Olympic wrestling champion Balboshin describes crushing handshake strength

Five-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist Nikolai Balboshin revealed stories about his exceptional grip strength in an interview. Balboshin explained that he could squeeze opponents' forearms during matches so hard that their hands would swell, giving him a tactical advantage. He described evaluating opponents based on their handshake strength before matches to gauge their toughness. During one instance at a medical examination, Balboshin broke a dynamometer that measured grip strength after exceeding its maximum reading of 120. In his autobiography, he recounted making a rival coach's fingers appear "flattened" during a prolonged handshake test, and deliberately giving Sweden's king a memorable handshake during a 1977 world championship medal ceremony, believing he heard the monarch's fingers crunch.