Tag: Franz Bienkowski

Viktor Solovyev

Posted on Monday, January 1st, 2018 by John Wood
Viktor Solovyev, the great Ukranian strongman and wrestler, is shown here looking quite impressive in this rare picture take around 1906. As far as his lifting feats, he was able to ‘slow curl’ 165 pounds, perform a Crucifix Lift with 60 pounds in each hand and could jerk 293 pounds. As a wrestler, he defeated Franz ‘Cyclops’ Bienkowski, the French Giant Louis ‘Apollon’ Uni, George Lurich, Pyotr Krylov and many others on the way to winning several world championships.

Charles A. Sampson

Posted on Monday, February 27th, 2012 by John Wood

Charles A. Sampson

Charles A. Sampson was a turn-of-the-century strongman who, unlike any of his contemporaries, claimed his great strength came not from physical training but a result of having been struck by lightning as a small child!

As noted in Physical Training Simplified by Mark Berry, Sampson could perform a Harness Lift with 4008 pounds and frequently collaborated with the famous coin breaker Franz “Cyclops” Bienkowski.

Sampson and Cyclops were both handily defeated by Eugen Sandow in a famous challenge match in 1889.