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Local senior a champion arm wrestler
12/17/08
BY MARK WEBER
Red Deer Express
It’s quite the remarkable feat to be an 86-year-old champion arm wrestler and still mowing down the competition.
Rudy Deutsch of Red Deer has collected about 25 awards over the years to prove it.
He just returned from Kelowna where he landed bronze in his category in the 30th annual World Armwrestling Championships.
He was the oldest competitor at the event, making him the oldest competitor internationally as well.
“It feels good to get a bronze – I’m happy about it,” he says during a chat in his Red Deer home.
It was quite the challenge, as his competitors were about 25 years younger and a whole lot heavier as well. But the experience of being in the middle of an international event after many years away from competing was also a delight.
“It’s just wonderful,” he says of seeing 638 athletes from 33 countries compete. “We talked to lots of people and they all want to come to Canada after visiting Kelowna,” he says.
Deutsch had plenty of opportunities to develop powerful arms growing up on a Saskatchewan farm.
“It was the hard farm work – milking cows, mostly. In the years after that I was a registered grain grower, so I handled lots of grain.”
There was also the constant pulling levers on farm machinery, hauling hay bales and driving tractors – especially the old ones that didn’t have power steering.
“Sometimes I would work 15 to 20 hours a day,” he says. “I didn’t need to go to a gym and work out.”
Deutsch continued to work on farms he operated in Manitoba and finally near Red Deer before retiring in 1990.
All those years he was also developing a reputation as unstoppable arm wrestler, even during his years in the service in the Second World War.
“There was a Sicilian guy in our unit – big and tough. One day I let him beat me, and he went around the whole camp bragging to all the guys “I beat Rudy, I beat Rudy.”
The fellows knew Rudy could in fact beat the guy, and they started taking bets for round two. It was good news for all when Rudy was victorious.
“We had another go, and I beat him.”
When he returned home, casual showdowns gradually evolved into serious competitions.
“We used to go to Reno once a year, boys from Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton, and we would compete against the Americans,” he recalls.
“We always took home the trophies, and got the most points,” he adds with a smile. “I always won my class.”
He even got a touch of fame when he landed an arm wrestling cameo in the Sylvester Stallone film Over the Top in 1987 during a stint in Las Vegas.
But better things were on the way.
In 1984, he took masters in the world in armwrestling in Calgary. “1984 was my year,” he said.
It was also the year he pretty much stopped competing. Until he heard the world championships were being held in Kelowna this month.
He was immediately interested.
After a check-up and getting the green light from his doctor, Deutsch was on his way.
“I also had a bone density test done on my arm – I thought maybe it might be brittle at my age. It’s as good as a 20-year-old’s,” he chuckles.
“I said I’m going to get into this again.”
Meanwhile, he wants to keep up his strength.
“If Red Deer has a club, I’m going to join in and get some practice.”
Rediscovering his passion for armwrestling has had a kind of re-energizing effect on his life.
“It keeps you going, and keeps your mind active,” he says. “It’s a great sport and a friendly sport.”
Next up, Deutsch would love to head to the world championships in Italy next year. He’s even looking towards 2010 when competitions will be held near Las Vegas.
“Now, I just want to keep going.”
mweber@reddeer.greatwest.ca 309-5459
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