National arm wrestling event sees many show their ‘guns’
National Champion arm-wrestlers push their limits.
From Gauteng to the Western Cape to Limpopo to the Free State, and from all over in between, a few hundred men and women gathered to be a part of the estimable National Championship for Arm Wrestling in South Africa, bringing their families and friends along too.
The event was hosted by the Primal Arm Wrestling Club and was held in February at Grosky’s Restaurant in the Noordheuwel Shopping Centre.
The venue was packed to the rafters with arm-wrestling teams and screaming supporters. Close to a 100 arm-wrestlers competed in more than 600 matches throughout the day, ranging from junior to senior age groups, with both men and women participating.
The National Championship is the largest and most distinguished arm-wrestling event in South Africa, and is the only one of its kind to allow competitors to qualify for the World Championship, which will be held in Romania this year.
The Primal Club was started by Linus and his wife, Janice, four years ago when they recognised the need for the West Rand to have its very own arm-wrestling club. The South African Nationals, though, have been a yearly thing since 1987. This year marked the first time that Primal hosted the tournament, here on home turf.
A few of the many noteworthy winners were Cornelius Swannepoel, who won both the Junior Right and Left divisions; Hanco Nel who bested his competition in the men’s heavyweight class and Alma du Plessis and Cherise Bekker, who won in their respective Ladies divisions. The first and second place arm-wrestlers in each division qualified to go through to the World Championships.
