PAA claims best-ever European Championships medal haul with six golds

PAA left the IFA European Championships with its strongest medal return yet, and the numbers made the point fast: six golds, one silver and five bronze from a 679-entry field in Romania. The haul gave the British outfit its best-ever Euros showing and immediately sharpened the focus on what comes next in the domestic Warzone race.

The entry spread also showed how heavily the British Isles were represented in the continental field. The bulletin counted 14 entries from the UK, naming Satin Violet, Chaz Dunn, Mark Waldon, Ethan Fisher, Cagalayan Ari, Marc Sidney, Maurice McMulkin, Craig Sanders, Noah Burton, Morgan Hennessy, Agy Gorzynska, Alan Milne, Thomas Lilley and Ioan Anitulesei. Ireland was listed with 10 entries, including Adrian O'Dwyer, Mo Sabri, Jake Murphy, Alexandru Bugan, Alex Kirchenko, Ernastus Lineus, Viktoria Ziarauskiene, Julius Ziarauskas and Ivan Minev.

That medal spread mattered because the PAA framed it as more than a flat count of podium finishes. Some athletes chose to cut weight or pull upward rather than accept a medal by default when no opponent was present, a detail that underlined the federation’s emphasis on progression over easy trophies. The PAA says it sends teams to IFA European and World Championships, pushes newcomers into club training for safety, and uses regional Warzone events as the pathway for points and development.

The sovereignty issue also shaped how the medal table should be read. IFA recognizes countries by sovereignty rather than the PAA’s historical team criteria, so some Irish entries were counted for reporting purposes even though they do not feed into PAA team standings in the same way. Ireland still came away with 3 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, a return that suggests the island’s arm wrestling depth is deepening right alongside the PAA’s own medal surge.

Now the calendar turns quickly. The next PAA stop is the WELCOME TO THE TOON Warzone in Newcastle on July 4, stage four of the league and the event that could reshape the title picture before summer is out. Callum Rice leads Karl Crosby by five points, with Bogdan Badiu, Chris Rimmer and David Bradford in pursuit, and the rules leave no margin for drift: the top 12 in each Warzone score points, the first six to reach 10 pins qualify for the overall final, and the 2026 belt goes to the highest points scorer unless a tie forces a deciding match.

Reuben Hughes, last year’s champion, was absent while resting before his winning effort at ARMGODS ENGLAND the previous week, which keeps the door open for a new name to seize momentum. With Siege of Dagda in Galway on June 27, Summerslam in Sussex on July 18, the season finale in Birmingham on October 17 and the UK & Ireland National Championship on November 28-29, the Euros medals were only the opening burst in a much longer fight for position.