Following golf and coastal rowing’s addition to the Commonwealth Games roster for 2026, the Team NI may wish to launch a campaign to get arm wrestling included for 2030.
Northern Irishman Stanley Hamilton won two medals at the 2022 IFA World Arm Wrestling Championships in France, last month.
Just over 350 competitors from around the world took part over four full days of matches in categories ranging from U15 to O70s with various disabled classes and weight categories.
Northern Irishmen David Gibson, Robert Nicholl and Hamilton travelled to Dieppe in France to take up the challenge against the world’s best at the 2022 IFA World Arm Wrestling Championships, where they represented the United Kingdom.
Killylea man Gibson was the first ever puller from either side of the Irish border to take the stage when he took his place in the Grandmasters (O50s) -78kg left-sided class, achieving fifth place. The following day he competed on his favoured right arm, finishing fourth.
Nicholl from Hamiltonsbawn in County Armagh competed in the +105kg Masters (O40) finishing fourth in the left-sided category and ninth in the right-handed section.
Hamilton from Tynan pulled off a shock bronze medal in the Masters -86kg left arm class. In the semi-finals he lost to Tero Saarinen from Finland.
In right-sided competition, the County Armagh man went undefeated in to the final where he lost to Saarinen.
The Northern Ireland team train will face their counterparts from England on October 22 in Portadown.