Call to arms

Arm wrestling is a sport that requires strength, concentration and a mastering of its techniques and strategies. Becoming an arm wrestler takes a lot of physical preparation and regular exercise in the gym. This may sound like a man’s sport, but Elena Dimitrova, a Bulgarian arm wrestling champion and an AUBG guard, will tell you that even if you are a woman it only takes determination to become a successful athlete.

Dimitrova started working for AUBG 18 years ago and for the past eight years she has worked as a guard in the Main Building. In 1998, Dimitrova started practicing arm wrestling and she has participated in national and international tournaments two to three times a year ever since. At the beginning of her career as an arm wrestler she won a third place in a Republican Championship. Her previous 13 years of competing in the biathlon (a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting) turned playing sports into a habit. “Sports are like a drug, once you start, there is no stopping,” she said.

Dimitrova is proud she is the first woman guard at AUBG and the only arm wrestler in her forties in Bulgaria. She takes each competition very seriously and two months before an event she begins intensive training by working out two and a half hours each day.

Throughout her career, Dimitrova has seen many girls giving up on arm wrestling. “Many girls stop arm wrestling once they devote their time to their families,” she said. Amateur competitions are also no joke for Dimitrova, “I have nine wins in arm wrestling with men,” she said.

For Dimitrova, age is not a limit when it comes to sports. She proudly tells the story of how she and her 20-year-old son won medals in the 2003 Republican Championship for arm wrestling in Blagoevgrad.

Known to many AUBG students, Dimitrova said she wanted to help organize an arm wrestling club at AUBG. “By the time we were about to establish a club the boys who were interested graduated,” she said. Today, she even helps with the organization of arm wrestling events at the AUBG Olympics. This year she plans to invite a world arm wrestling champion, Plane Kisov, to judge the event. “I want to begin a tradition at the Olympic Games by inviting famous sports people. I have many contacts and I believe I can help by bringing interesting people at AUBG,” Dimitrova added.

She said AUBG students who have an intense academic program would not be able to devote more than a few hours a week to sports, but she believes that even a few hours would help them concentrate better and excel in school.