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| Wrist warriors |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 | |
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And the winners are....
Top finishers at the 38th annual Apricot Fiesta Arm Wrestling Championships It certainly wasn’t a “pull” to call Saturday’s 38th annual Apricot Fiesta Arm Wrestling Championship a success. The fiesta favorite attracted more than 40 entries, with competitors ranging in age from 7 to older than 50.  Rod Helms of Pleasanton (right) works on the arm of San Jose's Jose Garcia before winning the match during Saturday's arm wrestling competition. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator For fiesta newcomers, the sight of two people with arms bent and fists clenched over a table, testing their strength against each other amid shouts of “take him down!” likely seems more apropos to an elementary school playground than to a celebration of prunus fruits. But in Patterson, the competition has become more than just a battle of might. The popular arm wrestling championship is a staple on the fiesta’s schedule and a perennial hit that continues to draw spectators by the dozen. “Today was great, because we had a lot of kids who participated,” promoter and emcee Bryan O’Brien said Saturday. “They’re the future of the sport. It’s important that they keep it going. If you start killing the sport and don’t have some new blood coming into the stream, it will eventually die.” O’Brien stood tableside, his arms folded, watching two burly men growling and gritting their teeth as they battled it out on stage. The combatants positioned themselves, bent over opposite sides of the small table — hands locked, wrists bound by a single red strap — as each tried to forcibly drag the other’s arm to the tabletop. Seconds later — which according to O’Brien can feel like hours when your muscle fibers are pushed to exhaustion — one man’s hand dipped low enough to scrape the red mat cushioning the table, and the referee signaled that the match was over. “I started my involvement with the fiesta’s tournament back in 1978,” O’Brien said. “Since then, we’ve continued to have a great showing of amateurs and some really great crowds. “It was a beautiful day, and I think that everything ran off really smooth.” Both amateur and professional arm wrestlers took part in the competition. Among those competitors was Vazgen Soghoyan of Los Angeles, who took three gold medals in three separate weight classes following Saturday’s competition. Vazgen has been hooked on arm wrestling since his teenage years and regularly competes in arm wrestling events nationwide. Saturday was the Armenian native’s first visit to Patterson, though he said he is likely to return for next year’s event. “I also have bigger competitions ahead,” Soghoyan said. “I am training for both the upcoming national and world championships.” Brian Serpa, a recent Patterson High graduate, also captured first-place honors during Saturday’s competition. Serpa twice dragged opponent Jeffrey Phillips’ arm to the mat in a pair of grueling battles, giving him the 155-through-176-pound amateur title. He credited local arm wrestling luminary Judy Dodd, a past world champion, with training him for the competition. “I’ve been watching the (arm wrestling) event for the past three years,” Serpa said. “It’s been growing on me the more that I’ve watched. It’s really kind of cool to have a local boy in a local event take home first place.” Some of Saturday’s matches were quick, with one man’s arm slamming to the padded table within seconds. Others lasted almost a minute, with each contender yelling as forearms popped and rippled. To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6197 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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