Foreigners dominate arm wrestling

"I am looking for strong men in Uganda," shouted Dimitry Nembo after the Cameroonian effortlessly won the 81-90kg category having beaten two Uganda opponents at the armwrestling championship which raised the curtains for the 2024 Central Region Bodybuilding Championship at Mamerito Hotel in Bweyogere.

Paul Otim and Peter Mulala’s semi-final duel was the most exciting match of the night but none of them got gold. Instead, Nembo and Russian Artem Kuzmin won two of the four categories.

Before Otim and Mulala squared off, all the first four bouts had ended 2-0 on a best-of-three- round format. But Otim and Mulala served what the fans had been craving—a very close contest, which could go the entire three rounds. Yet by looks, one seemed stronger than the other.

Mulala was of medium height and chubby. Otim tall, massive with huge and well-defined chest and biceps like a seasoned bodybuilder. Olympic sprinter Moses Musonge, who was the referee, smiling in awe, cancelled the first two rounds because both athletes craftily ungripped each other’s fist to ease pressure and escape defeat.

In the subsequent rounds, they stretched their bodies until their arms were almost flat on the elbow pads but no one was ready to relent.

Eventually, Otim won a round, after another deep dig. They swapped corners: Mulala from blue to red. But if Otim thought he was going to seal it, 2-0, he was wrong. Mulala won the next round to equalise. With the score at 1-1, both opponents were as eager to win as they were not to lose. They fluffed the fourth round, before Otim finally won round five amid ululations from the audience. He took the duel 2-1 to set up a final date with Nembo, who defeated Ratib Matovu 2-0 in the second semifinal.

The already thrilled crowd expected another thriller but Otim was no match for Nembo as the Cameroonian broke no sweat to win 2-0 in the final in a flash second to take gold. “Where are the strong men in Uganda?” Nembo, who is also a powerlifter, said with a stubborn smile.

Just before that, Russian Artem Kuzmin defeated Ronald Katumba 2-0 in the 71-80kg semi-final before smashing Ronald Mubiru with the same scoreline in the final. Mubiru tried not to fall in mere seconds but he was simply buying time.

Nembo and Kuzmin, who was a winner at the 2023 Mr Uganda Championship in December, are not just strong. They have superior technique.

Musonge, who is also the president of the Uganda Arm-wrestling Association, said the dominance by foreigners is a lesson to Ugandans in the sport. He also regretted the absence of female competitors, saying it’s hard that most of them are students. “It's quite a hustle ferrying them to-and-fro. But if we plan properly, next time we shall have them too.” 

CHAMPIONS

Dimitry Nembo (81-90kg)

Artem Kuzmin (71-80kg)

Elvis Muhereza (67.5kg)

Joel Kisambira (100-108kg)