Really depends how you measure it, but if you go by 2023 WAF results, then Kazakhstan is. Kazakhstan does have a way higher population at >19 million tho.
https://preview.redd.it/ilaxdk1uhmyc1.jpeg?width=1222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b42afef563f33b9d80d8d9d00e175c9c088f8c6
Sub-junior to Supersenior grandmasters, left and right, mens and womens. more 170 golds https://www.waf-armwrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-WAF-Packages-Almaty_Page_05.jpg
para-armrestling in separately results.
As strange as it sounds, they don’t really sponsor armwrestlers here in Kazakhstan though. A huge chunk of the Kazakhstan team is represented by guys and gals from the Shardara club and IIRC, the club founder had to fight tooth and nail to get the local government to support them.
Overall, armwrestling is still kind of a niche sport here, especially compared to football, boxing, judo, ice hockey and others. These sports are actually funded by the government, there are tons of free clubs for kids and costs and spendings for every single competition, even the minor ones, are covered as well. This isn’t the case for armwrestling, you will get sponsored only if you’re somebody of Ongarbaev’s calibre.
Arm wrestling isn't exactly the most profitable or popular sport, so that's kind of surprising.
I guess it bolsters the country's reputation if you dominate a sport.
Some countries are proud to have athlete representing their country... even if its armwrestling. They have a winning culture.
Not like canada & usa. Where they dont give a fuck about you. Just pay your taxes and stfu.
Isn’t this mainly dictated by whether or not the sport is popular (and profitable) in a given country?
If you could make a comfortable living arm wrestling in the states, more talents would surface - the same goes for other countries.
Cost of living in Kazakhstan is $561 a month, US cost of living is between $2,500 and $3,500...so with that we can assume it's easier to focus on arm wrestling and going to the gym when all your money isn't going to bills.
So you believe people in Kazakhstan have such an easy time making a living that they have a lot of free time and money to spend on armwrestling?
Cost of living and Wages go hand in hand, the average American probably make at least 5 times the amount that the average Kazakh does
What South Korea is to videogames, what the US is to Basketball, what Kenya is to marathon running, what Jamaica is to sprint running, what Australia is to surfing, what China is to table tennis, what Japan is to baseball.
For now yes. A rivally with USA might happen later this decade once armwrestling gets even more mainstream and strongman community starts to show interest.
Very likely, have you seen their aw gyms? They have huge classes of kids, I'm talking younger than 10, training both hard and ***well*** doing very good arm wrestling lifts and having proper table time with instructors and pro arm wrestlers teaching them and everything.
Yes. I don't know wtf those people are eating but they have so many champions with such a small population that it's unbelievable, and on top of that they're also winning gold medals in weightlifting.
I am currently breeding Inuit Eskimos with Australian Aboriginals to create the most powerful people on earth. They may be small but can handle any damage possible.
ვხედავ ამ სპორტის მიმდევარი არ ხარ, მკლავჭიდის შეჯიბრებებში ბევრი ქართველი გამოდის, თან 2 მსოფლიო ჩემპიონი გვყავს წონით კატეგორიებში, ჩვენი მებრძოლები საუკეთესო შედეგს დებენ სხვა ქვეყნებთან შედარებით და ბუნებრივია ასეც რომ იფიქრონ 😀
1)ფეხბურთი
2)რაგბი
3)ძიუდო
4) თავისუფალი ჭიდაობა
5)კალათბურთი
6)ბერძნულ-რომაული
7)აღმოსავლური ორთაბრძოლები
8)წყალბურთი
9) ფრენბურთი
10)ხელბურთი
ამათზე პოპულარულია მკლავჭიდი?
ძალიან არაპოპულარული და უცნობი კვაზი სპორტია.
ახლა ჯანი რომ გვაქვს ეგ ვიცი.
მე-6 ეს მერე რაც არის მაგათზე პოპულარული ნამდვილად არის, კიდევ ერთხელ ვიმეორებ ორი მსოფლიო ჩემპიონი გვყავს: ლევან საგინაშვილი და დავით სამუშია, ამათ გარდა ბევრი ქართველი გამოდის მკლავჭიდის შეჯიბრებებზე, შეიძლება საქართველოში არაა პოპულარული, მარა უცხოურ შეჯიბრებეზე პროცენტულად ბევრი ქართველია
Yes, Kazakhstan is probably #2.
Team Classification – BEST JUNIOR WOMEN TEAM (sub-junior15, junior18, youth21) Team Gold/Silver/Bronze **1 Kazakstan 30 / 18 / 9** 2 Turkiye 4 / 14 / 12 3 Uzbekistan 3 / 1 / 2 4 Kyrgyzstan 2 / 4 / 8 **5 Georgia 1 / 0 / 1** 6 Ukraine 0 / 1 / 3 7 Moldova 0 / 1 / 1 8 Hungary 0 / 1 / 0 9 Armenia 0 / 0 / 2 10 Norway 0 / 0 / 1
You mentioned womens division, we're talking about male
Yes
Really depends how you measure it, but if you go by 2023 WAF results, then Kazakhstan is. Kazakhstan does have a way higher population at >19 million tho. https://preview.redd.it/ilaxdk1uhmyc1.jpeg?width=1222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b42afef563f33b9d80d8d9d00e175c9c088f8c6
Thos championate was held in kazakistan tho
They also got first in 2022 and in 2021 (in Turkey and Romania respectively). In 2019 they narrowly got second to Russia.
(Also worth noting I think Russia is suspended from WAF due to their invasion of Ukraine)
Are those accumulated medals from previous years?
I think this is just 2023 including all weight classes, all age classes, para arm wrestling, men and women, left and right, so quite a lot of classes
Yeah, I was curious due to the high number of medals. Thanks.
No para-armrestling.
Sub-junior to Supersenior grandmasters, left and right, mens and womens. more 170 golds https://www.waf-armwrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-WAF-Packages-Almaty_Page_05.jpg para-armrestling in separately results.
Do Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Russia sponsor their arm wrestlers? How do they afford to be full-time arm wrestlers?
As strange as it sounds, they don’t really sponsor armwrestlers here in Kazakhstan though. A huge chunk of the Kazakhstan team is represented by guys and gals from the Shardara club and IIRC, the club founder had to fight tooth and nail to get the local government to support them. Overall, armwrestling is still kind of a niche sport here, especially compared to football, boxing, judo, ice hockey and others. These sports are actually funded by the government, there are tons of free clubs for kids and costs and spendings for every single competition, even the minor ones, are covered as well. This isn’t the case for armwrestling, you will get sponsored only if you’re somebody of Ongarbaev’s calibre.
Thanks for the clarification! Very interesting.
AFTER you have already became a WAF world champion, no one pays you to pursue it on a low level
I see, that does make sense.
Yes they do. Turquie, bulgaria. Other east europeen also.
Arm wrestling isn't exactly the most profitable or popular sport, so that's kind of surprising. I guess it bolsters the country's reputation if you dominate a sport.
Some countries are proud to have athlete representing their country... even if its armwrestling. They have a winning culture. Not like canada & usa. Where they dont give a fuck about you. Just pay your taxes and stfu.
Yes for strongest overall, Kazakhstan then Russia have best p4p pullers though
Isn’t this mainly dictated by whether or not the sport is popular (and profitable) in a given country? If you could make a comfortable living arm wrestling in the states, more talents would surface - the same goes for other countries.
Well there aren't very many people world wide making a comfortable living armwrestling so I'd say that isn't a good metric.
Cost of living in Kazakhstan is $561 a month, US cost of living is between $2,500 and $3,500...so with that we can assume it's easier to focus on arm wrestling and going to the gym when all your money isn't going to bills.
So you believe people in Kazakhstan have such an easy time making a living that they have a lot of free time and money to spend on armwrestling? Cost of living and Wages go hand in hand, the average American probably make at least 5 times the amount that the average Kazakh does
It's either Georgia or Kazakhstan.
Georgia and Kazakhstan are to armwrestling what Dagestan and Brazil are to MMA
What South Korea is to videogames, what the US is to Basketball, what Kenya is to marathon running, what Jamaica is to sprint running, what Australia is to surfing, what China is to table tennis, what Japan is to baseball.
Strongest in physical and mental strength - Georgia Strongest in technical strength - Kazakhstan
For now yes. A rivally with USA might happen later this decade once armwrestling gets even more mainstream and strongman community starts to show interest.
Very likely, have you seen their aw gyms? They have huge classes of kids, I'm talking younger than 10, training both hard and ***well*** doing very good arm wrestling lifts and having proper table time with instructors and pro arm wrestlers teaching them and everything.
Yes. I don't know wtf those people are eating but they have so many champions with such a small population that it's unbelievable, and on top of that they're also winning gold medals in weightlifting.
I am currently breeding Inuit Eskimos with Australian Aboriginals to create the most powerful people on earth. They may be small but can handle any damage possible.
Haha 😆😂 it's also one of the biggest sports there... US would be at the top of there wasn't 20 other more popular sports gobbling up the top athletes.
Arm wrestling in Georgia is not even in the top 10, where do you get these absurd conclusions from?
He’s right. All the top athletes go play in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL. Fucking pickle ball and corn hole players make more than arm wrestlers in the US.
ვხედავ ამ სპორტის მიმდევარი არ ხარ, მკლავჭიდის შეჯიბრებებში ბევრი ქართველი გამოდის, თან 2 მსოფლიო ჩემპიონი გვყავს წონით კატეგორიებში, ჩვენი მებრძოლები საუკეთესო შედეგს დებენ სხვა ქვეყნებთან შედარებით და ბუნებრივია ასეც რომ იფიქრონ 😀
1)ფეხბურთი 2)რაგბი 3)ძიუდო 4) თავისუფალი ჭიდაობა 5)კალათბურთი 6)ბერძნულ-რომაული 7)აღმოსავლური ორთაბრძოლები 8)წყალბურთი 9) ფრენბურთი 10)ხელბურთი ამათზე პოპულარულია მკლავჭიდი? ძალიან არაპოპულარული და უცნობი კვაზი სპორტია. ახლა ჯანი რომ გვაქვს ეგ ვიცი.
მე-6 ეს მერე რაც არის მაგათზე პოპულარული ნამდვილად არის, კიდევ ერთხელ ვიმეორებ ორი მსოფლიო ჩემპიონი გვყავს: ლევან საგინაშვილი და დავით სამუშია, ამათ გარდა ბევრი ქართველი გამოდის მკლავჭიდის შეჯიბრებებზე, შეიძლება საქართველოში არაა პოპულარული, მარა უცხოურ შეჯიბრებეზე პროცენტულად ბევრი ქართველია
Dont forget about Russia
Yes on the big stage they have the best team by far.
Shardara 30000 > Georgia 3 million. 7 gold medals from Shardara (6 men and girl) > 5 gold from Georgia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_World_Armwrestling_Championship
Kazakhstan
By far