For Brenda Taylor, her trip to compete in the World Armwrestling Championships can only be described in one way — crazy.
The mom of two boys (Cameron and Cooper) and Ultimate Armwrestling League contracted athlete, Taylor traveled with a team of 22 other U.S. armwrestlers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the World Armwrestling Federation’s annual event. The tournament took place Sept. 29-Oct. 2.
The United States team finished ninth overall. Taylor was part of the masters class and helped the U.S. team take home second place in that division.
She finished in fourth place in both the 80-kilogram left and right brackets for her overall position of fourth in the world.
“The athletes are top notch,” the Clarksville armwrestler said. “I knew what was going to be across the table from me. I gave it my all. I am tickled to place fourth in the world. Such a crazy thought.”
Armwrestling matches take place on a table that requires the opponents to square up, place their non-wrestling arm on a peg and follow setups for arm and foot placement. Strength, a competitor’s technique and the speed of the athletes often decides matchups quickly.
But that’s not always the case.
“My longest battle was with Russia,” Taylor said. “It was intense.”
Taylor qualified for her spot after placing second in a national armwrestling competition. However, she did face some setbacks in her preparation with a knee injury she suffered at the gym.
Luckily, Taylor said that by the world championships she “felt great” and that her knee gave her no problems.
Outside of the competition, Taylor did not do much exploring of the country side due to some environmental issues.
“I did some sightseeing … but not much. Plus, the haze over the city was horrible,” Taylor said. “I didn’t see the sun at all. I believe some sort of crops were burning or something. The air was terrible. However, the Malaysian people were so warm and welcoming.”
Burning crops and overall hazy conditions are a now standard occurrence for the area this time of year because of the illegal slash-and-burn clearings used by many farmers. The haze travels north toward Malaysia and Singapore, greatly deteriorating the air quality in those countries, according to a report for BBC.
While Taylor may still be recuperating from her trip and attempting to readjust her sleeping schedule, she is already planning to attend the 2016 championships.
“It was such an amazing experience,” she said. “I’m honored that I was able to qualify and be a part of such an event. I’m setting goals and I plan on trying to qualify for it again next year.
“It was definitely worth it. I can’t wait to see what happens next year.”
Full results from the World Armwrestling Championships can be found at: http://www.xsportnews.com/armwrestling/results-worldarm-2015-37th-world-armwrestling-championships-2015-waf/.
Courtesy of: The Leaf-Chronicle