You are the only Polish armwrestler to win a medal in this year’s Nemiroff, bronze in left hand in 78kg. Who was your toughest opponent and why?

Definitely Oleg Zhoh, left hand. This guy has no weak spot.

In the eliminations for the right hand you placed 5^th, and you kept it in the finals. In your last interview you said “You need a high score to be noticed. A middle-of-the-chart man will not be noticed, what counts is the first six, it means you were not far from the podium.” – Are you satisfied? You did place in the first six.

I would be satisfied if I hadn’t made some errors and weren’t aware that that was the best I could do at the time. In both my lost fights I made errors in setting up, even before “ready-go”, I misjudged my opponent’s style.

What is your opinion on the level of Polish contestants? Poland placed six in the general scoring, out of 26 countries. Is that good or bad?

Before Nemiroff I was sure we’ll get some medals, but it turned out I was wrong… Some people weren’t just lucky enough, we took 5^th and 6^th places, Darek Muszczak was very close to a medal.

It’s curious that this year you were 5^th in right hand, even though you took silver last year, same hand. Is that to do with losing shape?

Apparently I haven’t yet reached the level needed to take the podium every year in Nemiroff. I definitely wasn’t out of shape, just not fresh and regenerated enough. Armwrestling is a hobby that is not easy to keep up with when you have a steady job, and I couldn’t rest before the tournament. Next year it will be easier, I’ll have the 5^th place to go upward from, not the 2^nd…

Iza Małkowska