We are the champions

TURKMENISTAN: At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the flags of various countries raised were during the awards ceremonies. Back in the athletes’ home countries, national pride is creating a different kind of flag-raising competition.

Barthuran Arslan Businessman “They are really proud of their new flagpole right now”

The unofficial contest is for the world’s tallest flagpole. American David Chambers holds the world record for building the tallest flagpole in the world. In late July, Chambers completed a flagpole in Turkmenistan that is a record-breaking 133 metres high. Businessman Barthuran Arslan arranged the deal between Chambers and the government of Turkmenistan. “They are really proud of their new flagpole right now,” Arslan told The Wall Street Journal.

But Chambers is busy building an even taller flagpole in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The pole will have a height of nearly 162 metres. Chambers’s company, Trident Support, which has offices in California and Dubai, has requests from several governments in Central Asia and the Middle East. He believes that, with current technology, the tallest possible height for a flagpole is around 220 metres.

• Trident Support