."

The Belarusian team were favorites at these championships, but were upset in some disciplines by the Russians, including Sokolov, and the Germans.

Marco Trabert of Germany took the gold medal for the Combined Cuts contest.

The event has been held every two years since 1970.

At a nearby fair, spectators and fans could also watch the loggers sculpt figures out of wood, and purchase them afterwards

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