Post by Kurt Howgate on Jul 25, 2005 14:12:37 GMT -5
Found here: www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/12212535.htm
Arm wrestlers getting a grip for state titles
By Tony Sams
The Journal Gazette
WARSAW – After the grapple ends, Sam Saldana’s right arm is tense and its freckles disappear under redness.
His right hand is pale from the sports chalk he uses for a firm grip, and a flame tattoo burns its decoration from his wrist to his elbow. Between his fingers is a victory cigarette, celebrating his new title as the state amateur arm wrestling champion of his weight class.
As part of this year’s festivities at the Kosciusko County Fair, dozens of men and women gathered Saturday to compete for trophies and honors in the Indiana State Arm Wrestling Championships. Saldana, along with many others, took home trophies to corroborate their feats of strength.
Event organizer Eddie Stapleton said that with help from ESPN and Fox Sports, sanctioned arm wrestling is becoming more popular with younger crowds.
“People have been playing it for hundreds of years. It’s one of the oldest sports around, but it’s been underground for a long time,” Stapleton said.
The allure to the sport, Stapleton said, is that victories and losses are won by an individual’s work. Arm-wrestlers can’t blame goal posts or errant balls, he said.
“It’s a pure sport. It’s man-to-man, and I think men like that kind of competition,” he added.
Saldana, now champion of the 172-to-189 pound division, agreed.
He would like to travel and compete in more competitions and has his eyes on a professional-league trophy. For the past three weeks, the lifelong Warsaw resident practiced every day to be prepared for Saturday’s competition. His regimen included 200 daily push-ups and chest exercises.
“The winner is the guy who trained the hardest and wanted it most,” he said.
Saturday’s event was sanctioned by the American Armsport Association, which has state divisions across the country. As with other sports, there are rules that must be obeyed, such as proper placement of feet, wrists and elbows. Referees enforce and hand out fouls for violations.
Both men and women competed in brackets and double-elimination rounds.
Stapleton said the statewide competitions are often in southern Indiana, but he pushed for this year’s to be in the northern half to draw new contenders.
One of the contenders back on the arm wrestling circuit is a familiar face to fellow competitors. Andrew “Cobra” Rhodes of Fort Wayne officiated the amateur rounds and competed in the professional tournament.
Grabbing 16 world championships and training Sylvester Stallone for the arm wrestling-themed movie “Over the Top” has earned him a place as a circuit celebrity, signing autographs and posing for photos at the fair.
Rhodes, 41, sees the growing interest among younger contenders to enter the world of arm wrestling. He looks back on his earlier days fondly, but he is eager to make a comeback after taking years off from the sport.
“I’m doing what I used to do, playing smaller tournaments and working my way up to the nationals,” he said, cracking a smile. “But the older you get, the better you used to be.”
Arm wrestlers getting a grip for state titles
By Tony Sams
The Journal Gazette
WARSAW – After the grapple ends, Sam Saldana’s right arm is tense and its freckles disappear under redness.
His right hand is pale from the sports chalk he uses for a firm grip, and a flame tattoo burns its decoration from his wrist to his elbow. Between his fingers is a victory cigarette, celebrating his new title as the state amateur arm wrestling champion of his weight class.
As part of this year’s festivities at the Kosciusko County Fair, dozens of men and women gathered Saturday to compete for trophies and honors in the Indiana State Arm Wrestling Championships. Saldana, along with many others, took home trophies to corroborate their feats of strength.
Event organizer Eddie Stapleton said that with help from ESPN and Fox Sports, sanctioned arm wrestling is becoming more popular with younger crowds.
“People have been playing it for hundreds of years. It’s one of the oldest sports around, but it’s been underground for a long time,” Stapleton said.
The allure to the sport, Stapleton said, is that victories and losses are won by an individual’s work. Arm-wrestlers can’t blame goal posts or errant balls, he said.
“It’s a pure sport. It’s man-to-man, and I think men like that kind of competition,” he added.
Saldana, now champion of the 172-to-189 pound division, agreed.
He would like to travel and compete in more competitions and has his eyes on a professional-league trophy. For the past three weeks, the lifelong Warsaw resident practiced every day to be prepared for Saturday’s competition. His regimen included 200 daily push-ups and chest exercises.
“The winner is the guy who trained the hardest and wanted it most,” he said.
Saturday’s event was sanctioned by the American Armsport Association, which has state divisions across the country. As with other sports, there are rules that must be obeyed, such as proper placement of feet, wrists and elbows. Referees enforce and hand out fouls for violations.
Both men and women competed in brackets and double-elimination rounds.
Stapleton said the statewide competitions are often in southern Indiana, but he pushed for this year’s to be in the northern half to draw new contenders.
One of the contenders back on the arm wrestling circuit is a familiar face to fellow competitors. Andrew “Cobra” Rhodes of Fort Wayne officiated the amateur rounds and competed in the professional tournament.
Grabbing 16 world championships and training Sylvester Stallone for the arm wrestling-themed movie “Over the Top” has earned him a place as a circuit celebrity, signing autographs and posing for photos at the fair.
Rhodes, 41, sees the growing interest among younger contenders to enter the world of arm wrestling. He looks back on his earlier days fondly, but he is eager to make a comeback after taking years off from the sport.
“I’m doing what I used to do, playing smaller tournaments and working my way up to the nationals,” he said, cracking a smile. “But the older you get, the better you used to be.”
