Interview with a Champion! Gabriela Vasconcelos (English version)

  Hi all / as

       How are you? This week is dedicated to this champion! amazing person and a great athlete. I met her at the Arnold Classic. I fight Sarah Backman in ArmWars. Then I went to coincide with her now in September at the World Gdynia (Poland). The truth as thoroughly enjoyed competing and especially his humility ... Look at the times to become world champion and won again this time and it was like the first time ...

       Every day proves to be a champion, with their training and how to compete fu, is a shy girl, but conveys a lot with his eyes, has a great background and above all is a good person ... Thank you for helping me with this interview, we will make this great sport!!

Gabriela Vasconcelos

(Thanks to Armpower.net by images, as they always do such a good job in our sport)

-1. ¿How much time do you spend training and how did you get to know this sport and be interested in it?
                I started armwrestling by invitation of a former athlete when I was 12 and I knew nothing about it. Today I spend around  1,5 hour a day during the week (lifting weights) and 2,5hours on Saturdays (just rope and table training)

-2. ¿What armwrestler do you admire most and why?
                As most of us I learned really early how to admire John Brzenk and had the opportunity to meet him and be even more of a fan as he is such a nice guy. Other than him, I’m a fan of all armwrestlers who are humble and always willing to learn.

-3. ¿What are your expectations in this sport?
                I learned that in this sport is hard to get to the top, but its even harder to keep yourself up there. You become a target to others and you have to always push yourself harder to go beyond your limits and keeping winning. So I really want to continue to be World Champion and if possible participate in more than 1 international Championship per year (like A1, Nemiroff and others like these).

 -4. ¿what other sport do you practice?
                None. I practiced Gymnastics for 10 years, 3 of them while I was beginning in armwrestling. I love this sport and I’m in touch with it since I was 5. Now I teach gymnastics.

 -5. ¿what advice would you give to the young boys and girls who start with this sport?
                I would say that for any sport: know your limits, dedicate yourself and have discipline if you want to go far. Then work really hard for it and don`t give up!!

 -6.apart from this sport… what other objectives do you have for your future?
                I want to travel the world – preferable with someone special (thanks to armwrestling I’ve been to a few countries already), get married, build a family… mostly normal wishes.

-7.what armwrestling tecnique do you think is the best?
                It depends on where you are stronger and on your opponent. A good armwrestler has options to lean on.

-8. what has been your worst dissapointment in this sport?
                I sometimes think I chose the wrong sport as in Brazil we have soo little support and media space. Most of Brazilians don’t know the sport or it`s athletes and sometimes I even joke I`m famous in Sweden (after beating Sarah) but no one knows me in Brazil.

-9. What would you never do to another participant?
                I would never do anything to hurt them on purpose or say offensive/disrespectful  things

-10.how much time do you rest before a competition?
                For this Worlds I rested Sunday, Monday, trained with rubber on Tuesday and rested till Saturday. So almost a week with a light rubber training in the middle.

-11.what position do you think is the most strategic in the table?
                The one that allows you to impose your technique better. It also depends on your opponent and your game plan.

-12. What negative aspects do you think exist in this sport?
                Too much politics and fights over it that keep our sport from being organized enough to be at the Olympics one day.

-13.what type of training do you never do and which don't you like doing?
                I don’t have a specific training I never do. Me and my coach are open to any training that makes sense, but we have found some methods that work for both of us.

-14. which has been you worst injury?
                I had a really weird (because there was nothing physically wrong) in both of my shoulders and that’s why I quit armwrestling for a bit more than a year in 2009 and then last Worlds (2012) I had a partial tear of my left elbow’s ligament that caused lots of pain till these days.

-15. What have been your most important titles?
                I have 18 world titles after Poland and it always feels like the first time. I’ve won 6 world titles as junior (3 left and 3 right arm) and 12 as senior (6 left and 6 right arm). Plus some 2nds and 3rds.

-16. How does it feel to be in the podium as world champion?
                It feels amazing to know that everything you worked for the whole year has paid off and you managed to focus on beating all your opponents and their strength and technique. You can only think of all special people who were somehow part of it.

..anything else you would like to say or tell us....
                I just want to say I’m really happy to be back at the top and looking forward to new challenges and to a lot of training to continue to be World Champion! Hugs to you all!