BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — It’s not a widely publicized sport. It’s the kind of sport that television has traditionally relegated to times when they weren’t expecting to get a big audience anyway.
So, you’ll be forgiven if the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about arm wrestling is elementary aged kids settling grudges or musclebound men and women in dark bars testing their strength against an angry looking tough.
The Alehouse Arm Wrestling Championships in Bowling Green on Saturday proved the sport is more popular than many people may realize however.
The event was hosted by the Filthy Animals Arm Wrestling Club.
Tournament Director and competitor Juan Ortega started the event in order to help the sport of arm wrestling grow.
Over 150 people signed up to take part.
“Monster” Michael Todd, who has been competing in arm wrestling competitions for 33 years drove all the way from Arkansas to take part.
“Last year I decided I was going to make a quest to win 100 first places in 2023. I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and we drove almost 13 hours to come here, and this is the very first event of my 2023 quest for 100,” said Todd.
Ortega says he wants Ohio to be one of the hotspots for the sport.
“It's been around for a long time, and you don’t see much about it. In Ohio, we're just trying to make a big spot. We're trying to make a mark on the map,” said Ortega.
Rebecca Todd, (or Mrs. “Monster” – she is Michael’s wife) says the sport is misunderstood.
It’s not just something kid’s do in grade school to show how tough they are.
She says it’s a serious sport evident by the types of injuries people have sustained while participating.
“I've had people pull their quads arm wrestling - pull back muscles arm wrestling - because it's literally a full body sport. As long as your elbow is on the pad, your non-use hand is on the hand peg, one foot on the ground, anything goes,” said Rebecca.
According to Michael, the sport, which is a professional sport by the way, is taken seriously all around the country, with the top arm wrestlers training just like a boxer would train for a big fight, spending months getting ready for a match with another top arm wrestler.
But he says there is also a sense of community in the arm wrestling world.
“This is a big family get together arm wrestling, and I miss getting to these smaller events. These local, state, national events, and just meeting my fellow arm wrestlers,” said Michael.
It’s for those reasons that Ortega says the sport has a lot of room to grow.
“We encourage more kids and women to get more involved in this. We want it to grow. As many people as we can get into this. It's like a bond, a brotherhood, for all of us arm wrestlers. So, we look out for each other,” said Ortega.
Everyone WTOL talked to said the sport is a great way to stay active, and stay healthy as you age, and a great way to have some good clean fun.
Ready to step up to the table yet?
There will be another arm wrestling tournament on February 4 at Jed’s Barbecue and Brew in Toledo.
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