Ernest Cadine

Ernest Cadine

Ernest 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.

---

Batta

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

---

Another Look at John Davis Lifting The Apollon Wheels

John Davis Lifting The Apollon Wheels
I'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...

---

Apollon: King of Strength

Apollon: King of Strength
Louis 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.

---

Weightlifting Champion John Davis

Weightlifting Champion John 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: Press - 342 Pounds Snatch - 330-1/2 Pounds Clean & Jerk - 402 Pounds

He also excelled in a number of other lifts, deadlifting 705 pounds, squatting 525 pounds eight times in succession, curling 215 pounds, chin himself with either arm multiple times, a right-hand lift of 8 pounds on a Weaver Stick in the Forward Lift style and one of the few men in history to Clean and Jerk the Apollon Wheels

---

Charles Rigoulot

Charles Rigoulot
Charles 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"

---

John Davis Lifts The Apollon Wheels

John Davis Lifts The Apollon Wheels
September 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.

---

Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon Wheels

Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon Wheels
At 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.

---