What category are you in?

I’m 44 years old, category up to 65 kg. In just a week I’m going to fight in the Georgian Championships. I think I should be able to qualify to the national team. But I see how armwrestling’s grown in Georgia, the level of competition is very high.

Where do you train and whom with?

I train in a club in Tibllisi with my buddy, Verkhvia Samkharadze, also a world champion from a few years back, who recently have made a comeback to the sport. Armwrestling is like a drug, it’s very hard to quit.

What are your current measurements?

39 cm in biceps and also 39 in forearm, both left and right hand. My record in biceps curl with elbow on the prayer bench is 56 kg, a few reps.

What do you focus on the most?

The closer I get to the Georgian tournament, the more I focus on table work, sparring. There are many fighters here I can spar with. I also have to watch my weight, right now I weigh about 67 kg, I have to lose 2 kilos.

Last year you wanted to enter the World Championships in Poland, but you didn’t get the visa.

Yes, it turned out that some guy with a name similar to mine was suspected of breaking some rules of residence in Germany in 2000, he was deported. I am working on getting this ban on me lifted and being able to get into the EU. For this same reason I don’t know if I’ll be able to get into Lithuania for the tournament. Bureaucracy is slow and hard to fight, but I will not give up!

Igor Mazurenko