Airdrie’s Stacey Foster has taken the arm wrestling world by storm after just 10 months of training.
Foster’s first year of competitive arm wrestling saw its highest point earlier this month when she entered the 2016 Canadian National Armwrestling Championships in Saskatoon, Sask., July 1 to 3, where she won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, having gone to nothing that big before,” Foster said. “Everything else was smaller with maybe two or three girls.”
Foster competed in both the Women’s 60 kilogram (kg) and Masters Womens 70 kg classes, entering both her left and right arm. Her gold medal win came in the Womens Left 60 kg, her silvers came from right-handed competitions and her bronze was won in the Masters Womens Left 70 kg class.
At the age of 44, strength and discipline are no problem for Foster. Before she tried her hand at arm wrestling, Foster competed as a bodybuilder for two years, beginning at the age of 40.
After her stint in bodybuilding, Foster continued working out at the gym two hours a day, five days a week. A year and a half after stepping away from bodybuilding, she said she needed another form of competition to fill the void.
“I kept going to the gym, but I was like ‘I need to find a goal,’” Foster said. “We went to a few arm wrestling competitions and I was like, ‘Well, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.’”
She said what drew her to arm wrestling was her desire for competition.
In October 2015, Foster asked her husband – and now coach – Stew Foster to train her.
Stew is a former national champion, having competed for 36 years all over Canada.
Aside from her regimented gym routines, Foster also trains with different equipment and weights at home to strengthen different muscles and tendons necessary for arm wrestling.
“Starting out, you have to build on the tendons and ligaments,” Foster said. “You can be the biggest bodybuilder you want, that doesn’t mean you can arm wrestle.”
The Fosters have a pair of arm wrestling tables in their basement where they train and even have an arm wrestling club, the Airdrie Arm Wrestling Club, that meets once a week in the summer on Tuesdays, but will begin meeting more frequently in the fall.
The Airdrie Arm Wrestling Club is on Facebook, where organizers posts different events, practice times and tips about arm wrestling. Those interested in trying out the sport can reach out to the club there.
