Gordana Đurđević (28), a three-time world arm wrestling champion from Ljubovija, may not be the only successful athlete, but when you add that she is a three-time world arm wrestling champion, that’s another story!
Gordana is a member of the „Orlovi“ club from Majur near Šabac, and she says she started training this sport quite accidentally in the „Sajan“ club when she signed up for voluntary military service.
„I wanted to prove that we girls are equal and that we can endure everything just like men. I served six months in the military in Valjevo and Požarevac, and then one day Miloš Zeljić, president of the Serbian Arm Wrestling Union who is responsible for popularizing this discipline in Šabac and Western Serbia, called me,“ Gordana says.
In four years, she was the first at the world championship in France and twice in Slovakia, and last year she was defeated by a Romanian in the final of the national championship. Now she is diligently preparing for the next national championship in May, in Šabac.
With a height of 163 centimeters and a fragile build, hardly anyone would think she has such strength in her arms, to which she responds with a smile.
„I have won all the gold medals in Serbia so far, and I hope the streak will continue,“ she adds.
Training for this sport is not just lifting weights and strengthening muscles, but also, as she says, technique and concentration.
„In the world, arm wrestling is a very popular sport, and I would like it to be the same here and to have more female competitors. When guys hear what I train, it’s a challenge for them, so they want to test their strength with me. Sometimes I win, and sometimes they let me win, and when I lose, they always congratulate me,“ Gordana reveals.
Her wish is to start her own club, and she advises young people to try what they want.
„Every beginning is difficult, but no one should give up on their dreams and goals,“ says our champion.
Champions
The Serbian Sports Arm Wrestling Association gathered more than 300 competitors from 25 clubs at the most massive competition so far – the XIV National Arm Wrestling Championship held at the „Fontana“ hotel in Vrnjačka Banja.
