Tug of war at the 1981 World Games

Tug of war was contested in two weight classes for men at the 1981 World Games. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. The 640 kg tug of war competition was the first event of the games, as it was held immediately following the opening ceremony at the same location, Buck Shaw Stadium. The Swiss athletes were associated with a club from Engelberg, while the United States was represented by a club from Orfordville, Wisconsin. In an interview during the Games, Albert Sabin, the chief judge of the event, revealed that he was from Birmingham, then hastened to add, "England, not (Birmingham) Alabama."

Medalists Sources:

Men

Tug of war, 640kg

The outdoor 640 kg tug of war event was conducted on 24 July 1981. It was the first event of the first World Games.

Gold Silver Bronze Brian JonesEric SuttonJoe CritchlowJohn ReillyLuan TorrMark UptonRon CritchlowRowland Peirson Andreas ArnoldPaul HurschlerPeter OdermattPeter SchleissRuedi ArnoldSepp BuenterWalter Bernhardother? Andre DiekmanBennie SmeitingGerrit BruilHarry RavenslootHerman GeesinkJohan de JongNico VenneToon te Boome Results: Netherlands def. Wales, 3-0 England def. Ireland, 3-0 Switzerland def. Sweden, 3-0 Netherlands def. U.S., 3-0 Ireland def. Wales, 3-0 England def. Sweden, 3-0 Switzerland def. U.S., 3-0 Netherlands def. England, 2-1 Wales def. Sweden, 3-0 Switzerland def. Ireland, 2-1 England def. U.S., 2-1 Sweden def. Netherlands, 3-0 Switzerland def. Wales, 3-0 Ireland def. U.S., 3-0 England def. Wales, 3-0 Switzerland def. Netherlands, 3-0 Ireland def. Sweden, 3-0 Wales def. U.S., 3-0 England def. Switzerland, 3-0 Netherlands def. Ireland, 3-0 Sweden def. U.S., 3-0

Final standing: England 15 points Switzerland 14 Netherlands 11 Ireland 10 Sweden 6, tie Wales 6, tie USA 1

Tug of war, 720kg

The outdoor 720 kg tug of war event was conducted on 25 July 1981. Gold Silver Bronze Albert FeirerabendAndreas ArnoldHans RychenKarl LangensteinPeter OdermattPeter SchleissRuedi ArnoldWalter Bernhard Albert WeenkHenk HemmingJan BeusinkJohan de JongNico VenneNico VersteegToon te BoomeToon van Culemborg unknown.......

Results

Netherlands def. Wales, 3-0 England def. Ireland, 3-0 Switzerland def. Sweden, 3-0 Netherlands def. U.S., 3-0 Ireland def. Wales, 3-0 England def. Sweden, 3-0 Switzerland def. U.S., 3-0 Netherlands def. England, 3-0 Sweden def. Wales, 3-0 Switzerland def. Ireland, 3-0 England def. U.S., 3-0 Netherlands def. Sweden 3-0 Switzerland def. Wales, 3-0 Ireland def. U.S., 3-0 England def. Wales, 3-0 Switzerland def. Netherlands, 3-0 Sweden def. Ireland, 3-0 Wales def. U.S., 2-1 Switzerland def. England, 3-0 Netherlands def. Ireland, 3-0 Sweden def. U.S., 3-0

Final standings: Switzerland 18 points Netherlands 15 England 12 Sweden 9 Ireland 6 Wales 2 USA 1

Other known individual participants: SWE – Erik Johansson; USA – Tom Naatz

References