Arnold Classic, one of the best armwrestling events in the world, is over. Even though the biggest armwrestling stars haven’t competed this year, there were still some surprises and great fights.

- One of the most interesting events was the Crazy George – Ron Klemba fight in the men’s 176 lbs category – says Igor Mazurenko. – I think it was one of the longest armwrestling bouts ever, it lasted 10 minutes, and some say that Crazy George had even longer fights! He fights over the top, has a very strong shoulder muscle, his stamina is incredible. He wrestles a little like Michael Todd. Some say it’s not entirely fair, but he never goes outside the rules.

As a result, this 60 years plus old fighter won his category, beating Craig Sanders and Michael Phaup. In Igor Mazurenko’s opinion, there were also some good fights in the men’s 154 lbs category, where Vazgen Soghoyan lost to Geoff Hale.

Another attraction of this year’s Arnold Classic was the visit by Randy Couture, an MMA star and Jason Statham, an action movie star. Statham actually handed out the prizes to the contestants.

And back to armwrestlers – for Olga Gavrilova it was her first AC, and she won gold in women’s 176 lbs.

- Olga fought the strongman champion of the world, Josee Morneau – says Mazurenko. Before the fight Olga wasn’t sure which category to choose, she put up two kg so she wavered between cutting down to 65 kg or to enter 65+ kg. I told her that since she was already here, she should take on the strongest, and she made it. It wasn’t coincidence or luck; Olga was well prepared. After AC she had fights in the Russian Championships, but it was no problem for her, she just treated the AC as preparation for the Championships.

Speaking of this year’s AC, we cannot forget Mariusz Grochowski, the only Polish contestant in this tournament, the winner of gold in superheavy weight.

- I’ve seen this fight, Mariusz is back in great shape after a year’s break – says Mazurenko. – I see great improvement in him, he gained a lot of experience over the years. I think he will really show what he’s made of in this year’s Polish Championships.

Iza Małkowska