Ivan Poddubny — “The Russian Hercules”

Ivan Poddubny was one of the greatest Russian wrestlers. He was born in a small village in 1871.

His parents were farmers. Ivan had to work hard.

It helped him to become a strong man.

When he was 17 years old he left his village and went to Sevastopol. There he worked in a port.

One day in 1896 Ivan and his friends went to the circus. There, for the first time in his life, he saw wrestlers. Ivan wanted to become a wrestler, too. After some training he became a wrestler in a Russian circus.

As a sportsman he went to Europe, Asia, America and Africa. He fought with the strongest men of the world and almost always won. That is why people called him “The Champion of Champions». He is a well-known sports hero in Russia.