Man from Caerphilly wins World Arm Wrestling Championship

A 45-year-old man from Caerphilly has just become a world champion arm wrestler.

Dean Bolt came top out of 350 arm wrestlers from around the world at the World Arm Wrestling Championships in Dieppe, France last Wednesday.

He said: "It's the strangest thing, you have two people effing and jeffing and trying to rip each other's arms off and as soon as the match is over they're hugging and kissing."

Dean travelled 280 miles to Dieppe, a fishing port on the Normandy coast of northern France to compete in the left-arm 105kg+ category for heavyweight players.

The event sees amateurs - so no prize money is awarded - and arm wrestlers from around 30 countries take part.

He said: "The stars aligned nicely if I'm being honest. I was hoping to get in the top six, that was my plan.

"I was lucky enough to have all my matches being really quick - I probably pulled for 12 seconds in total to get to the final so I wasn't tired."The training was difficult because you tend to train between seven and 14 times a week."You're not building your muscle up, you're trying to strengthen your tendons and your joints so you can train more often."

Dean started training five years ago, after building up an impressive record in other strength sports.

He was previously named the UK Highland Games Champion and Wales' Strongest Man. and can now add the World Arm Wrestling Championship to that growing list.

When he started training for arm wrestling he said: "The first two or three years you're in a lot of pain all the time because it's when your bones are calcifying and hardening up and you spend a lot of sleepless nights holding your arm."

Dean already holds the British title and is eyeing more accolades. He hopes to gain a hat-trick by winning the European championships in May.

The world champion says the sport has grown in popularity since lockdown with competitors in the British Championships growing from 28 people to 112.

Dean, whose partner is the first female head referee in GB for the sport, says the rule book is 30 pages long.

The World Championships have strict rules such as table size and where the opponent's knuckles can fall on the cushioned mat.

He said: "People think it's fat men sat in pubs, arm wrestling very badly. It's a hyper competitive sport - there are elite athletes there.

"It's all about from your wrist to your fingertips. Your arm size doesn't matter, your body weight doesn't matter.

"Anyone who comes, they really enjoy it."