Using hands only, he climbs a pole with a 20kg backpack. In the gym he pulls a 120 kg machine with an extra weight attached – his friend. Two other friends are trying to pull him by means of a rope attached to his forearm. I saw the video of this on one of the armwrestling groups online. The main character of this movie is Hassan Beloued, 24 years old, 190cm tall and weighing 100kg.

When I was 13, my father died, I started smoking drugs – says Hassan. – 4 or 5 years later I started armwrestling with guys in the street, it was then I found my dream – become the armwrestling champion of Morocco. I quit drugs, started running, doing pushups and pullups. I joined a gym and started working out hard, and training at the table. This happened when I was 18, now I’m 24, so I’ve been working hard for 6 years.

When Hassan began his journey, he didn’t have many sparring partners. Now he has about 60 students at his gym, seniors and juniors.

Armwrestling is gaining popularity in Africa and Arabic countries, although it’s not yet as popular as in Russia or USA – says Hassan. Our main problems are financial. Right now I cant;s afford to go to Egypt, and the South African guys cannot afford to come to Morocco. I have a very simple gym and a table, it’s not bad but not as good as in Poland. I’ve already won the Moroccan Cup in OPEN category and the finals in 95kg; I beat the former Moroccan champion in 3 seconds. I also took 3^rd place in the African Cup, left hand, 95+ kg.

I’ve noticed that Hassan is very determined, as can be seen in his training video. Will we see him in Nemiroff one day? Time will tell.

Iza Małkowska