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‘Living the dream’: Penticton men win national armwrestling medals in Winnipeg

Richard Henson and Brian Moore captured multiple awards at a recent tournament
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Penticton resident Brian Moore (right) winning his bronze medal in a recent arm-wrestling competition. (Contributed)

A pair of local residents travelled more than 2,000 kilometres last week to represent Penticton on the national stage in a sanctioned arm-wrestling competition.

Brian Moore and Richard Henson, 63 and 58, made their way to Winnipeg for the 2022 Canadian Armwrestling Championships on July 2, joining over 400 competitors from coast to coast in the tournament.

And after bringing a combined 50 years of arm wrestling experience to Manitoba’s capital, Moore and Henson each collected a pair of medals, with the latter even winning gold.

“I’ve done so much losing over the last 10 years,” Henson said. “I’ve enjoyed this journey and it’s been hard but to finally get to this point is just amazing. I’ve been trying to grow the sport in Penticton, so to represent us like this is just great.”

Henson brought home a gold and bronze medal, while the 63-year-old Moore captured silver and bronze.

Moore first represented the Okanagan in 1978 for a sanctioned arm-wrestling tournament. Forty-four years later, his love for the sport still remains.

“I’ve recently devoted time to seniors rugby, but it’s summer break right now so I figured it would be the perfect time to get back to the arm wrestling and do what I’ve loved for so long,” Moore said. “I’m just living the dream.”

The men have competed together in regional and national competitions for nine years, dating back to when Henson first started training to be an arm wrestler at the age of 49.

Their friendship has blossomed, according to Henson, who says that their passion for not only the sport but for representing Penticton as well, will never die.

“We’re just passionate, it’s that simple,” he said. “There’s no money in this.”

Before the pandemic, the two would compete in four or five arm wrestling tournaments a year.

Moore and Henson competed on behalf of the Okanagan Armwrestling Club at the most recent championships in Winnipeg, wrestling against seven others in their division nationwide.

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@lgllockhart
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com