Vladislav started armwrestling in 2007. His mentof was his best friend, who showed him that armwrestling is not only a democratic way to settle disputes. The idea to become an armwrestler appealed to Vladislav all the more because he knew he had great power in his arms. Vladislav’s coach, Vitalyi Kul had a great impact on his charges, giving them preparation and direction. He started armwrestling along with Victor Bratchenia, one of the Belarussian “dinosaurs” of armwrestling.

Vitalyi Kul is a universal coach, who listens, gives great advice and makes all the right decisions – says Vladislav Stefanko. – He’s a hard guy, but he’s also fair. That’s why I follow his instructions and train with his program.

Every armwrestler has their idol whom they worship – and a goal that they are aiming for. Vladislav’s idol is Rustam Babayev, a man who had practically no losses in his category and beat even the strongest guys. Rustam is fast and very strong. Vladislav can say the same about himself.

Vladislav was armwrestling even when he was 7 years old. That’s still not enough to compare himself to John Brzenk, but enough to be good. Stefanko is already spreading terror in the ranks of his category. They all know that he can kick some major behind.

Looking back at my sports past, I can see a lot of good moments – says Vladislav. – Those moments when a competition ends, when you say goodbye to your friends and colleagues; great memories. Of course there are some bad ones, too - like bad referee decisions.

The scores that fighters get in tournaments are the result of hard training. Vladislav highlights the importance of systematic training.

During the season I work out 3-4 times a week – says Vladislav. I usually go step by step – stamina, power, speed. I like static exercises and working my wrist. I work out no less than 2,5 hours. I go to the gym right after work and I leave at closing time. I video all my fights and then I study them, look for weak points and try to eliminate them.

Sports diet is an important factor in an armwrestler’s life. Some think that you cannot get great scores without a proper diet, others state the contrary. Both ways have their own champions. Supplementation especially is a very individual matter. Vladislav has experimented until he’s decided that he does need a lot of BCAA, HMB and supplements to regenerate and strengthen his tendons.

Vladislav has a lot of titles in Belarus. He has yet to take the podium abroad.

It’s always nice to recall your victories – says Vladislav. – Especially when you climb the podium. Unfortunately, nerves got the better of me in the last year’s World Cup. I’ve “burned out” and placed 10^th in both hands, although after the competition I beat every one of my opponents. But as they say – the fight is on the ring, not off it. The best of my victories was in the last year’s World Championships. I managed to beat the famous Jeff Hale backstage, in right arm. I always wanted to fight him.

Vladislav says that he is an armwrestling fanatic.

I follow every bit of news from the armwrestling world – says Stefanko. – This is a cult that one cannot leave. I’m worried about John Brzenk’s position in the world. I sincerely hope that he’ll get back to the top.

Belarussian armwrestling is a little behind USA, Russia or Ukraine. What’s the cause for that? Many of our fighters think that this is because the sport doesn’t get enough financial support.

We need more money – says Vladislav. - Everyone knows that, but so far not much is being done to change it. There is too little basics, like media advertisements. Every form of advertising draws people in.

In the European and World championships each arm is scored separately. In Belarus, both arms are scored at once. However, most Belarussian sportspeople think that WAF rules should be applied.

Personally, I don’t agree with the present system of scoring – says Vladislav. If Oleg Zhoh and Khadzimurat Zoloyev fought by those same rules, they’d both still be amateurs and would never become masters of sport. What if I’m injured and cannot fight with one arm? I think many would agree – each arm should be scored separately.

There are many accomplished sportspeople in Belarus. These professionals are a great example for the future generations. More and more people try to get to the top of amateur armwrestling.

Victor Bratchenia, Oleg Mackiewicz, Wiaczesław Sharagovich, Dmitrij Shmyko, Valentin Bobrowicz, Denis Savenya, Siergiej Sergel, Aleksiej Koszpej – this is the Belarussian armwrestlig elite – says Vladislav. They’ve been in this sport for a long time and they deserve the respect that they get. Their victories are already legendary.

This year Vladislav Stefako is planning to get a victory that will join those of the legends. He wants to start in the World Championships and in the Nemiroff World Cup in the up to 70 kg category. He’s been proving for years now that he deserves the title of Master of Sports.

Artut Grigorian