FIVE GOLD MEDALS

For the first time, the powerlifting team WRPF Iron Fist represented Azerbaijan at the largest European sports tournament Arnold Classic Europe held in Madrid. Azerbaijani athletes won five gold medals and two cups in the prestigious competition.

Step by step

Vusal Aghalarov (110kg), who competed in the Powerlifting Classic Raw division, took the lead on the first day of the competition with 335kg in barbell squat, 205kg in bench-press, and 310kg in deadlift. He was also awarded as the overall winner of the Powerlifting Knee Wraps division.

On the second day of the tournament, Ramil Ahmadov (110kg) from the same division, also took the first place in squat (310kg), bench-press (205kg), and deadlift (300kg).

The next day, Vugar Namazov (140kg) lifted 330kg in deadlift and won the gold medal and the title of absolute winner in the Master category.

In the junior competition, Ilkin Namazov won gold medals in bench-press (152.5kg) and deadlift (230kg).

The Arnold Classic Europe is regarded as a very prestigious sports festival in powerlifting and is associated with the famous Hollywood actor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. The world's strongest powerlifters take part in this tournament, which started in 2011. Every year, it is attended by thousands of athletes from more than 50 countries.

Five times on top

Ramil Ahmadov, winner of the Arnold Classic Europe, is a five-time world champion and nine-time European champion. He shared his impressions of the past competitions with us: "The competition was really strong. Our team performed very well indeed. In total, we won 5 gold medals, meaning that our athletes climbed to the top of the podium five times. I have earned many titles during my career. But this is my first gold medal earned at this tournament. I am very happy to be the winner of the Arnold Classic Europe. This tournament attracts the attention of the whole world. Our victory demonstrated to everyone the high level of this sport in Azerbaijan".

Currently the Powerlifting Federation of Azerbaijan is going through a new stage of development. Powerlifting is quite a respected type of sport in Azerbaijan, even though it is not part of the Olympic Games. That's why we can see dozens of new athletes competing for gold medals at the championship of Azerbaijan every year.