On the 6^th of November 2012, 3 days before Nemiroff, CBŚ came to my house (Polish Central Investigation Agency). I’ve been accused of a series of assaults with a deadly weapon. The accuser was one of my supposed accomplices. It took a year and a half for the court to acquit me of all charges. My reputation has suffered a lot. At one point, when I was incarcerated in Płock, many of my friends started to doubt me, some turned their backs at me.

The armwrestling world was also of two minds. Some wanted me removed from my position of vice-president of EAF. The majority of votes left me at my post until the final court ruling was delivered. A convicted person cannot govern a respectable organization, one needs to present a clean record.

I know I’ll make up for the losses I suffered, but it will take time.

I remain a fixture in armwrestling, I run my own company and my projects, like the TOP 16.

I was acquitted and I’m happy for it, but my family has suffered greatly. 15 years of career as a sportsman and activist has been endangered by slander, it’s hard for me to even speak of it. Now I have to start rebuilding my reputation.

This year I have the disabled championships in Puck, Nemiroff World Cup and the TOP 16 to organize, and I’m still going to promote armwrestling.

Igor Mazurenko