You are no armwrestling novice. Tell us what is your attitude when going to Nemiroff again? Do you remember your first time in the Cup?

Whether it's the first time or the next... You always go with the attitude to fight. Although certainly, this next time could be better than the previous, since until now I haven't won any medal on Nemiroff yet. My highest place was 4th. My first participations were "pioneer" participations. You could say that compared to the other participants from the armwrestling world, I was inexperienced. Back then, I didn't have a trainer, experience, and I wasn't taking part in special trainings. Now after years, things look different.

What are you, and old pro, expecting from Nemiroff, if anything?

I'm expecting good competition, and the ability to test myself once again.

During our short talk at the World Championship in Gdynia you said that what makes a champion is not the weight, but the determination and the will to win, the rivalry. The mindset is important. Obviously everyone trains physically before the competition, do you have some way of preparing mentally?

Mental preparations... I don't know if you can fully prepare for that. Of course the attitude and training, as well as the will to fight, motivates to be calm mentally, because everything should go well. But obviously it varies. The time before the competition is always more quiet, focused...

You also said that if you don't believe in yourself, you won't defeat anyone. Armwrestling is not for insecure people?

Armwrestling, like many other sport disciplines, requires faith in yourself. Could we win otherwise? I don't think so... Among other things, defeat also teaches humility. You can't let it get to you too much, you have to draw conclusions from the mistakes and don't make them any more.

You probably already have a tried and true system for training, but maybe you're preparing in some special way for the World Cup?

For the World Cup I'm preparing the same way as always, through sparring with my colleagues (greetings to the Gralaks and Szymon), hard training in the gym, and a special diet, including supplements. I'll take this opportunity to wish all armwrestling competitors many successes, both in the fights and in private life. I'd like to thank my girfriend, who helps me during training, supports me mentally and motivates me to fight. I'd also like to thank my son, who cheers me on and is with me, thanks to him I always feel like a winner.

Iza Małkowska