Rise

The first rules of modern kettlebell sport were introduced circa 1962, and one of those rules, albeit unwritten, was that it would be a men’s only club.  Seeing as how Russian women could not enlist in the military prior to 1992, though many served as volunteers, they likely missed out on the opportunity to train with kettlebells, which were a staple of military fitness conditioning. The first National championship of the USSR was held in Lipetsk in November of 1985, yet it wouldn’t be until 2001 at the Russian National Championship that women would be permitted to compete.

In 2017 the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL), the oldest, active, international kettlebell sport organization, introduced women’s one-arm longcycle (OALC) as an “official” event, and women’s two-arm longcycle (TALC) as a “trial” event.  Prior to 2017, women could only compete in Snatch. While men could compete internationally in Biathlon and TALC (introduced in 1998), women would be treated as second class for 16 years after their inclusion into the men’s club.

Figure 1. CKA Women’s One-Arm Longcycle Rank Table

Clearly, women were already training OALC and two-arm lifts on their own and in small clubs around Europe and abroad.  In the case of Canada and the USA, OALC was already a staple event at the National level, with rankings for women as high as Master of Sport (Figure 1).  The Ice Chamber in California already had a world renowned female team ranked in 24 kilogram OALC and snatch, and Canada was looking to gain some ground with four notable female lifters from the western provinces all competing in 24 kg OALC.

Fall

No sooner did OALC veterans rejoice about the recognition of their event in the female division, than resentment towards that very event reared its ugly, and somewhat unexpected, head.  It’s not that single-arm lifts outside of snatch didn’t exist before female kettlebell sport lifters; they did.  “Classic Jerk” for example is single-arm jerk, an event that was retired in the 1980’s. But after that change, why had it always been that men lifted two bells, and women could only lift one?

Jonas Lalas, 32kg bell, Lithuania 1977

Behind the curtain, there were two battles being fought in Kettlebell Sport:

1. 1. 1. Make women’s OALC an official discipline at the World Championships
      2. Get rid of OALC because it is discriminatory towards women.

As you can imagine, these were two conflicting goals which brought a litany of emotions and opinions bubbling to the surface.  To the new breed of devout female two-arm longcyclers, the promotion of OALC to the world stage must have seemed like the IUKL placating them.  The inclusion of OALC was welcome, but it was also too little too late.

The writing was on the wall; TALC was the new standard and other organizations were taking notice while the IUKL was stuck in a Soviet-era mentality.  The Orange Kettlebell Club and the International Kettlebell Organization (IKO) would only recognize TALC for women as an official World League event.  The World Kettlebell Sport Federation (WKSF), an alternative World Championships founded in 2017, had also made TALC an official discipline for women.

TALC is still the standard for the traditional 10-minute model, but this is not the case for 30 and 60-minute events.

Enter Kettlebell Marathons.

Rise Again

The International Kettlebell Marathon Federation (IKMF) was established in 2010, really just as kettlebell sport was picking up steam in North America. For reference, Valery Fedorenko started the USA-based World Kettlebell Club in 2006, which at the time was the only game in town. Four years later, and as a direct result of Valery’s influence on the sport in North America, the first kettlebell sport meet in Canada was held on July 17 2010 at the Academy of Lions in Toronto, Ontario.

I entered the picture in the Fall of 2011, and despite having a general understanding that sport lifters lifted for what seemed like an eternity, I had no idea that lifting for 30 minutes or longer was even an option (it definitely wasn’t at any of the competitions held in Canada or North America at the time).  That being said, the One-Hour Longcycle (1HLC) event did in fact show up on my radar.

The 1HLC fundraiser, a charity event for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, started on October 23, 2010 at Center Street Gym in El Segundo, CA. It was a group world record, with 20 people lifting for an entire hour without rest for the benefit of the hospital. The event was the brainchild of Jason Dolby of the Orange Kettlebell Club (Google AI Summary, 2025). Although some had attempted the 1HLC with two kettlebells, most people optioned to participate with one bell, so the 1HLC shares credit with the IKMF as hosting the first organized “marathon” event.  Our club participated in 2014 to raise funds for Autism research, as well as subsequent years for various causes.  The last 1HLC took place in 2018.

The marathon as kettlebell lifters know it is a 60-minute event, with multiple hand-switches allowed.  The half-marathon is… yup, you guessed it. Thirty minutes.  Now you might think that lifting for such long durations is a completely new thing for kettlebell sport.  As a matter of historical fact, prior to the 10-minute rule (1989), events would carry on as long as lifters could bear.  This meant lifters would occasionally lift for durations similar to modern-day marathon events.

Some examples of marathon length (and longer) records:

• On April 11, 1997, E. Brazauskas of Lithuania snatched a 16-kilogram bell 4600 times in 5 hours.
• In 1998, J. Grinas of Lithuania broke the Guinness World record for 16-kilogram snatch by completing 1,612 repetitions in 60-minutes.

Marathon events are ever growing in popularity, with OALC making up 50% or more of the registered lifts at the World Championships (see IKMF Results). Half-Snatch is gaining ground and may eventually match or eclipse OALC as the preferred marathon lift.  In my own experience, despite the duration of a marathon being an intimidating idea for most, at least 50% of my club members have performed a half-marathon at an official event.  I have also found training for 30 minute events to very effective at conditioning my athletes for their 10 and 12-minute events.  Go figure.

Choosing The Right Longcycle For You

Possible reasons to choose one-arm Longcycle over two-arm longcycle:

• • Reason #1: Shoulder mobility. Because you can tilt the spine unilaterally in the overhead during single arm you can overcome deficits in shoulder range of motion.
  • Reason #2: It’s easier to learn than doubles. One arm is easier to coordinate than two. Single arm long cycle shares similarities with snatch whereas double arm jerk or long cycle does not.
  • Reason #3: It’s physically easier to do and or less taxing on the body than doubles. 24 kg one arm long cycle is no cake walk, but 2*16 kg double long cycle is 30% more total load on the body’s structures and cardiovascular system. The added weight also contributes to increased difficulty in learning.
  • Reason #4: You can adopt a comfortable pace and still do relatively well. One arm long cycle is certainly the most forgiving event because you have two rest positions and you can switch arms, plus you can break up the jerks with a clean. In single arm jerk you also have two rest positions and can switch arms. In double bell work you cannot switch arms and you could be lifting anywhere from 30% (2 x 16kg) to 100% (2 x 24kg) more total load. This leaves very little room for getting by on poor technique or conditioning.  Many people can just jump into a one arm long cycle exhibition for fun. No one does a competition set of doubles for fun unless they like the feeling of an armour-clad dwarf standing on their chest for 10-minutes straight.

Please note that these points may not necessarily apply equally to everyone.

Solly is the head coach of the Nanaimo Kettlebell Club and has been training clients for over 15 years. He has twice been on Team Canada as both an athlete and coach, and has continues to operate the longest running kettlebell sport event in Canada.