Zaporizhzhya Cossack Ivan Poddubny Bashny.Net

"Russian hero" Ivan Poddubny at the beginning of the XX century the world knew. In Germany and America, he was offered a fortune, but he preferred to all the benefits of the motherland, to the very end positioning itself as a Russian fighter.

Height - 184 cm; Weight - 139 kg; Neck - 50 cm; Biceps - 46 cm; Chest - 138 cm; Waist - 104 cm; Thigh - 70 cm; Shin - 47 cm.





Ivan Poddubny went to his father - a huge Zaporozhye Cossacks. Their ancestors had fought in the army of Ivan the Terrible, defending Russia from the Tatars, and under Peter I fought with the Swedes at Poltava. With him a little Ivan, to the delight of the villagers fought in the street. Both strongman surrounded on all sides by a wall close villagers took each other by the belt and does not let up until someone would be lying on the blades.

Poddubny left their homes because of the love drama - his girlfriend Alenka Vityak not given for it, for the poor. Posted to work in Sevastopol. I worked as a loader in the Greek company "Livas", then transferred to the port of Feodosia and lived with the two disciples marine classes. His neighbors have appeared inveterate athletes from them Poddubny learned that such training system.
Soon he began attending the circus Ivan Beskorovainaya to try to force well-known athletes and fighters - it could make anyone in the audience. The first match ended losing. It made Poddubny do workouts. He set himself a hard sport mode: exercises with 32-kg weights, 112-pound barbell, dousing with cold water, diet, elimination of tobacco and booze. So, with the defeat, he began racing career Ivan Poddubny.



His first triumph was held in the circus Italian Enrico Truzzi in Sevastopol. Young Ivan was a true hero of the epic - he had a phenomenal strength, athletic figure and a lovely crisp, masculine facial features. On stage he used to put on the shoulders of a telegraph pole and hung on both sides of a person ten, until the post is not broke. But it was just a warm-up! The culmination of the performance - native Russian wrestling on sashes: the rivals throwing leather straps to each other's waist, trying to knock him down. Poddubny his opponents lacked five minutes



The more Ivan gained popularity in the fight, the more he has the envious enemies. With one of them, the French athlete Raul de Boucher, his fate was pushing any time. They first met in the World Cup against the French in Paris, where nobody has known in Europe Poddubny, invited the Chairman of the St. Petersburg athletic society Earl Ribotpierre.

In Paris it was waiting 130 professional fighters. Conditions were tough competitions - the only defeat deprived the right of further participation in the competition. Already during the competitions the audience realized what a real "Russian bear". Ivan won eleven fights. Last, the twelfth was a favorite of Parisians Raul. That from the very first seconds of the bout went into a furious attack and soon ran out of steam. Poddubny only had to put it on the shoulder, but the Frenchman as the fish slipped from his hands. It became clear that Raul smeared some fatty substance. In response to the protest Poddubny, accusing the opponent of cheating, the panel of judges, though it was convinced that the body of Raul applied olive oil, it decided to continue the fight. Then she did award a victory to the Frenchman "for the beautiful and skillful moves away from sharp practices". In St. Petersburg, Paris learned about the incident, but did not want a big scandal, offered by cable Ground Jury repeat match Poddubny and Raul. But the "winner" categorically refused.

Fate gave Ivan the opportunity for revenge. When Raul came to St. Petersburg for the International Championship, he suggested Poddubny bribe of 20 thousand francs. For this Poddubny Frenchman put the ring on all fours and the whistling of the hall kept it for about twenty minutes. Raul released only at the insistence of the judges. Here's how to describe the struggle eyewitness: "By the end of the fight in the Pons pitiful sight: his trousers down, as if he suddenly lost centimeters twenty at the waist, his shirt rode up, crumpled and turned into a rag that wanted to squeeze».
They met again in international competitions for the title of champion of the world, which took place in the famous Parisian theater "Folies Bergere." It was Bortsova elite - 140 best representatives. We are betting on a fantastic amount. On Poddubny rates were not. And in vain - he won it! Triumph and the third on Raul le Boucher!

The French, meanwhile, was not about to give up the first places. Before their fourth meeting in Nice, Ivan was assassinated. If not for his intuition and physical strength, the four mercenaries killed him, apparently on request. Soon the rumor that Raul allegedly died from meningitis. Mercenaries, though not done their job, the customer demanded that the murder of the money. Raul turned them down, and beaten with rubber truncheons on the head, causing died.



Poddubny throughout his life had no luck with women. First love is married to another, the first bride - Maria Dozmarova, circus tightrope walker broke during speech. Therefore, to tie the knot Ivan was only 41 years old when he married the beautiful dazzling Antonina Kvitko-Fomenko. Together with her and-pound trunk of gold medals, he showed up in his native village Krasenovke and decided to start farming on a large scale. Regardless of the cost, I bought plenty of land, gave it all their relatives and yourself with the beloved Antonina built mansion with a mill and an apiary.

But the revolution broke out. She not only went through the financial position Poddubny, but in the face of Denikin's officers stole his wife, who did not forget to take with a fair amount of gold medals from the coveted chest. This news literally dumped Poddubny feet. Ivan Maksimovic refused food for days on end lying stopped recognize familiar. Much later, he admitted that he was on the edge of the madness. When a few years later ex-wife filed a Statement of news and asked forgiveness, Poddubny said, "snapped».

Ivan himself more than once that the only force that could beat him - women: "All my life I was a fool, the way knocked-track." And yet, when the athlete was already sixth decade, he was lucky to find, at last, true companion - Maria Semenovna, mother of a young soldier Ivan Mashonina (under the pseudonym Jan Romanich). To support his family, Poddubny went on foreign tours to Germany. But there he was offered a dishonest fight or lose a lot of money - people needed a sensational victory over the famous "Russian bear". Do not transferring to the spirit of businessmen in the sport, Ivan threw Europe and went to seek his fortune in America.

But Americans classic struggle was not honored - people demanded "bread and circuses": blood, cod bones, screams and pain. In short, he is fighting without rules. Even the famous wrestler Joe Stecher, whose powerful legs as pincers seized any opponent - can not beat 'Iron Ivan ", who by that time was already an old man.

Brilliantly meetings with the champions of America and Canada, Poddubny struggled in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco. He collected a full house. But he was drawn inexorably home on Russian land, despite the fact that in the 30 years the Soviet government expropriated his family. From America he actually ran away, terminating the contract and not taking a lot of money due to him. He did not just say, "" I - Russian wrestler.