Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Apollon - "Le Roi des Athletes"An extremely rare posterof the great French Strongman Apollon. he was called "Le Roi des Athletes" (The King of Athletes) for good reason, even a hundred years later no one has even come close to bettering any of his feats. He is shown performing a Muscle Out with a ring weight and a small horse! Apollon's famous wheels are pictured as well.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Feats of Strength, French Strongman, Muscle Out, Poster, Ring Weights
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ernest CadineErnest Cadine was a French Weightlifter who won the Gold Medal at the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium. He set six World records over his competitive career.
In 1925, Cadine performed a one-arm swing with 90 kilos which was actually greater than his own bodyweight. He could also right hand snatch 211 pounds and one-hand deadlifted the famous Apollon Wheels.
Labels: 1920 Olympics, Apollon's Wheels, Ernest Cadine, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Olympics
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Friday, April 25, 2008
| Charles Batta, or, as he was more commonly known "Batta" was an oldtime strongman famous for his incredible grip strength. Standing at 5'10" and a bodyweight of only 200 popunds, Batta was the only man who duplicated one of the Apollon's greatest feats: the lifting of four 44-pound blockweights overhead -- each tied to a finger of one hand. It was also written that Batta cleaned (but did not jerk) Apollon's famous railroad wheels - an incredible feat in its own right, but even more so due to his light bodyweight. |  Batta |
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Batta, Blockweights, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
John Davis Lifting The Apollon WheelsI've covered John Davis lifting the famous Apollon Wheels before, but you've probably never seen it from this angle before. This shot is from a French Newspaper and probably hasn't seen the light of day for over five decades.
You saw it here first...
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Challenge Weight, John Davis, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Thick Bar Lifting
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Apollon: King of StrengthLouis Uni, the French Strongman known professionally as "Apollon," was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest strongman who even lived.
It was Apollon, along with Louis Cyr who were dubbed "Les Rois de la Force" (Kings of Strength) by Professor Desbonnet because their strength was so far above and beyond the ordinary.
Apollon, who was at his peak during the 1890s, stood 6"2' and in solid muscular condition, around 260 pounds.
While he was certainly thickly-muscled and strong all over, he excelled in grip an forearm feats, especially lifting thick handled weights, such as the Challenge Weight that bears his name.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Forearm Strength, Grip Strength, Les Rois de la Force, Louis Uni, Oldtime Strongman, Professor Desbonnet, Strongman Feat
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, November 09, 2007
 Weightlifting ChampionJohn Davis | John Davis was one of America's greatest Olympic weightlifting champions. Throughout his career he won two gold medals: 1948(London) and 1952(Helsinki) He was also a Senior World Champion in 1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951. His best Olympic lifts were: |
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Clean and Jerk, Curl, Deadlift, Gold Medal, John Davis, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Press, Snatch, Squat, Weaver Stick
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, October 26, 2007
Charles RigoulotCharles Rigoulot was one of France's greatest weightlifters and easily one of the strongest men of all time. He won a Gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games, Cleaned and Jerked the famous Apollon Wheels and could snatch 255 pounds with one arm.
At 24 years of age, his measurements were as follows:
Weight: 230 pounds
Height: 5'7-3/4"
Chest: 49"
Waist: 37"
Thighs: 27-1/2"
Calf: 17-1/2"
Neck: 18-1/2"
Biceps: 17-1/2"
Forearm: 14-1/2"
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Oldtime Strongman, Olympics, one arm snatch, Strongman Feat
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, October 22, 2007
John Davis Lifts The Apollon WheelsSeptember 13th, 1949 -- American Olympic Weightlifting Champion John Davis succeeds in cleaning & jerking the famous Apollon Wheels. This weight once belonged to the great French Strongman Louis "Apollon" Uni who would lift it each night in his act.
The wheels themselves weigh 366 pounds connected by a 1.93" diameter axle making this feat an incredible test of grip strength. The widest diameter of each disc is 26 inches.
After passing out on a previous attempt, (dropping the weight and slightly bending the axle) John Davis cleaned the ponderous weight with a mixed grip, switched hands in mid-air, and jerked it overhead.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Grip Strength, John Davis, Olympics, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Feat, Thick Bar
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon WheelsAt the turn of the century, the French strongman Apollon introduced his famous challenge weight -- a pair of railcar wheels attached by a thick axle.
The whole affair weighed 366 lbs. but the real challenge laid in the 1.93 inch thick axle which meant that only the strongest pairs of hands would ever have a shot at breaking it free of the ground.
Apollon, who likely had the strongest grip in history, was the only man who ever lifted it for decades...
Many a strongman tried but all failed until the great french weight lifter Charles Rigoulot finally achieved the feat in 1930 after having trained for it over the course of several months.
Nearly two decades later the American weightlifting champion John Davis was able to lift the wheels on his second try (after passing out on his first attempt.)
On October 14th, 1954 another American weightlifting champion, Norbert Schemansky, "cleaned" the Apollon wheels and jerked them three times in succession, thus writing his name (again) in the record books.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Charles Rigoulot, Grip Strength, John Davis, Norb Schemansky, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Feat, Thick Bar
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
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