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Bullfighter, 11, 'breaks record' | |
(1 day later) | |
An 11-year-old Mexican boy has killed six young bulls in a single fight, apparently becoming the world's youngest matador to achieve the feat. | |
A video of the contest is to be verified by Guinness World Records. | |
"I'm happy to have achieved this great victory," said Michelito Lagravere Peniche as he left the ring in Merida. | |
The controversial spectacle was given a last minute go-ahead by the authorities despite pressure from child protection and anti-bullfighting campaign groups. | |
Merida's mayor had suspended the record attempt, saying it was illegal for youths under the age of 18 to take part in high-risk public performances. | |
But the state prosecutor's office overturned the ban just hours before the fight after Michelito's father - a former French bullfighter - launched an appeal. | |
Courting controversy | |
Some 3,500 people, including many children, reportedly gathered to witness the fight at the ring in the eastern city of Merida in Yucatan state. | |
The child matador is already an international star in the world of bullfighting. | |
Michelito first entered a bullfighting ring when he was fourHe first entered the ring when he was four, killed his first bull calf two years later and has since taken on dozens of animals around the world. | |
His rise to fame has not been without controversy, but the little bullfighter has been defiant in the face of criticism. | |
"The bullfighting opponents shouldn't stick their nose in things they don't like," he said ahead of his record attempt. | |
"No-one is forcing them to watch bullfights or to keep informed about them. It's as if I told a boy who does motocross not to do it, it's very bothersome." | |
Last year, the child prodigy caused a public outcry in France while he was touring the bullfighting circuit there. | |
Several cities banned him from killing animals during his appearances after anti-bullfighting activists waged a high profile campaign. | |
They said they had targeted him over other younger matadors because "he fights in corridas [bullfights] aiming to kill". |