THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL
ARM WRESTLING SHOWDOWN - 2001
Charl Engelbrecht and David Muil
The final
battle of the Richlieu/Red Square National Armwrestling Showdown was
held on the 16th July 2001 at the notorious Caesars Palace Casino in
Gauteng, South Africa.
With a first
prize of R50 000 up for grabs the venue was filled to capacity.
The competition
was tough with reigning champion Gerhardt Strydom determined to maintain
his title, Charl Engelbrecht, a strongman who pulls trucks in his spare
time, Wynand Pretorius (past title holder of Texas Strongman) and past
six times South African champion, Armand Du Toit, wanting to regain his
victory. Add to this some competitors weighing in at approximately 120
kg’s in an open weight category, the stage was set for the ultimate test
of strength.
As the night
wore on, the men were quickly separated from the boys. Wynand Pretorius
checked out in the quarter finals to crowd favourite, Charl Engelbrecht.
Defending champion Gerhardt Strydom was sadly defeated by David Muil.
Armand Du Toit was steadily making his way through to the finals, almost
thrashing his opponents with unbelievable speed.
Down to the
semi-finals and David Muil was set to go against the enormous bulk of
Charl Engelbrecht. Dubbed the battle of David and Goliath this
gruelling match lasted almost 15 minutes with Charl being blown up by
the referee for releasing his hand from the grip and David receiving a
penalty for using his shoulder. The perspiration was not only to be
found on the competitor’s faces. The crowd was going wild with
spectators falling into the arena – the tension rose. Charl and David
gripped hands for the last time. With a brief announcement of “May the
best man win!” the fight was on. With determination written all over
his face David Muil finally slammed his opponent’s hand onto the pad and
the most spectacular match of the night was over. He had made it to the
finals. It seemed Armand had made light work of his opponents
throughout the evening and secured his place in the final.
David and
Armand shook hands before placing their elbows in the cuffs. Their first
attempt was fouled due to both of them starting before time. On the
second start, Armand was penalised for using his shoulder. With a final
“Ready, Go!” the referee started the match which ended within seconds.
Armand Du Toit pulled through to win this prestigious title and the R50
000 cash. David Muil was runner-up and claimed his R10 000 prize money.
It was a night
filled with astounding displays of strength and speed and ultimately the
best man won.
(Anybody
interested in joining the South African Arm Wrestling Federation or for
more information on the sport of arm wrestling contact
info@armwrestling.co.za )
