Famous strongman of the past and present: who is the strongest man on Earth

“The Amazing Samson” Alexander Zass

Our ranking of the strongest people on Earth opens with the legendary Alexander Zass , nicknamed “The Amazing Samson” for his incredible strength. Even during the First World War, our hero became famous for rescuing wounded comrades, and once pulled a shot horse from the battlefield on his shoulders. The horse-carrying trick later became one of his signature tricks and was documented. Having received serious wounds in both legs, Alexander Zass was captured, from where he made two unsuccessful escape attempts.

Ultimately, the famous strongman went to Europe, where he joined a traveling circus and through hard work made a big name for himself. Possessing very modest anthropometric data for a man of his profession (he weighed 75 kilograms, with a height of about 167 centimeters), “The Amazing Samson” demonstrated true miracles of strength and endurance. For example, a truck loaded with coal drove over his body. With his bare hands, this titan caught a cannonball fired from a cannon, performed a stretch with four horses, hammered nails into a board with his palm, and dragged a metal beam clamped in his teeth from floor to floor. The list of his incredible achievements can be listed for a very long time.

The athlete finished his circus activities only in 1954, when he was already 66 years old. But even at such an old age, he never ceased to amaze those around him with his incredible strength and good health. Thus, in one of the numbers, Alexander Ivanovich Zass delighted the audience by carrying a giant rocker across the arena, at each end of which was attached a cage with a live lion inside.

Alexander Ivanovich Zass never hid the fact that he developed his amazing strength by strengthening his tendons. For this purpose, the athlete developed his own system of isometric exercises performed with chains. For many heroes of the past and present, “The Amazing Samson” has become an immortal example. The modern successor of Zass is called the multiple Guinness Book record holder Alexander Dubrovin (Peresvet) .

Let us add that Alexander Dubrovin is an official and has been using the products of our company for a long time. To maintain good physical shape and quickly recover after serious exercise, the athlete recommends the Leveton Forte . This unique vitamin and mineral complex, created on the basis of natural plant components and bee products, helps increase testosterone levels and the natural growth of muscle mass without fat deposits.

Grigory Rusakov

Kuryan Grigory Rusakov became a world-famous wrestler after his debut in the Donbass, where he worked in a mine.
After conquering Russia, Rusakov won world championships in Argentina (1913) and Paris (1915). Like other famous fighters, he was personally exempted from military service by Nicholas II. But not everything was smooth in Rusakov’s life. He was prosecuted three times in 1929, 1938, 1944.

Rusakov was also known for repeatedly engaging in exhibition fights with bears, bending horseshoes and rails, and once in London defeating a bull in a fight.

Famous long-living strongman Joe Rollino

Another person, far from having a heroic physique, but at the same time possessing truly fantastic strength, was the famous Italian-American athlete Joe Rollino . He gained world fame and the loud title “The Strongest Man on Earth” at the age of 18, when he managed to lift a load weighing about 500 kilograms from the ground. At the same time, Rollino’s weight never exceeded 68 kilograms. The strongman could hold a weight of about 300 kilograms on one finger, almost one and a half tons on his back, and 215 kilograms with his teeth.

Joe Rollino himself assured that the secret of his success was a complete abstinence from tobacco, alcohol and meat (it is known that he was a staunch vegetarian ). The fact that the athlete led an exceptionally healthy lifestyle is eloquently evidenced by the fact that he lived to be 104 years old. But even after reaching the century mark, Joe remained in excellent physical shape. One day, in front of his friend, a famous strongman easily bent a copper coin with two fingers.

The life of this incredible man was tragically cut short in 2010 when he was hit by a passing car while crossing the street.

Kozhemyaka

Yan Usmar or Kozhemyaka. The story about him is contained in the oldest Russian chronicle, The Tale of Bygone Years. In 992, the Pechenegs attacked Rus'. Prince Vladimir managed to withdraw his army against the nomads in time. Both troops stopped in front of each other on the banks of the Trubezh River. Nobody dared to start a battle. And then the Pechenezh Khan suggested that the prince not organize a mass slaughter, but resolve the matter through single combat between combatants. Vladimir agreed. Then a hero of enormous size emerged from the Pecheneg army. He rode his horse along the line of Russian troops, demonstrating his physical condition and combat skills. Apparently, both made a great impression on the warriors - no one dared to challenge the mighty Pecheneg. Prince Vladimir was upset. In case of defeat, he had to pay tribute to the Pechenegs. And the honor of the Russian army was under threat.

For three days they could not find a fighter in the Russian army. The prince was almost completely desperate. And then “one old man” came out of the regiment, who said that he had come to battle with his three sons. And I left the fourth at home. But this fourth one is the strongest of all. He is a leather worker - he crumples leather with his hands every day. And from this, in modern parlance, he “swobbled.” In street brawls, no one could ever defeat him. And when his father began to scold him for something, Kozhemyaka tore a whole pile of skins with his hands.

They quickly sent for the young man to Kyiv. Kozhemyaka arrived and, realizing what was required of him, asked to be tested first. A bull was found for the test (obviously, the Pecheneg warrior was of considerable size if a bull was required to simulate a fight). The bull was enraged with a hot iron. The bull, furious with pain, galloped away. And Kozhemyaka tore a piece of skin and meat from his carcass. Such was his strength. It is clear that he defeated the Pecheneg hero, for which he received a well-deserved reward from the prince.

"The New Samson" Louis Cyr

Canadian athlete Louis Cyr , nicknamed “New Samson”, is not in vain considered one of the strongest people of all time. The abilities of this amazing man amaze the imagination, and many of the records he set more than a century ago still remain unsurpassed. Even in his youth, he became famous throughout the area for pulling a cart loaded with grain, along with a horse, out of a swamp. And when he was a Montreal policeman, he became a threat to all the surrounding hooligans, after he dragged two criminals to the station, holding them under his arms.

Louis Cyr held on his back a platform with a group of adults weighing more than 2 tons, lifted about 450 kilograms from the ground with one hand, and over 250 kilograms with one finger. At the same time he could hold the reins of up to four hot horses. By the way, he demonstrated this trick in front of the admiring Queen Victoria.

Evpatiy Kolovrat

Evpatiy Kolovrat can be called the most powerful Russian governor.
The “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu” tells how Evpatiy and his squad entered into an unequal battle with hordes of Mongol-Tatars “And Evpatiy beat them so mercilessly that their swords were dulled, and he took Tatar swords and cut them with them.” Batu sent his best hero Khostovrul to deal with Evlampius. Kolovrat cut him in half down to the saddle. Only with battering guns were the Mongol-Tatars able to defeat Kolovrat’s squad, and the body of governor Batu was given to the remnants of the squad for an honorable funeral - a unique case in ancient Russian history.

“King of the Barbell” Vasily Alekseev

Speaking about heroes of the past and present, one cannot help but mention the name of the famous Soviet weightlifter, the legendary “King of the Barbell” Vasily Ivanovich Alekseev . During his life, he set 80 world records, many of which remained unsurpassed. A multiple world, European and USSR champion, two-time Olympic champion in weightlifting, during his lifetime he was awarded the unofficial title of “The Strongest Man on Earth.”

At the same time, Vasily Ivanovich trained mainly according to his own methods, which he began to actively implement when he was the coach of the Soviet Union weightlifting team. The great weightlifter left behind a rich sports heritage, raising a new generation of Olympic champions.

Skopin Shuisky

Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky was an invincible commander of the Time of Troubles.
He suppressed the Bolotnikov uprising, negotiated with the Swedes, began to reform the Russian army, but was poisoned by the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov due to the political intrigues of Dmitry Shuisky. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, Mikhail Vasilyevich was distinguished by a heroic build. The historical museum houses Skopin-Shuisky's broadsword. A heavy weapon for a very strong person.

Young hero Bruce Khlebnikov

Our ranking of the most powerful people on Earth will be incomplete without the name of the young hero Bruce Khlebnikov . A miracle boy was born on a train traveling along the Tula-Moscow route, and was named after the legendary Hong Kong actor Bruce Lee .

He set his first record, later included in the Guinness Book, at the age of 6, dragging a passenger car with a driver behind him on a cable. At the age of 8, the boy squeezed an 8-kilogram weight 300 times, and at 11, he moved a heavy construction crane weighing 38 tons. To date, he has already achieved more than 30 world achievements, and the famous strongman prodigy does not intend to stop there. Bruce's abilities are undoubtedly a natural gift. Possessing an athletic, but far from outstanding physique, the young strongman does truly amazing things.

He easily tears apart a 700-page telephone directory with his bare hands, and moves multi-ton airplanes, buses, trucks and boxcars. Using his long hair, the guy dragged a steamer with passengers weighing 22 tons against the current! Is there a limit to his fantastic power? The answer to this question can only be given by Bruce Khlebnikov himself, who turns 28 this year.

Ivan Poddubny

Everyone knows who Ivan Poddubny is.
This is the most famous Russian strongman, weightlifter, and wrestler. Interestingly, Poddubny lost his first fight. This motivated him very much: he set himself a strict training regimen, exercised with two-pound weights, a 112-kilogram barbell, gave up tobacco and alcohol, and doused himself with cold water. Until the end of his life he carried a cast iron cane with him. He didn't lose again. Poddubny also conquered America. There he filled the halls, competing according to the rules of American wrestling. He actually fled from the USA, terminating the predatory contract and leaving the fees due to him to the Americans.

At the end of his life, Poddubny admitted that the only force that could defeat him was women: “All my life, I, a fool, have been led astray.”

Donetsk hero Dmitry Khaladzhi

Dmitry Khaladzhi is the continuer of the glorious traditions of the great strongmen of the past. The Donetsk hero already has 63 records, including those included in the Guinness Book. Dmitry became famous throughout the world after he lifted a lump of coal weighing 152 kilograms over his head, and did it with one hand. Thus, he managed to break a record that had stood for several centuries. If you believe the records that have survived to this day, a similar trick was demonstrated in ancient times by the athlete Bibon, who lifted a stone weighing 143 kilograms, but with two hands. At the same time, Dmitry lifts a 40-kilogram load on one little finger, and lifts a projectile weighing more than a ton from the ground and holds it for several seconds.

The signature trick of the Donetsk hero is called “Devil's Forge”. In it, 2 concrete slabs of 700 kilograms each are broken one by one on the strongman’s chest with a sledgehammer. At the same time, Dmitry himself lies with his back on a board studded with nails. By the way, the athlete does something with nails that only a few can replicate: with his bare hands he braids them into a braid, and with his palm he hammers them into a board through an iron sheet. Another famous and deadly trick by Dmitry Khaladzhi involves throwing a 100-kilogram barbell onto an athlete’s neck.

Dmitry’s achievements also inspire respect because as a child he suffered a severe injury, from which he barely managed to recover. Having received a burn on about 35 percent of his body, the boy bravely endured several skin grafting operations and proved that mental strength is no less important than physical strength. The famous strongman performs strength routines in the circus arena, and also works as a lifeguard. His strength is so enormous that he, without the help of any tool, tears out the doors and engines of mangled cars. If anyone doubts that superheroes really exist, then Dmitry Vasilyevich Khaladzhi is living proof to the contrary.

In 2013, Dmitry made his debut as a film actor, playing the role of the famous 20th century strongman Ivan Firtsak in the film “ Ivan the Strength ”. Moreover, the Donetsk hero performed all the stunts on the set live, without doubles or editing.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko, the “last emperor,” remained undefeated for almost ten years, which is unprecedented in the history of MMA.
Emelianenko is a four-time world champion in MMA heavyweight according to Pride FC, two-time according to RINGS, two-time according to WAMMA, four-time world champion and seven-time champion of Russia in combat sambo. Honored Master of Sports in Sambo and International Master of Sports in Judo.

This summer, the “last emperor” returned to sports. On December 31st we will cheer for him at a tournament in Japan.

Writers

"Bull Buster" Masutatsu Oyama

The name of the legendary founder of the Kyokushinkai karate school, Masutatsu Oyama, is certainly worthy of mention in our ranking of heroes of the past and present. The strength of this Korean master was so great that he trained in fights not with people, but with bulls. It is known that during his life the famous strongman fought more than fifty similar fights, three of which ended sadly for the powerful animals, and Oyama himself was then awarded the ironic nickname “Bull Slayer.” After this, the athlete declared that he was ready to fight even a tiger and a bear, for which he received an official ban. Animal advocates are seriously worried about the lives of these formidable predators.

With the edge of his palm, the master cut off the horn of a bull or the neck of a glass bottle. With a blow of his fist he broke huge blocks of stone or ice, strong boards, stacks of bricks and tiles. It is not surprising that not every one of his students took the risk of going out against the “Bull Fighter” even in training sparring.

Peter the First

Peter the Great can safely be called the most powerful Russian Tsar.
His height was 204 centimeters, and his physical strength amazed his contemporaries. Peter twisted coins with his fingers, rolled cast-iron frying pans “into a ram’s horn,” and personally checked the suitability of a horseshoe for his horse Lisette, breaking one after another. There is more than one folk tale about the strength of Peter the Great.

Polish famous strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski

Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is well known to all fans of the “ The Strongest Man on the Planet ” tournament. The Polish strongman is so far the only five-time winner of this title and twice the silver medalist of “ Worlds Strongest Man ”. He also owns a number of world records set in strength athletics competitions.

After finishing his strongman career in 2009, Mariusz Pudzianowski took up rugby and mixed martial arts, achieving good results in both sports. The famous strongman also tried himself as an actor. He starred in the remake of the cult film Conan the Barbarian. Let us add that the Polish strongman, who devoted most of his life to powerlifting, is the envy of many bodybuilders, thereby refuting the established opinion that it is impossible to be both strong and harmoniously developed.

Georg Hackenschmidt

Georg Hackenschmidt.
"Russian Lion". Georg Hackenschmidt was not, of course, an ethnic Russian. He was a Baltic German. In imperial times, the Baltic states were part of Russia, so Georg began his athletic career by performing in the rings of the Russian Empire. His first coach and “spiritual father” was the St. Petersburg doctor Vladislav Frantsevich Kraevsky. By luck, Georg was among the members of the “circle of athletics enthusiasts”, which Kraevsky organized. Gackenschmidt received the nickname “Russian Lion” even when he lived in London.

If Poddubny had physical strength by nature, then Gakkenshmidt, having, of course, certain natural inclinations, achieved unique results by methodically working on his body.

He is the author of the squat technique, well known to everyone who has been involved in iron sports. This is the Hackenschmidt squat. The squat is performed with weights (a kettlebell or a barbell), which the athlete holds in his hands behind his back.

This exercise perfectly develops the thigh muscles (especially the quadriceps). Today there are special simulators that allow you to perform this exercise especially effectively.

In honor of the famous athlete, these devices are called hack machines. There is no such room where this simulator would not be available.

Lithuanian strongman Zydrunas Savickas

Lithuanian strongman Zydrunas Savickas has become a living legend of strength athletics. This big man from the small Baltic country is a four-time winner of the title “The Strongest Man on the Planet”, an eight-time winner of the prestigious Arnold Classic and a multiple Guinness World Record holder. In total, the powerful athlete has already set 40 world records and is not going to rest quietly on his laurels. Now Savickas is 41 years old, but he is in excellent physical shape and is ready to regain the title of the strongest man on the planet, which he last defended in 2014.

The Lithuanian strongman's sports career almost ended in 2001, when he suffered a severe knee injury while doing powerlifting and was out of action for a long time. To increase the strength of joints and prevent such injuries, we can recommend the Dandelion P . This unique remedy that restores the chondrocyte layer of joints effectively helps in the fight against arthrosis.

Ivan Lebedev

In 1916, Ivan Lebedev (strongmen called him “Uncle Vanya”) published the book “A Guide to How to Develop Your Strength by Exercising with Heavy Kettlebells.”
Lebedev not only developed athletics and wrestling in Russia, but was also a renowned strongman himself. He studied with the same luminary of “Russian power” Vladislav Kraevsky. Lebedev published the Hercules magazine and was the first promoter in Russia. His notes are still interesting today.

Regarding the lifestyle, he wrote: “The human body does not tolerate constraint, but any excess is harmful. As for food, I strongly advise against eating meat: it introduces putrefactive decomposition products into your body and forms uric acid, which poisons the body. The basic rule for eating is to chew as slowly as possible. I don’t recommend drinking alcohol and smoking at all. Sleep – 7–8 hours. Dress without wrapping yourself up or wearing warm underwear. Fresh air and water (showers or washes) are necessary for every person who wants to be strong and healthy.”

The strongest woman in the world Becca Swanson

When compiling a list of the most powerful people on Earth, we could not ignore the beautiful half of humanity. Representatives of the fairer sex are also capable of showing miracles of strength, and American Becca Swanson , who bears the title of “The Strongest Woman in the World,” is an eloquent confirmation of this.

Becca began her sports career in bodybuilding and managed to achieve quite decent physical performance even by male standards. Suffice it to say that her biceps measure 46 centimeters. However, the athlete was no longer interested in simply increasing muscle volume, and she decided to try her hand at powerlifting.

Not every male powerlifter can repeat the achievements of this hero in powerlifting. Her best results in the bench press, deadlift and squat are 270, 310 and 387 kilograms, respectively.

The list of the greatest heroes of the past and present can be continued for a very long time. People of exceptional strength have always been and remain the pride of any nation. Some of them went down in history as sports reformers, others became legends during their lifetime, inspiring thousands of followers with their example.

Grigory Kashcheev

In this photo with prominent and far from small wrestlers, Grigory Kashcheev stands out with his height - 218 cm and his uniform - a simple blouse.
In 1906, Grigory Kashcheev first met world-class wrestlers and became friends with Zaikin, who helped him enter the big arena.

Soon Kashcheev defeated all the famous strongmen, and in 1908, together with Poddubny and Zaikin, he conquered Paris at the World Championship.

Having started so brilliantly, Kashcheev’s career did not work out - the wrestler became a downshifter, refused the most lucrative offers, abandoned everything and went to his village to plow the land.

Vladimir Gilyarovsky

Another Russian strongman from literature is Vladimir Gilyarovsky.
At sixteen he ran away from home. Having walked two hundred kilometers from Vologda to Yaroslavl, he hired himself into the burlatsk artel. At first, the barge haulers doubted whether to take the boy, but Gilyai had amazing physical strength, pulled a nickel out of his pocket and easily rolled it into a tube.

Mikhail Chekhov recalled the first visit of “Uncle Gilay” to Chekhov’s house: “He immediately became familiar with us, invited us to feel his iron muscles in his arms, rolled a penny into a tube, and screwed a teaspoon.”

Tags: wrestlers • opportunities • interesting • history • people • Russia • strongmen • strong

Lev Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy was a powerful old man.
There were rings and a trapeze in his house, and there was a horizontal bar in the yard. The writer worked with weights until his old age. He once remarked: “After all, you know, I lifted five pounds with one hand.” It's hard to doubt this. At the age of seventy, the “Yasnaya Polyana elder” outpaced the boys in running, swam excellently, and rode horses well. A year before his death, in 1909, when Tolstoy was 82 years old, in a playful argument he defeated all the guests in “arm wrestling.”

Tolstoy, who became one of the first fighters for sobriety and a healthy lifestyle, said: “For me, the daily movement of bodily work is as necessary as air. With assiduous mental work without movement and physical labor, there is real grief.”

Anthropometry of natural athletes

Some cells were left blank. If you have missing data, write them in the comments to the article, and together we will supplement the table. In the future, I will try to devote a separate article to each athlete, which will outline the biography, photographs of the athlete and strength records. Links will appear as articles are written.