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Arnold Schwarzenegger launches mas-wrestling competition in Australia

17.03.2019
Arnold Schwarzenegger has met the International Mas-wrestling Federation sport delegation in Melbourne.

These days, Arnold Sport Festival Australia - 2019 is being held in Melbourne, the program of which includes International Mas-wrestling competitions for the second year in a row.

Yesterday morning at the mas-wrestling venue, in the midst of the presentation events, the host of the festival Arnold Schwarzenegger approached the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center with the entire retinue of guards and journalists. A member of the delegation Mikhail Pahomov, delivered a welcoming speech on behalf of the Yakut people and the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Aisen Nikolaev, and presented him memorable souvenirs. A graduate student of Monash University, holder of the State program “Global Education” of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Russian Federation, a master of humanities from Lehigh University, a Fulbright scholar and a NEFU graduate Nikolay Artemyev, helped with the translation this year.

During the approach of the legendary actor, and now a public and sports figure, Zhan Garth Matene from New Zealand and Callum Jan Travis Haggerty from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, were training together. Arnold Schwarzenegger was watching the huge athletes and especially the skillful actions of the referee Egor Ermolaev with a great interest, and then decided to give a ready-go command to start the mas-wrestling competition.

«This weekend I had the honour of having Arnold as a Referee on a match between myself and Callum Haggerty . I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of that experience. It means a lot that he can take time out of his day to spend a few moments with us . After our friendly match Arnold shook my hand and thanked me for being a part of the festival and said that I was a big inspiration for others, which is something I aspire to do». - later told Zhan Matene.

After improvised refereeing, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to take a selfie for an instagram and a photo session with Yakut delegation holding a mas-wrestling statuette in his raised hand for the press. At the same time, his assistant publicly told everyone that this was Mr. Schwarzenegger’s personal wish and that this was a brilliant chance to advertise the sport. Such attention from the world legend indicates the perspectives of mas-wrestling, its relevance in the world and, thereafter, great development potential.

In order to recall mas-wrestling is included in three versions of the Arnold Sport Festival - in the USA, Australia and South America, wh ere we have vice-presidents of the International Mas-wrestling Federation Odd Erling Haugen, Carl Justin Waitoa and Vilmar Silva Oliveira. We wouldn't stop to admire their passion in promoting mas-wrestling in the world. These enthusiasts are a great example for other leaders of national mas-wrestling federations and are leading them.

Inspired by the support of the festival host, the organizers of the international tournament have continued their work. On this day, applications were accepted from the athletes of the heavy weight category. Among the men, the New Zealander Matene and the Australian athlete Haggerty immediately took the lead. Promising mas-wrestlers have just returned from Saudi Arabia, wh ere they took part in the World Championships in the absolute category. Both performed there in two disciplines - mas-wrestling and weight lifting and carrying. Unfortunately, more experienced athletes from other countries and not the most successful draw at registration did not give them the opportunity to reveal their potential. Burning with the desire to restore the status quo of the best on their continent and inspired by the meeting with Arnold himself, they showed a decent fight and came together in the final. The outcome of this meeting was the unconditional victory of Zhan Garth Matene.

Zhan Matene: «Winning a competition always feels good but the aim is promoting the sport. Mas-wrestling in the Oceania region is slowly growing, but the skill level compared to international competition is different. I think with experience and time we can have a much more competitive competition. I want to extend an open invite to all my international friends - mas-wrestlers if they would like to visit Australia next year and compete in the Arnold Classic Australia. Having more experienced wrestlers down here will bridge the gap for us and also create more awareness of the sport. I hope to see all my friends next year».

The third in this weight class was Dave Napper from Australia.

Among women, New Zealand athlete Charlene Pini won, second was Siobhan Boucher from Queensland. Ashley Colliz, from the state of New South Wales, has closed the women's top three.

In general, athletes from three countries — Australia (Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales), New Zealand, and Thailand — took part in the competition. A participant from Thailand, Robert Milson, although he is not among the top three, became infected with mas-wrestling - he wants to organize competitions at the local level, and then maybe, he will start taking his athletes on international competitions. Attracting another representative of a foreign country is an excellent indicator of the event held.

The International Mas-Wrestling Federation expresses its gratitude to the Yakut people who now live and work in Melbourne: Sargylana, Victor and Nikolai Kondakov. Australians originally from Yakutia gave a warm welcome at their homes, talked about the nuances of staying on the green continent and, of course, became a link while communicating at the event itself, as there are plenty of people who want to get acquainted with mas-wrestling. Today starts will continue. The trainings of many spectators who wish to try their hand at mas-wrestling will take place in the intervals between official meetings.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Author: Lena Tomskaya
Number of shows: 1558
Country:  Oceania
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