I think Anders Axklo could be called as an official voice of different armwrestling event. In addition he is a President of Swedish Armwrestling Federation. He explains about perspectives of Sweden at upcoming championship.

Anders, how many sportsmen are going to go to Worlds this year?

– Sweden will send 53 athletes. Of course Fia Reisek, Malin Kleinsmith, Sara Nyberg, Elin Janeheim, Ann Johansson and our other ladies are considered favorites in their categories. We have some new people going, in Sweden we try to emphasize that if you have qualified through the nationals, you have the right to represent Sweden. If you are new, there is not much you can do except train, we make to further assessment if you are ready. But if a sportsman goes to Worlds this year, it will help make him ready for next year.

You often have very strong women team, what about this year? And what about men?

– Yes, the ladies are very good, and a think this year our ladies team for Worlds is stronger than the last few years. I think some of our men will surprise, our men are better than many other nations, it is only when compared to the success of our ladies it seems less.

Can you try to predict the toughest fights Swedish guys would have to fight to?

– No, to predict single fights is impossible, that is the thrill of the world championships. Every nation brings their best, and every fight can be spectacular.

What do you think about results?

– We expect to place 5-8 in the total points, lower than that will be a disappointment and higher would be a great success.

We hope that Anders’ expectations will come true and wish all the best to Swedish team!