CNN
—
For an instantly recognizable contest that has settled untold scores it is, ironically, hard to get a firm grip on the origins of arm wrestling.
As host of the World Armwrestling Federation’s (WAF) inaugural World Championship in 1979, the Canadian city of Wetaskiwin could claim to be the birthplace of the formal, global sport, yet descriptions of rivals locked in battles of the biceps stretch back much further.
Versions of arm wrestling had already taken root across Japan, Spain and Cuba before the turn of the 20th century, according to anthropologists of the time. Some have even claimed it is depicted in the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, though these assertions have been contested.
Whatever its place in arm wrestling’s origin story, Africa is not looking back.
Last March saw the sport make its first appearance at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana, a debut orchestrated by Armwrestling Federation of Africa (AFA) President Charles Osei Asibey.
It was the latest step towards Asibey delivering on the promises of his 2022 election manifesto: to make arm wrestling a “household” sport on the continent.
“Formerly in Africa, it was only a way to determine the strongest in the community, or even in schools,” Asibey told CNN. “So people didn’t even consider arm wrestling as a sport. It was just a normal game … We have turned it into a sport.”
The technical term for an arm wrestler is a “puller” and it is technique, not raw power, that makes a champion, stresses Asibey, with training programs focused on developing all aspects of the body.
“A lightweight who is smarter, has speed, [and] can swing very well will beat a heavier weight,” explained Asibey, who competed until last year.
Such a matchup would not happen at the competitive level, with pullers classed into sex and weight categories, akin to boxing and mixed martial arts. And just as boxing has varying orthodox and southpaw stances, arm wrestling has its own battling styles that play to a puller’s personal strengths.
The toproll style, for example, sees pullers turn their wrist inwards (pronation), and often lean back, to increase leverage, while the hook technique involves the outward rotation of the wrist (supination) to create a hook shape with the arm and pull the opponent in.
Taller pullers with long arm spans make natural toprollers, while the hook style can be hugely effective for those with a background in powerlifting, bench-pressing or similar disciplines that prioritize tricep strength.
During contests, the pullers’ faces are a visceral picture of steely concentration, sinew-straining effort, and fierce competition, but it is the mutual respect that defines the sport for Asibey.
“Even in defeat, you congratulate your opponent,” he said. “You get to the table, you shake hands … you go off the table, you shake hands and hug each other.”
Arm wrestling’s debut at last year’s African Games was a homecoming in all senses of the word for Asibey, with the Accra-born former broadcast journalist having founded the Ghana Armwrestling Federation in 2016.
The hosts amassed 41 of the 84 total arm wrestling medals. That put them comfortably clear of Egypt’s 19-medal haul, but the North African nation gathered six more arm wrestling golds than Ghana to finish top of the medal table.
Two pullers in particular embodied the team’s “Golden Arms” moniker, accounting for half of Ghana’s eight gold medals between them.
Men’s captain Edward Asamoah powered to victory in the 90kg weight class for both left and right arms. A member of the Ghana Immigration Service, in 2017 Asamoah decided to try his luck at a national competition and set in motion a rollercoaster adventure.
“The journey hasn’t been very smooth, with injuries and financing, but it was worth it,” he told CNN. “Determination and hard work got me those medals.”
It has been a similar breakneck rise for Grace Minta, a police officer who followed up her two golds in Accra by becoming the first Ghanaian to win a World Armwrestling Championships gold, in Moldova five months later.
Having dominated continental events, becoming World Champion marked a new high for three-time African Championships gold medalist Minta, who took up the sport in 2017 after excelling in javelin and shotput at school.
“I’m so, so proud to be a Ghana arm wrestler,” Minta told CNN. “I want to train the young ones who are coming, to organize them to also become somebody in the future.”
The challenge for Africa now is to replicate Minta’s success more regularly — no easy feat given the established giants of the sport.
Kazakhstan dominated last year’s world championships, scooping 52 golds as part of a 159-medal surge. Turkey and Georgia finished second and third in the medal leaderboard.
Egypt led the African contingent in 36th, two places ahead of Ghana, a fair reflection of their status as the “top notch” arm wrestling outfit on the continent, according to Asibey.
He says that while Africa, which currently has nine nations signed up as members to the WAF, is well on its way, securing more funding will help close the gap to nations like Kazakstan which — partly thanks to the popularity of the sport in schools — sends more than 100 competitors to World Championship events.
“That’s why they always dominate, because in those countries they have taken the sport very seriously,” Asibey said.
“The Africa Games brought a lot of good things. Governments and institutions have recognized us … (But) We don’t have sponsorship yet. We struggle to raise money.”
“We are confident that where we are going, very soon, multinational or corporate institutions will come to invest in our sport,” he added.
Such backing would help Asibey to secure arm wrestling’s African Games return in Cairo for 2027. But while that is his short-term focus, he has even bigger aspirations.
Though the WAF was unsuccessful in its bid to see para-armwrestling included in the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, Asibey — who doubles as one of five WAF vice-presidents — believes it is just a matter of time before it makes the cut.
That will be one step closer to his ultimate goal of seeing pullers battle it out on the Olympic stage. By ensuring arm wrestling is a regular fixture at his own continental games, he believes he is doing his part to make that dream a reality in the near future.
“We are working so hard to be in the Olympics,” Asibey said. “Very soon we will get there … (Then) I’ll have a good sleep.”