Did I want a “wipe-out”? It was tempting...

My first question to Marcin Lachowicz after returning from the International Polish Cup in Jastrzębia Góra was exactly that! Enjoy!

You can read this in 4 minutes. It's worth it!

PeSzy: Mr Trainer, Mr President, Mr Attorney, please, tell us – did you want to just go to the table and wipe everyone out yourself?

Marcin Lachowicz (whom you all know already, I hope):

My heart and my brain were very conflicted. (smile) Do I miss the adrenaline and emotions from the table? Of course! I have always been a fighter and I will never stop being the wolf of this sport. Especially since I'm so attached to it and have been for 20 years. Did I want to fight, actually?

PeSzy: That's right, that's right. Tell us!

Marcin: I guess I could have gone quite far. When I go to the gym once a month, I check my athletes' strength and they're not bad! But when it comes to my brain... I've been fighting a serious injury for a long time. It's been keeping me from training for years and the preparation period is always a time of sleepless nights etc... That's why I decided that until I get a very complicated surgery that is, unfortunately, a little risky, I will not start in any serious tournaments.

PeSzy: Let's move to a different topic. Of course, you remember your Vendetta with Kamil. Did you expect that watching the duel might become an inspiration for younger athletes? I'm talking about Wojtek Jabłecki, of course, and the recent article on armpower.net

Marcin: My duel with Kamil was a perfect advertisement of our sport. The preceding months were a truly explosive mixture that offered the spectators many emotions and funny content. But, above anything else, it definitely brought the armwrestling community in motion!

I definitely think that the media coverage might have brought some new people to our sport. Therefore, we should only be happy. When it comes to Wojtek, we started collaborating much later.

PeSzy: I know; still, it's good to point out that this situation is quite unusual. It's common for trainers to “fetch” athletes – this time, it was the competitor who found his coach.

Marcin: Actually, we have started working together seriously since a year ago. And was it this duel that made him trust me as a coach? That's not a question I can answer.

PeSzy: How do you see Wojtek's future career? He's incredibly well-built. What can you do with his size to use it well?

Marcin:

Our collaboration is very unique. I actually saw him in person for the first time this weekend, however, we are in regular contact and I'm a part of almost all his trainings. He records his exercises and I try to correct the mistakes in his personalised training plan and optimise the conditions he naturally has.

I've noticed many qualities of a future Master in him, that's why I try to build his form so passionately – both physical and mental form, since it's surprisingly just as important in our sport. That's how I've somehow become not only Wojtek's trainer but also an “older brother”.

When it comes to his skills...

He has a great build and can listen well while not making any excuses, he works hard to achieve the goal he's set for himself. That's why I'm incredibly proud of his success at the Polish Cup, even though he didn't win everything he possibly could. He did a great job, I believe the only quality he was lacking that day was experience.

PeSzy: As I'm listening to you speaking, I get the urge to ask. As the trainer of both Alex and Wojtek, how would you compare these two guys?

Marcin: It's quite difficult to compare them because they started my training at a completely different level. Alex could already fight with the best in Ukraine but also lacked a lot and made a lot of mistakes. Those often cost him duels with much weaker athletes.

Alex was definitely much stronger, generally speaking, and as an ex-strongman he had a great base. Wojtek, on the other hand, is a much more versatile competitor. He can fight in every axis. All the other comparisons... I'm going to leave to myself. Regardless, I believe both of them can reach the absolute peaks of armwrestling which I'm going to encourage wholeheartedly.

PeSzy: It seems like you're a true “talent seeker” but I think I've already given this title to Grochowski for Julia Tarasek, I can't remember well. Is there any trainer rivalry between you and Mariusz?

Marcin: I have no memories of nominations and winners of the Talent Seeker title...

PeSzy: I remembered! It was me – I gave myself the title, in this article.

Marcin: Mariusz is my great friend, and has been for many years already. We even have some traditions that only the two of us know. Is there any rivalry between us? We “brought up” so many phenomenal athletes that we've been in the opposing corners hundreds of times already. However, we're still very fond of each other and even though we bicker and mock the other sometimes, we respect one another and the rivarly between us is purely healthy sports rivalry!

PeSzy: Please, offer me some insight on the 2022 Polish Cup.

Marcin: What can I say... the times are tough, both socially and economically, so the turnup was not good. There were many spectacular fights and new faces which is something to be happy about. Of course, as always, the event was organized perfectly. The congress approved some changes that will definitely influence our sport in Poland and change it for the better.

PeSzy: Thank you for the interview!

Marcin: Thank you. I would also like to send my best wishes to everyone and wish them endurance and strong character. These are the main qualities you need to become a Master in Armwrestling! See you soon!