Olympic wrestling champion Balboshin describes legendary grip strength

Five-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling Nikolai Balboshin discussed his legendary grip strength in an interview. Balboshin described how he could judge opponents' strength through handshakes before matches, and how he would deliberately squeeze forearms during wrestling to cause swelling by stopping blood flow. He recounted breaking a medical dynamometer that measured up to 120 units when other wrestlers registered 60-70. Balboshin also described making opponents' hands swell to the point they couldn't continue matches, and recalled squeezing the King of Sweden's hand hard enough to make it crackle during a 1977 world championship medal ceremony. He noted that grip strength was one of his signature techniques throughout his wrestling career, with few able to withstand his handshake pressure.