Hundreds of Russians gathered for the first day of the annual ''Pig Olympics." The crowd cheered a field of 12 piglets who competed in three events: pig-racing, pig-ball and pig-swimming.

Organizers of the event and the vice-president of the Sport-Pig Federation, which claims around 100 members, Alexei Sharshkov, said the Pig Olympics were organized to deliver a different kind of entertainment to people.

Organizers said the participating pigs, losers or winners, would not be slaughtered but rather kept to breed a new generation of sporting pigs.