{"id":584335,"date":"2026-04-05T18:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/584335\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T18:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:53:09","slug":"athletes-lock-arms-in-celebration-of-rare-sport-at-winnipeg-arm-wrestling-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/584335\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletes lock arms in celebration of ‘rare’ sport at Winnipeg arm-wrestling competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

For Thomas Dumas, it\u2019s all in the wrist.<\/p>\n

The 15-year-old from Alberton, P.E.I. said he crammed up as much training as he could in the leadup to an arm-wrestling competition held in Winnipeg this Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s called \u2018cupping.\u2019 Like this,\u201d Dumas said while bending his wrist downward, showcasing some of the techniques Dumas practiced. \u201c\u2018Pronation,\u2019 like this, and then \u2018rise\u2019 and keeping my knuckle side. To me, that’s the most important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dumas, who is Red River M\u00e9tis, was one of the more than a hundred competitors who took part in the arm-wrestling tournaments at Assiniboia Downs.<\/p>\n

The event was hosted by Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation as part of the annual All Nations Tribal Days. James Spence, who helped co-ordinate the competition, said it\u2019s only second year arm-wrestling has been featured at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good for the kids. The kids get to meet people from different communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"ADevon Larratt, one of the most well-known faces in arm-wrestling, said the All Nations Tribal Days competition has quickly become one of the largest arm-wrestling events in Canada. (Gavin Axelrod\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Devon Laratt, a multi-time world champion and one of the most well known faces in the sport, was a special guest in the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve loved arm wrestling my whole life. It’s one of the most simple and one of the most accessible sports,\u201d Laratt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get better and better at it your whole life. And you know, you can get hurt in all sports but arm wrestling \u2014 I mean, you’re not going to get head trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laratt said this weekend\u2019s event has already become one of the largest arm-wrestling competitions in Canada. <\/p>\n

Setting the bar high<\/p>\n

He said coming out to Winnipeg will help him prepare for an upcoming world-title match in Germany.<\/p>\n

“I always believe that the more hands I touch, the stronger I become. I feel that everyone I touch, I take a piece of them with me,” he said.<\/p>\n

“One of the great things about sport is how it builds community, and I’m so honoured to be able to share this sport with so many people.”<\/p>\n

Brody Morin drove in from northern Saskatchewan to meet Laratt, who he said was the reason he got into arm wrestling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very tough sport. You will always find somebody out there that\u2019s going to be stronger than you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will always push you to \u2026 set the bar higher for yourself. And that\u2019s what I really love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dumas said nothing beats the excitement he gets when he sets himself up on the table before an arm-wrestling match.<\/p>\n

The 15-year-old, who\u2019s already got several international and Canadian titles under his name, won both arms for his weight class in the Indigenous men\u2019s category.<\/p>\n

\u201cArm wrestling is quite rare, but it\u2019s getting bigger all the time,\u201d Dumas said. \u201cI would like to become the greatest youth arm wrestler that\u2019s been around. That’s one of my biggest goals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-584335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}