Do you think you were lucky enough to make a safe and easy comeback ?

It’s hard to say. Before my disqualification there was already Artem Taynov, Andrey Pushkar was climbing very fast to the top. And I can’t say if I got stopped in one place because of the disqualification, or if those boys remained strong and I regressed a couple of steps. There are still some fine sportsmen, take Oleg Zhoh for example. He’s a natural ! He was able to take his weakness and turn it to his advantage. Was I lucky? Yes, I was. My sports career was full of not very funny moments: in 2001 I suffered a blood circulation stoppage, in 2008 – serious kidney problems; and that wasn’t the worse. Before being disqualified I wrestled in the States, I had huge health problems then. I was competing for 3 – 4^th place, but I was so depressed I just gave up the arm. I just didn’t have the stamina. So, in light of those facts, I can say I was lucky.

Many people are currently discussing Aleksey Woyewoda. What do you think his chances are ?

I wouldn’t dare to guess. If you think logically, he was making progress even when he wasn’t armwrestling. It all depends on how much he’s “pumped up” for the win. You also have to consider chance.

One time on a Nemiroff Championship press conference, me and John Brzenek tried to guess which of us two would win. We didn’t even consider the others. Right before the competition I got hurt training. I tried to recuperate, but failed. Everybody was shocked.

Please tell us about your vendetta against Travis Bagent. What happened between you two?

It all started right after the national anthems. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. When I opened my eyes, his hands were right in my face. A psychological trick. Then the technical tricks started, but the referee was on to it. If the referee backed Travis, it would be hard to wrestle him. Bagent was bumping my elbow, twisting my fingers. Referee noticed that and Bagent got foul warnings. So he lost his nerve and started to provoke me. He was just trying too hard.

If you could have a re-match, would you wrestle better this time ?

Yes, if I had the same power. I’d be more relaxed and I’d have used all my sporting experience.

If someone was to call you now and tell you you’ll be wrestling Bagent tomorrow, would you do it?

Sure I would! After that conflict, I don’t think even Americans respect him like they did.

What can we expect of the oncoming Nemiroff ?

I’m not dreaming of the trophy, but I will give my best!

Anastazja Kisiliewa