Prince George Iron Arms body-slammed the competition at the B.C. provincial arm wrestling championships.
Coached by legendary arm wrestler Vern Martel, the six men, one woman team from Prince George grabbed a fistful of medals at competition last Sunday in Kelowna, dominating the pro class weight divisions on their way to the overall team championship.
Jacob Lea (154 pounds and under) and Jeff Moleski (177-198 pounds) won both left and right hand titles in their respective weight classes. Lea went on to capture the overall right hand championship, while Moleski was the overall left hand champ.
Moleski defeated clubmate Alex Maritsas in the right and left hand finals, and Maritsas claimed silver in both events.
Maritsas also competed in the men’s heavyweight pro class (199 pounds and over) and took first with his left hand and second with his right. Darren Mathews of Prince George (heavyweight left hand) and Brian Gabriel (heavyweight right hand) each brought bronze medals back to Prince George.
Cherrie Cloraic of Prince George took first in each of the women’s right and left hand competitions.
“The Prince George club cleaned up bigtime, by far we kind of crushed everyone,” said Moleski.
“We doubled the next-best team in points and took first in every weight class in the pro division. The team won for Vern and he was very proud; he’s been our coach for years. He was very happy.”
The 44th annual event drew 167 entries.
Moleski said the provincial tournament, the first in three years, was dedicated to Martel, a 10-time Canadian champion and three-time world champion in arm wrestling, who is now battling cancer. Known as the “one-armed bandit” after he lost the use of his left arm in a motorcycle accident, the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame member traveled to Kelowna with the team.
