Riekerd Bornman

Riekerd Bornman is a South African professional armwrestler and former rugby player who has emerged as one of the fastest-rising Super Heavyweight prospects in international armwrestling. Originally from Meyerton, Gauteng, he moved to Australia to pursue rugby, but an ankle injury led him into armwrestling. He developed quickly through the Australian scene, including training with Ryan Bowen, won the 2024 AWE Grand Prix Heavyweight Championship, and broke through internationally in 2025 with East vs West wins over Wallace Dilley, Pavlo Derbedyenyev and Aleksandr “Schoolboy” Beziazykov. In 2026, he added wins over Lars Rørbakken and Alizhan Muratov. East vs West named Bornman its 2025 Rookie of the Year.