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Hand-To-Hand Combat

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Sebring native Kaleb Cleveland, 19, won an arm-wrestling championship in his first official event at the Bikefest in Leesburg recently.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: May 12, 2008

SEBRING –– Two competitors lock hand-to-hand with a glare of determination as the crowd is cheering them on. The adrenaline pours into their veins as they wait for the start.

And in an instant, it's all over –– the winner is crowned and the loser takes the fall.

For Sebring native Caleb Cleveland, 19, this was the scene when he took center stage at the Central Florida Armwrestling Championships in Leesburg on April 26 as he fought long odds to lift the champions trophy in the 154-pound open division.

"It was everything I thought it was going to be and more," Cleveland said. "I just had to see what I was really made of."

Cleveland, who works for the Golf Hammock maintenance department, had never before stepped into the organized circle of arm wrestling, but he'd been building to this point since he was a kid.

"I'd always armwrestled since I was in elementary school, and I'd beat kids older than I was at lunch," Cleveland said. "I'd always faced kids who were bigger than me. When I was a freshman at high school, I'd beat most of the football players. I always wanted to prove myself."

Working his way through his friends and co-workers, Cleveland wondered silently to himself if he had what it took to stand up with the best. After a long search, Cleveland found his opportunity during Bikefest in Leesburg –– his first arm-wrestling event.

"This was a sanctioned event by American Armsport Association, which was going to draw some of the best pullers," Cleveland said.

To prepare for the event, Cleveland does a heavy lifting regimen and does specific workouts for his wrists and forearms using a secret tool that he made himself.

"I don't want to give away all my secrets," Cleveland laughed. "But the tool helps with strengthening my forearm that gives me more power on the start. I really trained hard for this event and took it very seriously. I wanted to win."

After registration and the weigh-in, Cleveland drew a first round bye before he was matched against Thomas Egan, a two-time champion in left hand and took third place the past two years in right hand competition at the Florida Armwrestling Championships.

"I had heard that Egan was pretty good," Cleveland said. "He's suppose to be powerful on the start, so I knew I wanted to get a good pull."

Using the arm-wrestling table for the first time, Cleveland didn't know if it would help or hurt his performance.

Arm-wrestlers –– or "pullers" as they're called in the sport –– compete on a specially designed table that has a pad for under the elbow and a grip for your opposite hand to give the participant leverage. The object is to power your opponent's hand down to the table. Some matches take as little as a few seconds, while some last for a few minutes.

Cleveland powered Egan's hand down in just over a second.

"The match was over in the blink of an eye," Cleveland said. "I think the table really helped me because it gave me even more leverage. I just pulled as hard as I could as soon as I heard the word 'go.' "

Due to the limited number of participants in his weight class, Cleveland had advanced to the championship finals with his win over Egan and waited to see who he'd face in the finals.

As fate would have it, Egan breezed through the rest of the field and Cleveland was face-to-face with his new rival.

"I watched him battle his way back and he seemed to get stronger as the night went on," Cleveland said. "I mean [Egan], has been arm-wrestling for years and had all the experience on his side, but I knew I wanted it more."

The Sebring puller proved that he belonged with the veterans, as he defeated Egan in an almost repeat of their first match to take the championship –– the first of what he hopes will be many trophies to come.

"This is just the beginning," Cleveland said. "I've got a real taste for it now, and I want to see how far I can go in this sport."

Next up for Cleveland is the AAA National Championships in West Palm Beach in June where he'll compete in the Novice division until he builds up enough wins to move up to open division.

The possibility of meeting Egan brought a smile to his face, but Cleveland knows that nationals is going to be no cake walk.

"Your' talking about pullers coming from all over the country," Cleveland said. "I'm going to have to be at the top of my game to bring home a championship, but I'm use to facing long odds and coming out on top."

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