Image copyright British Wool Marketing Board A new British shearing record has been set by two Powys farmers.
Duo Gareth Daniel and Ian Jones sheared a combined total of 1,457 lambs over nine hours on Friday.
The Nine Hour Two Stand Lamb Shearing record had never been attempted in Britain before.
Their attempt began at 05:00 BST in line with the shearing day in New Zealand, where many shearing records are established and broken.
It continued in sessions of up to two hours until a total of nine hours was reached at 17:00.
According to organisers, scientific tests have suggested that shearing 250 sheep uses the same amount of energy as running a marathon.
Mr Daniel, 33, from Machynlleth, sheared 781 lambs while Mr Jones, 36, from Builth Wells, achieved 676.
The pair spent two years preparing for the event, with both farmers working on their fitness and diet.
One of the event organisers, Huw Condran, compared the record to Olympic success.
He said: “What’s been achieved in Rio is excellent, but I think these athletes deserve to be acknowledged too.
“They work for nine hours, seven days a week. They don’t run one race and then have a week off, they’re back in work.
“And when they’re on top of their game, they come here and set records for us.”
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-37136382
