Devon Larratt urges Sabah youth to take up arm wrestling
Devon Larratt turned Sabah’s arm-wrestling showcase into a youth pitch, saying the sport can build discipline, resilience and community ties. More than 150 athletes from 13 countries came.
Devon Larratt used Sabah’s biggest arm-wrestling weekend to argue for something bigger than spectacle. The Canadian star said the sport can build discipline, mental resilience and stronger community ties, and urged more young people in Sabah to treat arm wrestling as a healthy competitive outlet, not just a novelty.
That message landed in the middle of a packed international program at Centre Point Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, where the East vs West International Arm Wrestling Competition took place on June 20 and the Sabah International Arm Wrestling Competition followed on June 21. Organisers expected more than 150 participants from 13 countries, giving the event a scale rarely seen in the region and putting Sabah in the centre of the global arm-wrestling conversation.
Larratt and his wife, Jodi, arrived in Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday, June 17, and were welcomed at a traditional Sabahan dinner by Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer Julinus Jeffery Jimit. Their visit also included meet-and-greet sessions tied to the competition, a sign that Larratt’s role in Sabah extended well beyond the table. He was cast as an ambassador for the sport, speaking as much about youth development and long-term growth as he did about elite competition.
The event carried added weight because Sabah hosted the internationally acclaimed arm-wrestling showcase in Malaysia for the first time. Sabah Media noted that arm wrestling has long been part of Sabah’s culture, especially during the annual Kaamatan Festival, so the move onto an international stage felt like a natural but significant step. Michael Ford, the organiser, said the event was designed to strengthen sports tourism and introduce Sabah to the international arm-wrestling community.
That larger ambition matched Larratt’s own view of the state. He described Sabah as a strong sports tourism destination and said he hoped the event would become a regular regional meeting point for top competitors. If that vision holds, the value of the weekend will not stop with one visit from a global star. It will depend on whether Sabah can turn the attention into repeat local events, stronger mentorship and a deeper pipeline of young athletes who stay in the sport long after the cameras leave.
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