Raising funds
Bunker’s Bar and Grill in Vandalia will host a fundraiser for Bill Nelson’s overseas trip tonight, Sept. 2. Ten percent of sales from 6 to 11 p.m. will benefit his trip to Italy, which he has to fund on his own.
By B.J. Bethel
Staff Writer
VANDALIA — Local arm-wrestling champion Bill Nelson will ply his trade overseas this month.
Nelson, a Vandalia resident, recently placed third at the United National Arm Wrestling Championships in Little Rock, Ark. A member of the 243-and-over weight class, Nelson made the team as an alternate and was selected to go to Porto Viro, Italy, to compete at the World Arm Wrestling Federation World Championships. He plans to leave Saturday.
A former Indiana University fullback, Nelson gave arm wrestling a shot in the late 1970s and has stuck with the sport on and off.
“I was into all kinds of sports in high school,” Nelson said. “A girl who was dating someone I knew, she talked me into entering my first tournament in 1978.”
Nelson has taken part in the biggest tournaments in the sport. Every year, arm wrestlers gather in Buena Park, Calif., for the World Amateur Championships. The tournament was the climatic scene of the Sylvester Stallone movie “Over The Top,” made 20 years ago. Stallone’s oil-drinking, cigar-chomping screen opponent — Bruce Way — has been an opponent of Nelson’s in the past. Nelson beat him for the first time three years ago.
Like any sport, arm wrestlers adhere to a certain regimen.
“You try to get as much table time as you can against other competitors,” Nelson said. “I try to do a lot of hammer curls, wrist curls and triceps, as well as a little bit of benching and shoulder work. I have a set of hand grips that take 250 pounds of pressure.”
There’s also a risk for injuries. But Nelson said the sport is well-regulated with an eye toward safety. Even so, not everyone escapes injury.
“When I was at Nationals in July, a guy broke his arm,” Nelson said. “I asked the tournament director and he said the guy had only been doing it a couple months. If your muscles and bones are not built up, and you are going against pros, this is what can happen.”
Nelson, a grandfather and co-owner of O’Grady’s in Clayton, needs a knee replacement after an injury sustained as a police officer in Florida in 2002. But the arm-wrestling champ prides himself on his laid-back demeanor.
Nelson will face some serious competition in Italy.
“They are strong in Europe, but I have a lot of back pressure when I post up,” Nelson said. “I can overcome a lot. For some of them, arm wrestling is all they do for a job, but I have enough hand strength to overcome it — hopefully.”
Contact this reporter at bjbethel@coxohio.com.
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