No. 3, 2009

A former LUKOIL worker is one of the best armwrestlers in the world

In the 20 years since armwrestling caught on in this country, the Russian team has managed to win a number of championships in Europe and around the world. Within the ranks of Russian athletes, Roman Tsindeliani, a ten-time world champion and resident of the ancient Russian city of Perm, is very well known.

Perm's native son

Roman Tsindeliani's path to the sport began quite mundanely. He once heard that open competitions in armwrestling were being held at the Perm Military College. He vanquished all his rivals in the lightest weight category, and at once decided that he would be a world champion.

He worked doggedly and single-mindedly to reach the top of his sport. Each armwrestling competition features five to seven rounds. For every bout, one has to prepare mentally and physically. Each opponent has his own special technique, and although all of the athletes at a level like Roman's know one another well, there can always be some surprises in store for them. It might seem that armwrestling, while a test of strength, is a somewhat sedentary and static sport. One can easily be injured during a bout, however. One can strain or, even worse, tear a muscle or tendon. Moreover, they then take a long time to heal, but world-class athletes don't stop competing because of injuries. Overcoming their pain, they compete and win.

Roman Tsindeliani won the Master of Sport title for his win at the Leningrad Region Open Championship, and that of Master of Sport (International Class) after triumphing at the European Championship. In 2005, having become a three-time world champion, he was awarded his country's highest sports title, Merited Master of Sport of Russia.

While working in LUKOIL-INFORM's Perm subsidiary, he took part in three of the company's olympiads. No matter how tough the competition, he always emerged victorious and, by his brilliant performance, contributed greatly to the success of the team efforts of his fellow armwrestlers in other weight divisions - and to the victory of the Perm Region team as a whole.

The road to Columbus

Each year, Roman Tsindeliani takes part in several competitions at levels no lower than the Russian championship. There were three such competitions in 2008, and he will have to take part in six this year. At the start of 2009, he had already won the Russian championship, held not far from Moscow. He won in the double-event, after having come in first in the left-handed category. Then Roman won in the right-handed category. The rules are such that winning with one hand does not automatically make you a champion.

In Russia, competitions are held only among amateur athletes, while in the United States and Europe professionals also compete. Among the professionals, the Arnold Sports Festival, founded in 1988 by California's current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a ten-time winner of the Mister Olympia title, is the world's most prestigious. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the festival, which is always held in March in the city of Columbus, Ohio, and armwrestlers the world over try their hardest to get there. In order to receive an invitation to the Arnold Classic festival, however, they have to pass through the sieve of qualifying rounds.

In the United States, there are at least four qualifying tournaments every year. Having won any of the four, you will receive an invitation from Mister Olympia to the competition in Columbus. In Europe, there are two such tournaments: the first is held in Great Britain, the second in Poland. The latter is a World Cup competition for professionals, and was first held only a few years ago. Win one of these, and you're automatically invited.

At official amateur competitions, such as the world, European and Russian championships, Roman Tsindeliani competed in the lightweight category of 65 kilograms and under, but under the rules of the Professional Armwrestling Conference (PAC), the lightest weight category at professional matches is 70 kilograms and under. In other words, he had to compete in Warsaw against obviously heavier opponents. He still beat all of them, and won the 2008 World Cup for professionals in the up to 70 kilogram category. Along with the cup came an official invitation from the legendary Arnie himself.

At the heights of sporting triumph

Prior to 2009, no Russian armwrestlers had competed at these matches in the United States. The American press therefore viewed the appearance of Roman Tsindeliani at the Columbus Sports Arena somewhat condescendingly. Afterwards, many reporters regretted that they had ignored the short Russian. He went and won the prestigious tournament in his own category, right in front of the ten-time Mister Olympia himself, the current governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Roman recalls that, due to his innate modesty, he felt too shy to be photographed for posterity alongside the great Arnie. He does, however, have a keepsake photo of himself with Dexter Jackson, now the leader in the Arnold Classic and Mister Olympia tournaments with more wins to his credit than Schwarzenegger himself. His scrapbook also contains a snapshot of him with Dennis Wolfe, another star in the world of bodybuilding, and the well-known armwrestler Andy Rose, also known as "Cobra."

Having returned from the United States to Perm, Roman Tsindeliani said, "I'll now move up to another, heavier category, 70 kilograms and under." He will now have to battle stronger opponents, and his victories will therefore also carry more weight.

The captain of the Perm team and the leader of the Russian team never brags about his medals and titles. Nature has generously endowed him with physical gifts, but this means little in sports. Roman is also characterized by an enormous capacity for work. In workouts with young athletes, he openly shares his training and armwrestling techniques and teaches his own special methods. At matches, he always carries himself modestly, without any false grandeur, like an ordinary rank-and-file athlete.

It should be noted that in armwrestling, it's not only the strength of one's arms that's important, but the combined strength of all the body's muscles. This is why comprehensive athletic training, speed, dexterity, endurance, and - it goes without saying - a certain measure of cunning are important for achieving the best possible result.

All of the above, along with his genuinely friendly attitude toward his teammates and opponents, are the secret of the phenomenal sporting success of the outstanding Russian athlete Roman Tsindeliani.