Laisen Henson got into arm wrestling after watching a national championship with his father.
While there, he had the chance to wrestle some of the competitors for fun when they were done competing, and beat a few.
“In elementary school, me and my friends would arm wrestle all the time, but we didn’t really get how to arm wrestle,” said Henson, 12.
It wasn’t until just over a year ago that Henson began competing seriously. His first competition was at Summerland’s Action Fest in 2015 where he won with both arms. He picked up another win in Kelso, Wash., last September with his right arm. At provincials in Kelowna, he won gold with his left arm and earned silver with his right. Henson enjoys competitions and the places he travels to with his family.
He went to nationals is Saskatoon, Sask., and took silver with both arms. That performance qualified him to represent Team Canada and compete in the World Arm Wrestling championship in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria from Oct. 1-9, 2016.
Henson said it was exciting to earn a spot with the national team. However, for financial reasons, he won’t be going to Bulgaria, which is disappointing for him. He learned that a few days after the nationals. Henson said competing at nationals was a challenge because his competitors were better.
“It was harder to take them on the table,” said Henson, who also plays box and field lacrosse.