For a weekend, Rouen will become the capital of strength sports.
From July 23 to 25 at Novick's Stadium, the International Force Festival will host a round of the Strongman French Cup (a strength sport consisting in particular of lifting or pulling very heavy objects) and above all an international sports arm wrestling competition.
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“There is no other festival of this type in France. It's new in this incredible place dedicated to sports. We are expecting around 80 professional ironworkers, half of whom come from European countries such as Georgia, Finland, Russia or even the English, Italians and Greeks ”, presents Didier Rolland Plusquellec, President of the French Armwresling Federation, Ambassador of the Professional Armwresling League for Western Europe, former French Strongman Champion and recent winner of the Over 40 Sports Arm Wrestling World Cup in Slovakia.
The champions will challenge each other in seven categories for men and two for women before an Open Master which will dedicate the strongest of the year.
The best of the specialty responded, because today the sporting arm wrestling is no longer a simple game of counter.
National sport in Kazakhstan
Codified in the 1970s, Armwresling took off after the tournament in Las Vegas and the 1987 film with Sylvester Stallone titled “Over the top”.
“He was exported to France at the beginning of 1990 with a show at Bercy.
In 2000, it had 100 practitioners and two years later, 300 thanks to the explosion of social networks ”, details the champion.
However, even if this sport has a large number of practitioners in the United States and Canada compared to the number of residents, it is in the Eastern European countries that it is the most popular.
"In Kazakhstan, it is even a national sport", indicates the ironworker.
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From 7 to 77 years old, sports arm wrestling can be practiced in France in about twenty clubs equipped with specific machines.
“Except for the gifted, you have to train a lot and a long time to have results in competitions.
At 54, I still train 10 hours a week because it's not enough to hold your opponent's hand and put your elbow on the pad.
It requires tendon and muscle strength.
You have to be strong fingers and wrists to offer several positions of fighting and attacks.
This is why it is a surprising sport, because you cannot trust the physique of your opponent ”.
Initiations for young people
However, the sporting arm wrestling does not attract potential ferrists more than that, “because it is very impacting on the physique.
95% of practitioners train in pain.
We must constantly strengthen the tendons.
Because of this, we cannot escape tendonitis, ”adds the president.
Thus, to develop the notoriety of the sports arm wrestling, during the Rouen festival, Didier Rolland Plusquellec has planned initiations for the young people of the Rouen Normandy metropolis "to then welcome them in our clubs".
And this, before organizing the IFA European Championships in June 2022 in Rouen with more than 300 entered and still at Novick's Stadium.