Olympic wrestling champion Balboshin recalls crushing handshakes and grip strength

Nikolai Balboshin, five-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, discussed his legendary grip strength in an interview. Balboshin explained he could assess opponents' strength through pre-match handshakes and would intentionally squeeze their forearms during matches to cut off blood flow and cause swelling. He recounted incidents where he broke a medical dynamometer that maxed out at 120 units after other athletes registered 60-70. During sparring and matches, he would grip near opponents' elbows and hold on even as they tried to pull away, creating a reverse massage effect that caused hands to swell and become unusable. In his autobiography, Balboshin described making a coach's fingers appear flattened and causing the King of Sweden's knuckles to crack during a 1977 world championship medal ceremony.