Piglets in training for sport

Russian piglets are being trained for competition by personal coaches as a new craze of pig racing spreads across the country.

The training at the Sport Pig Centre in the Moscow region includes honing the piglet's skills in running, swimming, and 'pig-ball competitions'.

It comes ahead of a competition mid-April as part of the international animal show ZooRussia.

Alexei Sharshkov, vice-president of the Federation of Sport Pig Breeders, said: "The piglets were born just a month ago.

"They are going through general training and only after that will they take up different specialist sports. The piglets are being looked after by coaches and zoo psychologists."

Russian demand for pig-racing has led to special pig racing tracks being set up with one located at Moscow's Crocus-Expo pavilion and many others opening up as well.

And the craze has not been limited just to Russia. Thousands of people came to watch pigs compete at various disciplines at last year's Pig Olympics in Shanghai, China.