Eliminations in the groups of younger juniors, masters and disabled athletes took place on a huge stage, the biggest in the history of armwrestling. This part of the whole event was preceded by a very dynamic and interesting opening ceremony. For the first time in the history of our sport was the opening ceremony directed with such attention to detail, just like the Academy Award ceremony.

As many as one thousand and two hundred competitors are taking part in the championships. With trainers, doctors and referees, the number goes up to one and a half thousand people. The sports arena is well prepared to host our competitors and the amount of equipment used to provide broadcast of the event is really impressive.

On day one left-hand matches were held. The youngest, the oldest and the disabled competitors had a chance to show their strength. Forty four gold medals were to be won.

The number should be multiplied by three (gold, silver, bronze), which gives 132 sets of medals. Of course, the general team classification is not closed yet, but it’s clearly visible who is among the leaders of world armwrestling. Russia has already got 3 medals, including 10 gold. What’s worth adding is that there were several final matches between competitors from Russia, which clearly underlines the strength of Russian armwrestling. Apart from gold, representatives of Russia earned 10 silver and 10 bronze medals.

Also representatives of Turkey performed well yesterday winning two gold medals, four silver and four bronze medals. Among others who climbed on to the winner’s rostrum were competitors of Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Croatia, Georgia, Sweden, the USA, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The hosts, Poles, saw their representatives on the podium two times yesterday.

The first two days of the armwrestling competition are a combination of youth and routine. We could see young, fragile girls fighting with great fury and proficiency. And on other tables the bearded “Giants”, often weighing over one hundred kilos, who began to armwrestle before the young athletes were born. This contrast is excellent and I hope that you can see it in our pictures.

Another thing is matches in the group of disabled athletes, which very often bring more excitement to the fans than fights between able-bodied competitors. I’ve always emphasized that the power of armwrestling is that athletes from all age groups, whether able-bodied or disabled, compete during the same event.

Despite the large number of competitors, everything is going smoothly, without any delays. I’m not going to describe the particular matches as I hope you watch the live broadcast and read the latest news on our website.

On the second day athletes from the same age groups will compete, whereas tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we’ll see older juniors and seniors in action. Enjoy!
PeSzy