strength measurement
Arm wrestling championship: who has the strongest arms?
At the German Arm Wrestling Championships, the two referees tie the athletes’ hands together with a strap to prevent them from slipping again. photo
© Andreas Arnold/dpa
Measuring strength while arm wrestling is not just reserved for school children. At the German Arm Wrestling Championships, however, certain rules must be observed.
Arm wrestling is familiar from the schoolyard and the pub. The But a test of strength is also a relatively young sport in Germany – called arm wrestling. The best men and women in this discipline competed against each other at the German Championships in Nuremberg to win the title in various weight classes. An important question was: Which arm is stronger? The left or the right?
Arm wrestling originated in the USA in the 1950s, said organizer Valentin Eichwald. These were among the leading nations alongside Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Bulgaria. “In Germany, sport has only really grown since Corona.” Many new clubs have now emerged – so many that people are already thinking about organizing regional qualifications before the German championship so that the number of participants does not become too large.
Arm wrestling is not the same as arm wrestling
Although arm wrestling evolved from classic arm wrestling, it is not the same. “An important difference is that you fight standing up and you can use your whole body,” explained Eichwald. You can support the strength of your arm by shifting your weight or tensing other muscle groups.
At the German Championships, the participants in the various weight classes competed in the preliminary rounds first with their left arm and then with their right arm. The two most successful in each weight class made it to the final. The winner should then be decided late in the evening.
According to Eichwald, the majority of the approximately 200 competitors were men. Women were represented in two weight classes. There were also classes for people with disabilities: standing and sitting – the latter for people in wheelchairs or with other limitations that do not allow competition while standing.
A total of around 400 athletes were scheduled to compete against each other on Saturday and Sunday. The title was only up for grabs on Saturday, while around 200 more beginners were supposed to get their first taste of competition on Sunday.