Arm-wrestling Eskasoni cousins heading to world championships

Three arm-wrestling cousins originally from Eskasoni First Nation, N.S.,will be heading to Romania for the world championships this fall.

Liam Johnson and Dre Denny both won medals in their first national competition at this year's Canadian championshipsin Edmonton.

Denny captured a silver medal and Johnson won bronze in the right hand, over-80 kilogram division for 18-year-olds. In the left-hand division, Denny earned a bronze and Johnson won gold.

The cousins are now training for the Nova ScotiaMi'kmaw Summer Games, which is in August in We'koqma'q First Nation, as well as the world championships.They said their training consists of weightlifting, weight pullingand arm-wrestling against each other.

"Before, I didn't really take weightlifting and all that too serious and working out certain muscles, and now I think I will," Johnson told CBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton.

"I don't want to get the last place. I'm aiming for first."

Denny and Johnson both have big dreams and want to continue to pursue championships in arm-wrestling for many years to come.

"I want to aim for the top, be the best in the province and even the world,"Denny toldCBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton.

Arm-wrestling isn't something they stumbled upon. The cousins come from a family of arm-wrestlers and they have had older cousins compete in national and Atlantic championships.

They are trained by their cousin, Trevor Sanipass, who also qualified for the world championships by winning a bronze medal in the super heavyweight, left-hand division.

Sanipass said arm-wrestling started in the family when his older brother Dave won bronze at the Atlantic championships when he was 17. That inspired Sanipass to join the sport and get more people to participate.

"I remember reading about [Dave]in the local paper," Sanipass told CBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton.

"He was on the front page flexing, he was a 17-year-old competing against men, and I was like, 'I really want to be like Dave.'"

All in the family

Sanipass said love of the sport is what keeps him arm-wrestling and inspiring others to get involved. He said family is a big reason he stays in the sport, because it helps bring them together.

"We have a big family gathering in Eskasoni and we do arm-wrestle at it, actually," said Sanipass.

The trio will be heading to Romania on Oct. 26.

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