Arm wrestler ‘wipes the field’

A Longford man is garnering a fearsome reputation in the world of arm wrestling after he swept the boards at a national competition in the UK last weekend.

Nigel Reilly from Annaly Park travelled to Lancashire to participate in the British Novice Championship, which was held at the Crofters Hotel in Garstang, near Preston.

“It was my first time entering the competition and there were 40 pullers there on the night; 12 of them were in my weight class,” Nigel said.

“I wiped the field with straight victories in both right-hand and left-hand competitions.

“Competitors had come from all across Britain,” he added.

“My wife came over with me, and my sister and her husband travelled over, too.”

Having emerged from the all-day event with two trophies and the all-important bragging rights, Nigel told the Longford Leader that he only began training for competitions five months ago.

“I walked into a competition in Drogheda back in June and won it, so I started training after that,” he continued.

Nigel says that while gym work-outs are an important aspect, the best way for him to improve is to arm-wrestle as often as he can.

“I do gym work, and I bought an arm-wrestling table so I can practice at home, although it’s hard to get people to practice with now!

“I also travel up to Lucan in Dublin to train with an arm-wrestling team there.”

While he’s a relative newcomer to arm wrestling, Nigel does have plenty of experience when it comes to relying on his strength for competitive purposes.

“I previously played tug-of-war with teams in Gortletteragh and Clonterm, but I gave it up to concentrate on this now.”

Nigel will return to the scene of his latest victory in the New Year, and he is hopeful of adding more silverware to the trophy cabinet.

“It’s a pro tournament called the New Year Open Arm Wrestling Cup, and it takes place at the end of January,” he said, before revealing that competing is purely for pride: “There’s no prize money involved.”