Viktor Bratchenya is a 14-time world champion and 14-time European champion in arm wrestling, as well as a gold medal winner at the World Cup in Poland (2005) and two gold medals at the World Cup in Zagreb in 2019. Now in his sports career there are 61 awards, 35 of which are gold medals.

Bratchenya has been involved in sports since the age of 15. He received his first award at the Cup of Belarus among adult athletes at the age of 16. Now he competes among the Paralympic athletes in the weight category up to 80 kg.

Viktor Bratchenya was born on April 13, 1985 in the village of Bolshie Motykaly, Brest region, where he lives. Three of his students, Sergey Chavlytko, Vadim Kovalchuk and Alexander Bulavin are masters of sports. Vitaliy Smolenchuk became the bronze medalist at the 2016 European Championship in Romania among wheelchair users.

In 2003, Viktor Bratchenya graduated from the Motykal School, in 2009 - from the Belarusian State University of Physical Education with a degree in sports and pedagogical activity.

Since 2006 - methodologist of the sector for work with the disabled of the sports and tourism department of the Brest Regional Executive Committee.

On September 11, 2018, Victor changed jobs. Now he is an arm wrestling instructor and sales specialist of the Delta fitness center (Brest, 65 Gogol St., 2nd floor).

In 2013, by presidential decree, Viktor Bratchenya was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus. The badge and certificate were presented to the athlete by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

Alexander Lukashenko presents Viktor Bratchenya with a badge and certificate of the Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus.

In the spring of 2016, the athlete received an invitation from America to participate in March of this year in the international sports festival Arnold Classic, which is hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. At this festival, by the way, there has not yet been a single representative from Belarus. However, Victor did not go to the USA due to lack of funds. And he could not find sponsors.

Victor passed the exams for a judge. In his free time from competitions and preparation for them, Bratchenya judged preliminary fights and 11 finals at the European Championship. Until that time (about 20 years) no one represented Belarus in judging in the international arena.

European Championship in Romania, 2016.

In October 2016, Viktor Bratchenya won two gold medals at the World Armwrestling Championship in Bulgaria.

At the European Championships in Katowice in 2017, Viktor won two gold medals, becoming the 13-time European champion in arm wrestling. Two more medals of the highest standard in the assets of the titled athlete after victories at the 2017 World Championships in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

In May 2019, the athlete won the gold and silver medals of the continental championship in Greece.

• Viktor Bratchenya became the 14-time European champion in arm wrestling among Paralympians

In July 2019, he won two gold medals at the World Cup in Croatia.

• “The Cup is going to Belarus!” The legend of the Brest region arm wrestler Viktor Bratchenya has already won 35 gold medals

Bratchenya is the only athlete in the history of Belarusian sports who became the world champion among Paralympians and able-bodied athletes.

The repeated world and European champion in arm wrestling mainly trains at home, where he equipped a sports hall at his own expense.

Chronology of receiving medals

Professional World Cup:

2005, Poland - 1 gold

2019 Croatia - 2 gold

European Championships:

2003, Poland - 1 gold

2008 Norway - 2 gold

2009, Bulgaria - 2 gold

2010, Moscow - 2 gold

2012, Poland - 2 gold

2016, Romania - 2 gold

2017, Poland - 2 gold

2018, Bulgaria - 2 silver

2019, Greece - 1 gold, 1 silver

World Championships:

2002 Slovakia - 1 gold

2003, Poland - 1 gold

2007, Bulgaria - 1 gold

2008 Canada - 2 gold

2009 Italy - 1 gold

2011, Kazakhstan - 1 gold

2012 Brazil - 1 gold

2015 Malaysia - 2 gold

2016, Bulgaria - 2 gold

In the section on the question The absolute world champion in arm wrestling? given by the author RAZOR the best answer is Russian Alexei Voevoda
Armwrestling. Aleksey Voevoda from Sochi became the absolute champion of the prestigious European arm wrestling tournament "Zloty Tur"
The tournament was held on March 2 in the Polish city of Gdynia and brought together armwrestlers from Germany, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Russia.
The best heavyweights of Europe entered the fight for the title of absolute champion, as well as a 140 cm cup (!) and a check for 8,000 Polish crowns. Six athletes from among the contenders for the victory were the holders of the title of world champions!
One of the main contenders for the medal, of course, was the Russian Ruslan Kokoev - the absolute world champion in 1999. But this time Ruslan became only the seventh! The world champion 130-kilogram Czech Frantisek Zhivny, the world heavyweight champion of 2001 Russian Soslan Kuziev and the world heavyweight champion of 2000 Taras Ivakin from Ukraine could not get into the top three.
On this day, the best was the Russian Aleksey Voevoda, who, without visible effort, dealt with all his eminent rivals! The second was last year's absolute champion "Zloty Tur", Slovak Jan Germanus, world champion in the category up to 90 kg. In third place is his countryman Peter Gazdarika.

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Armwrestling is a sports discipline focused on strength and speed. The essence of this sport lies in the duel of rivals directly behind the arms table. Despite the ostentatious lightness, arm wrestling, like any other sport, requires a serious attitude and painstaking training.

The most outrageous performances at the World Armwrestling Championship

During the competition, the athlete is subject to many requirements related to the level of mastery of the wrestling technique and the physical preparation of the body.

Among the requirements necessary to obtain the title armwrestling world champion includes:

• The level of physical endurance is sufficient for a long and consistent fight with many opponents, while maintaining a high percentage of efficiency;
• High strength in the working corners directly involved in the fight;
• Development of body speed and reaction that allows the athlete to successfully start the fight and respond in a timely manner to the most unexpected actions of rivals;

What does it take to get a world arm wrestling title?

• A high level of personal technical skill, which will avoid injuries during the fight and allow you to use the advantage at the right time.

Armwrestling training methods to win

As in other types of wrestling, there is a huge arsenal of different training methods aimed at developing strength, speed, skill and endurance of the body.

Armwrestling training methods to win

The right choice of suitable exercises will allow you to earn victory in the championships, and should be based on the personal qualities of the person.

Here are a few of them:

• Sparring training with an opponent will allow both to improve the technique and increase the basic indicators of strength and speed. Such an exercise has another important meaning - it allows you to get the experience of real sparring;

• with weights, increase endurance and strength, but they should be approached with caution, starting with a small weight with a gradual increase in it.

Coaching experience Kadyrkhan Satybaldy is over 25 years old. The honored coach of Kazakhstan came to armwrestling from weightlifting. And today he can be proud of a large galaxy of champions, where there are victors of world championships, winners of European championships. Among them is a three-time world champion Rustam Malikov and champion of the East Kazakhstan region, three-time champion of the Republic of Kazakhstan, champion of Asia, champion of the Russian Federation in 1999, two-time European champion, master of sports of international class Timur Usmanov, now engaged in ecology in Russia.

In an interview with a reporter, the eminent mentor compared the current and past armwrestling schools, and also talked about how to raise a champion.

- I am retired at this time, but I have not gone far from sports. We can say that he did not leave at all. Last year, in January, he resigned as head coach, where he had worked for more than 25 years. I was ready for this, as there were and are many young guys. I went with them to various competitions, looked who could continue this business. The regional administration then said that there was a candidate. He asked if it was possible to approve it. They agreed with me.

At one time, arm wrestling in the East Kazakhstan region was one of the leading sports. And somehow, at a meeting with Danial Akhmetov, as one of the founders of armwrestling, I presented my vision of the further development of this sport. He responded. First, I was sent to one of the clubs, taking into account the further transfer to the school of higher sportsmanship. Today I work there. Gradually I am doing business aiming at the World Cup. The guys performed well in the last championship of Kazakhstan. In 1997, they gave me such a gift in the form of a hall. I literally paid a penny for it. And since then I have raised it, developed it.

- Today Kazakhstan shows high results in the world. Do you follow performances?

I follow, of course. In Kazakhstan, the south is strong in this sport. For example, "Shardara". There are only more than 20 coaches there. And funding allows you to play in many tournaments. And the number of arm wrestlers reaches 700 people. These are very good indicators. The coaching staff manages to involve everyone in competitive activities. Someone goes to some international competitions, someone to others. And so on. There is movement. Astana is in second place in terms of development. Next come the Almaty region, Zhambyl. So the results are coming. There are great successes in the world.

- And how much has the armwrestling school in Kazakhstan changed?

Now there is a rejuvenation of the composition. The main changes in this regard. And on the world platform, the Kazakh team becomes one of the strongest. New moves added. It is interesting for me to watch the competitions in Kazakhstan. The guys show such feints that were not there before. This is all influenced by international experience. That is, they studied, adopted from other masters, adopted. This is work on yourself, self-improvement. And who wins the championship of Kazakhstan? Young guys.

- Your student Timur Usmanov after moving to Russia became the European champion among juniors. Remember him?

I have always had a positive attitude towards him. He had a kind of energy in training. Turned everyone on. And it turned out that he left for Novosibirsk, and we lost contact. And then he calls me and says: "It's me, Timur. Do you remember me? Gather all our athletes." And, of course, I remember him. Gathered the guys, he came, told about his successes, about the medals. Such moments as a coach are very pleasant.

- In general, how much and how do you keep in touch with your pupils?

Always thank you on occasion. Not only Timur left at the right time. And it is important to me that the training has benefited. It happens like you do everything through force, on the last reserves. And then you see what it leads to - to medals, to victories. So I found the right approach in due time. I'm glad the guys ended up like this. And we keep in touch. Timur sent photos with Putin, Medvedev. In my heart I have only joy for such successes, heights.

Who else pleases you with their victories? Still, such an experience of coaching. Certainly not enough champions.

Almost everyone I have trained is no longer involved in this sport. They work in different places. There is such a student as Rustam Malikov. So far, no one has repeated his achievements in the East Kazakhstan region. He became the world champion at almost all ages. Among adults - a three-time world champion. He, like our Olga Rypakova, received the title of Honored Master of Sports. Malakhov, for example, was an eight-time World Cup winner. Lots of people he raised.

Arm wrestling is quite a difficult sport, both technically and tactically, not to mention the power component. How to raise a quality athlete?

It's not just coaching that matters. You won't achieve much without support. For example, financial. I got it, which then resulted in results. In the 80s, I traveled as part of the USSR national team, junior, in weightlifting to competitions, training camps. I got a lot of knowledge and skills. I founded my base just from weightlifting. At the beginning, it was difficult to rebuild, I myself did not know how to train personnel in arm wrestling. Creative approach to everything. This helped. Engaged in self-development. So to say, I grew up with the athletes. They trained, and I improved my coaching skills.

- But how long will it take to get from the start of training to, for example, the champion of Kazakhstan?

You must first go through the junior stage, which usually lasts two to three years. Further youth, which also lasts about three years. In general, if you take an average, then at least five years will be required. Of course, taking into account the fact that he has talent, diligence, desire.

- How individual is the training process? Is it possible to get by with a general training plan?

Armwrestling is an unpredictable sport. We are all physiologically different, each has its own body structure. Some have longer fingers, some have longer arms. Someone thin, but very fast with strong tendons. And before you train someone, you need to study it. During training, I study it. I do tests, then I correct the preparation. And this approach to everyone. Plus, I give free rein, I emphasize independence. Technique is also a purely personal moment. The main thing is to direct, cut off the unnecessary, and not interfere in its development. No need to "choke" the athlete. Otherwise, he will not develop in sports terms.

- Being at the peak of his form, how long is an armwrestler able to keep it? How many main starts will you have enough strength for?

Communicating with athletes, many say that after three starts they get tired. Why is that? We do not have a proper pharmacological university in Kazakhstan. That is, athletes do not receive high-quality recovery. We use foreign-made drugs. The worst thing is that many unknowingly take illegal substances. They see that the effect is better, faster, and they accept it. And that's doping.

Timur Usmanov himself, by the way, mentioned that even after his departure from Kazakhstan to Russia, he is constantly in touch with you. Did you continue your coaching support for Timur? Do you think that thanks to this support, he won his main awards at the Russian and European Championships?

I think so (smiles). I'm a little embarrassed. I think it's good when an athlete tries to find advice, ask for recommendations. So he is developing.

How do you feel about the fact that already at the beginning of the 2000s, Timur became the head coach of the Novosibirsk Regional Armwrestling Federation and passed on his rich sports experience to young athletes?

He, apparently, received something from me in organizational terms. I personally approached the training process responsibly, so that everything was perfect. All this is knowledge that I have been collecting for years, decades. It's all transmitted. And he was not supposed to be a bad coach. And so it turned out in the end.

Do you know that Timur is currently involved in ecology, but continues to support the development of physical culture and sports in Russia? What do you think about it?

The main thing is to treat the matter with a soul (smiles). He is such a responsible person. It is in his nature. Timur is always an organizer. I'm calm for him.

- In conclusion, what should any novice athlete remember and follow?

Whatever sport a person does, he lays the foundation for the future. This does not only apply to health, but also to personality. The person becomes disciplined, responsible. We must remember that you work only for yourself, not for the coach who directs. A real athlete, with the right character and principles, will come in handy everywhere. And, of course, be human. Hardworking, good, with great dedication.

Photo from the personal archive of Timur Usmanov.

Arm wrestling is one of the oldest sports and, despite its external simplicity, it has many subtleties and is quite traumatic. Some win thanks to extraordinary strength, and someone due to excellent knowledge of technical techniques. We decided to find out who they are, the best arm wrestlers in the world.

John Brzenk

John has been a true icon of armwrestling for many years. Very soon, John will be 52 years old, during which he was able to win the world title 26 times! Even not too impressive dimensions did not prevent the American from holding leadership in this sport for many years and becoming a world legend. With a height of 185 cm, John's weight fluctuated at around 100 kg. Brzenk became the prototype of the hero of the famous film "With All My Strength", with Sylvester Stallone in the title role.

Denis Cyplenkov

Like many, Denis did not immediately become an armwrestler, because he started with kettlebell lifting. Now Denis is one of the strongest armwrestlers in the world, as well as the owner of the intercontinental belt and the title of world champion among professionals. With a height of 186 cm, the average weight of Tsyplenkov is about 140 kg.

Andrey Pushkar

A legendary Ukrainian arm wrestler, he is a ten-time world champion and a twelve-time European champion in arm wrestling. Andrei not only manages to travel around for competitions, but also trains children in his own gym. With a height of 192 cm, Andrey's weight is about 120 kg.

Alexey Voevoda

Alexey is a three-time world champion and three-time winner of the World Cup (Nemiroff) in arm wrestling. In 2015, after an 8-year break associated with bobsledding, Alexey decided to return to armwrestling. Aleksey Voevoda is a vegetarian, which, in his opinion, helps him regularly improve his athletic performance.

Devon Larratt

Leading the world ranking, Devon Larratt is gradually becoming a real armwrestling legend. The weight of the Canadian fluctuates around 111 kg, and his height is really impressive - 196 cm. Devon can be called a real scientist in arm wrestling, he approaches technical techniques with particular subtlety.

Michael Todd