On April 18th, 1913, the Australian All-Around Athlete and Club Swinging champion Tom Burrows accomplished an incredible feat: he swung a pair of Indian Clubs for 100 hours straight without a rest. He averaged 80 repetitions a minute through the entire affair, a mind-boggling feat of muscular endurance and toughness. That's a record you won't see challenged any time soon.

The Italian strongman "Nino" had a flair for equipment that few others have ever matched.  His specialty was heavy supporting feats but in his act he preferred to use much more dramatic weights than many of his fellow strongmen.  Here's a look at Nino's 500kg (1100 lb.) globe barbell - it doesn't get more "Oldtime" than that! Nino himself is at the far left.

Already a strength star in his teens when he won the British national Championships, in 1896, Launceston Elliott traveled to Athens, Greece to represent England at the very first modern Olympic Games. Elliot had been trained by Eugen Sandow and bared quite a resemblance to his mentor.  Things were a bit different back then in weightlifting: they contested two events: the "one-hand lift" and the "two-hands lift" (i.e. the "clean and jerk.") In the first contest, the "two hand lift" Launceston tied with Viggo Jensen of Denmark when each lifted 111 kg (244-1/2 pounds). The Gold medal, however, was awarded to the Dane because the judges thought he lifted the weight "in much better form" than his English competitor.  In the one-hand event, Elliot lifted 71 kg to the Dane's 57 and thus Britain's first Olympic Gold medal winner was crowned! At the 1896 games, Elliott also competed in the 100m dash, wrestling, and rope climbing events.  Elliot performed credibly well in each even but did not match his weightlifting success. After his Olympic achievements, Elliot returned home to England, won the first major physique contest ever held and toured the country as a performing strongman.