Natalia Lugovskikh and Natalia Bystrova contributed two golds each to the final Russian total of 15 golds – 11 more than second-placed Ukraine – as they added respective overall world titles in the Bikini-Fitness and Physique classes to the victories already achieved in their own categories.

Of the 13 golds awarded on the second day of competition, Russia won seven.

Ukraine earned three golds in the concluding session, with Oksana Orobets winning the Women’s Fitness overall title after victory in the Over 163cm class, where silver went to Kristina Juricova of Slovakia and bronze to Estonia’s Endla Vaher.

In the super-final, Orobets defeated the winner of the Up To 163cm class, Slovakia’s Michaela Pavleova, who finished ahead of Russia’s Evgenia Mischenko and Kristina Koroljak of Estonia.

The third Ukraine gold was contributed by Nazar Kharkhun, who won the Men’s Fitness event ahead of silver medallist Evgeny Shobik and China’s Cai Lu Lu.

“These have been a highly successful World Championships,” said Dr Rafael Santonja, the IFBB President.

“I send my congratulations to the Russian federation for the quality of their athletes.”

The tall, blonde Lugovskikh had arrived here as a favourite in the Bikini-Fitness category and lived up to her reputation after initially winning the Over 172cm gold before taking the overall honours in the final event of the Championships.

To win the overall title she defeated seven other individual world gold medallists – seven of whom were Russian.

The only exception was Kristina Tokareva of Ukraine, who won the Up To 166cm gold ahead of Slovakia’s Timea Trajtelova and Helena Mang of Estonia.

The two other Russian victories on the day in the Bikini-Fitness section came in the Up To 169cm class, where Ekaterina Andreeva finished ahead of Ukraine’s Oksana Brygidyr and Andra Vagur of Estonia, and the Up To 172cm class, where Ekaterina Lapteva won gold from silver medallist and fellow Russian Alla Kireeva and Hungary’s Brigitta Bekefi.

In Lugovskikh’s individual final, silver went to fellow Russian Galina Maslovskaia and bronze to Kateryna Alieinikova of Ukraine.

Bystrova earned the Up To 163cm title in the Women’s Physique section ahead of Andrijana Dabic of Austria and home athlete Nora Rekina before defeating fellow Russian Olga Bogrunova in the super-final.

Bogrunova had beaten silver medallist Oleksandra Dubinina of Ukraine and Canada’s Victoria Myslik in the Over 163cm category.

Malta took gold in the Mixed Pairs event thanks to the experienced team of Blanche Coppola and Ralph Decelis, with China’s Huang Yu Ying and Ran Maorong taking silver and bronze going to home pair Muriel and Kazim Boumazza.