Many of the world’s top grip-strength competitors were on hand last weekend for the armlifting competition at the Los Angeles FitExpo, serving up some crushing performances.


Armlifters Galore at the LA FitExpo
by Riccardo Magni
Armlifting USA

Armlifters galore were in Los Angeles to compete on Sunday January 27 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  The 2019 ViseGrip Viking Armlifting Championships consisted of 4 events: Apollon's Axle Double Overhand Deadlift, Rolling Thunder, 3" Saxon Bar, and the CoC Silver Bullet Hold, and the first two were the 2019 world championships in those disciplines.

The Apollon’s Axle Deadlift produced some very good lifts.  Eric Roussin got 1st in the 100-kg with 195kg.  Then the big guys were up.  Alexey Tyukalov won with a lift of 215kg, with Odd Haugen and Carl Myerscough attempting 220kg to upstage the Russian.  Carl's attempt was above the knee, but the lockout was unsuccessful.  Those two, along with Martins Licis, tied with 210 kg.  Bodybuilder/powerlifter Larry "Wheels" Williams pulled 200 kg in an exhibition attempt after the he used up all of his attempts.

Next up was the Rolling Thunder World Championships.  The numbers were not high, possibly a result of the Axle Deadlift preceding the Rolling Thunder World Championships.  In past years, the order had been reversed.  The top three here were Roman Penkovskiy, Alexey Tyukalov, and Eric Roussin.  Roman's winning lift was 115kg.  It should be noted that he did not take part in the Axle, saving his energy for Rolling Thunder.

The new Sorinex Saxon Bar was used in the next event.  Many lifters commented on the favorable feeling of the bar in warm-ups and the results were outstanding.  Martins Licis pulled 125 kg, with Carl Myerscough 2nd with 117.5 kg and Odd Haugen and newcomer Steve Millard lifting 115 kg.  Steve's lift was very impressive, especially considering that he only weighed 215 lb.

The CoC Silver Bullet Hold had a large impact on the overall standings.  Alexey won with an 18-second result using the Captains of Crush No. 4 gripper.  He also finished first in the overall. Right behind him were Carl Myerscough and Martins Licis, followed by Eric Roussin and Steve Millard.


Please visit armliftingusa.com for the full results, as well as a list of future contests.


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