
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 28, 1993                   TAG: 9401130001
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG SCHNEIDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

OLD NEMESIS IS AN ARM UP ON WRESTLER

Dave Patton, the Northern Virginia computer programmer considered one of the best arm wrestlers in the world, did something at last Friday's national championships that he hadn't done since 1985:

He lost.

Patton, 33, was going for a third straight title in the Yukon Jack national arm wrestling tournamment, held in San Francisco. He lost to Allen Fischer, 37, of San Diego - an old nemesis who had dropped out of competition for several years.

``They hadn't gone against each other in quite a long time,'' said Mark Beale, a publicist for the tournament. ``There were thousands of people at this event, and that was pretty much the match everyone was there to watch.''

Thirteen arm wrestlers were vying for the 160-pounds-and-under title, including Patton's younger brother, Ray. It came down to Dave Patton and Fischer.

Fischer ``gave him some trouble in the early 1980s,'' Beale said; but since then, Patton had gone on to accumulate 33 world championships, an uncounted number of national titles and an unbeaten record. He was featured last year on ESPN and profiled in June in Sports Illustrated.

Patton could not be reached Monday for comment, but Beale said his defeat came hard. ``It was a real battle. It was a real tough match. You could see these guys were almost at equal strength... Now Dave will have to come back next year and try again.''

by CNB