Grzegorz Karbowski: The World Championship in Gdynia was the biggest and the finest armwrestling tournament ever., according to everyone who has seen it. You were an important part of the show. One can say, you became a face ot the Championship. Can you compare it to any other experience in your career?
Anders Axklo:It was a great privilege to as involved as I was, and to be associated with such a great success. I have worked with many different shows and TV-productions, and I dont like to compare apples and pears, but obviously it is a highlight.
GK: Presenting the fights and events in two languages was something new. You had a Russian partner. Did you know Olesya before?
AA: I have met Olessa before, but not worked together with her. She works with impressive professionalism, and I believe there is even more we can do to work bilingually in the future.
English and Russian are the two big languages of armwrestling, and should always be present.
GK: Actually you came to Gdynia not only to present the Championship. You came to win it too. And you did it! Did the successes of Swedish team satisfy you?
AA: We are extremely proud of our team, and the fact that we brought almost 70 armwrestlers who all travelled and competed at their own expense. Finishing in 5th place in the overall nations points is
what we expected of our athletes, and they delivered.
GK: You play at last three roles. You are a presenter, the chief of Swedish team and a sport commentator as well. Let's now talk about sports. Actually what happened at the Championship. Lest's name some heros of it..
AA: The overall level is so incredible that it is almost impossible to point out any individuals. Possibly Janis Amolins and Evgeny Prudnik stand out, for winning and dominating categories that it before hand looked like there were so many that could have won.
GK: Who surprised you the most?
AA: For me personally it was Jonas Hellströms win against Tokarev in the -110. Hellström is an extremely versatile armwrestler and tricked Tokarev with a quick triceps press. I dont think it will be easy for Hellström the next time they meet. :-)
GK: And whose fights were the most spectalucar?
AA: The qualifiers in the seniors left were very intense, and I think that is why we didn't see any turnarounds in the finals in the left. The cost of getting to the final through the B-side was just to high, with this level of competition.
GK: Fans from Poland were disappointed by Marlena Wawrzyniak's bronze medal. Bronze not gold! Was it the most spectalucar fall for you too?
AA: No, at the Worlds no fall is more spectacular than any other. Many champions fell. The best in the world come fully trained to compete, and nobody is ever safe.
GK: It is easy to predict that the Russians soon will play the main role in world armwrestling. They have so many junior champions. Where are the Americans, Canadians, Brasilians, Poles?
AA: I think that to many nations select their national teams considering only short term value, who can win a medal this year. In Russia, Ukraine and Sweden, for example, every year you are forced to fight for your right to represent your nation, and that is what keeps developing armwrestlers. Until nations start seeing their armwrestling development in a long term perspective, and building the infrastructure of their sport domestically, they will only have the occasional champion instead of a growing team.
GK: Will the Championship improve the position of our sport in the world?
AA: Absolutely. apart from the TV-production, it has also proven that despite being the largest championship ever, it was possible to manage and run everything smoothly. Nobody will be able to use size as an excuse for failing organizations in the future. Both the nerve of the live broadcast, and the excellent footage that will be used in "Real armwrestling" is something that will be an eye opener to many people, both within in our sport, and those who see it for the first time.
Grzegorz Karbowski