One of the most decorated armwrestlers of the Republic of Moldova, world champion and multiple European champion. Known as „Brațul de Aur al Moldovei” [Moldova's Golden Arm]. A doctor by training, he graduated from the „Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
Daniel Procopciuc (born 1995) is one of the finest armwrestlers of the Republic of Moldova, a multiple European and world champion, a doctor and a promoter of competitive sport.
Biography
Daniel Procopciuc was born in 1995 in the village of Călinești, Fălești district, Republic of Moldova. He comes from a family in which education and discipline played an important part. His father is Vasile Procopciuc and his mother is Ala Procopciuc (née Morarenco).
He attended primary and secondary school at the „Călinești” Theoretical Lyceum (2001–2013), where he stood out for his very good academic results and for taking part in the district olympiads in chemistry, mathematics and physics.
In 2013 he was admitted to the „Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chișinău, Faculty of General Medicine. In August 2016 he was employed, on a part-time basis, as a medical assistant in the Neurorehabilitation Department of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Chișinău. After graduating, from 2019 he has been following the residency programme in orthopaedics and traumatology at the „Sfântul Spiridon” County Emergency Clinical Hospital in Iași, Romania.
Beginnings in armwrestling
Known as „Brațul de Aur al Moldovei” [Moldova’s Golden Arm], Daniel Procopciuc is one of the most decorated armwrestlers in Europe. Over the course of his career he has won more than 130 medals at national and international competitions and has represented the Republic of Moldova at the most important world and European championships.
Alongside competing, he is vice-president of the Armwrestling Federation of the Republic of Moldova, contributing to the promotion and development of the sport.
Daniel is also a regular presence at the prestigious international tournament „East vs West Armwrestling”, one of the strongest professional competitions in the world, where the best athletes from Europe and Asia compete against those from North America, South America and Australia.
Today, Daniel Procopciuc is regarded as one of the finest armwrestlers in the world and one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the Republic of Moldova in this discipline.
Main sporting achievements
2014
„X-Men” International Championship (Brescia, Italy):
- First place – right arm, junior category -75 kg
- First place – left arm, junior category -75 kg
- Third place – seniors -75 kg
„Bătălia Titanilor” International Championship (Odesa, Ukraine):
- First place – right arm, category -78 kg
- First place – left arm, category -78 kg
- Second place – Open category
2015
European runner-up, left arm, junior category -75 kg.
2016
- Double world runner-up in the junior category -75 kg (left arm and right arm)
- European champion, right arm, junior category -75 kg
- Champion of the Balkan Professional League, category -80 kg
- Overall champion, left arm, and overall runner-up, right arm, at the „Boiar Armwrestling Național” competition
Notable results at the „Codlea Power Cup” competition, Romania.
Also in 2016 he was named a laureate of the Students’ Gala of the „Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, in recognition of his academic results and sporting achievements.
2017–2020
During this period Daniel Procopciuc continued to win medals at the European and World Championships and to establish himself in the senior category, becoming one of the leaders of the national squad of the Republic of Moldova.
2021
Daniel Procopciuc became professional world champion, defeating the legendary Russian athlete Oleg Cherkasov in the final of the up to 70 kg category, confirming his elite status in world armwrestling.
2022–2025
During this period he maintained his position among the finest athletes in the world, taking part in numerous editions of the professional East vs West Armwrestling tournament, where he secured important wins against top opponents.
2026
In May 2026 Daniel Procopciuc wrote a new page in the history of Moldovan sport, becoming a double European champion at the European Championship held in Budapest, Hungary.
He took the gold medal with both the left arm and the right arm in the 75 kg category, thereby reaching the remarkable total of 11 European champion titles in his career.
Honours and awards
- 11 European champion titles
- 4 world champion titles
- Professional world champion
- More than 130 national and international medals
- Laureate of the Students’ Gala of the „Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy
- Vice-president of the Armwrestling Federation of the Republic of Moldova
A regular competitor on the „East vs West Armwrestling” professional circuit.
Most important international wins
Over the course of his career, Daniel Procopciuc has secured wins against some of the finest armwrestlers in the world, among them:
- Oleg Cherkasov (Russia) – world champion, defeated in the 2021 world final
- Nodar Bojgua (Georgia) – defeated in the final of the 2026 European Championship
- Aleksi Zavrashvili (Georgia) – defeated in the final of the 75 kg category at the 2026 European Championship
- numerous champions from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine and Bulgaria in WAF and East vs West competitions
- East vs West Armwrestling
Daniel Procopciuc is one of the few Moldovan athletes to have become champions in the prestigious East vs West professional league, where he holds the belt in the 77 kg category