Soviet wrestling legend Nikolai Balboshin describes his legendary grip strength

Olympic champion and five-time world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Nikolai Balboshin shared stories about his extraordinary grip strength in an interview. The 1976 Olympic gold medalist explained that he could judge opponents by their handshake before matches, and would deliberately squeeze their forearms during bouts until their hands swelled from restricted blood flow. Balboshin recounted an incident where an opponent's arm became so damaged they couldn't continue, crying 'my arm is dead!' He also broke a dynamometer during a medical examination when he exceeded its 120-unit maximum capacity. In his autobiography, Balboshin described his 'friendly handshake' that made sparks fly from people's eyes, including a memorable encounter where he made the King of Sweden's knuckles crack during a 1977 world championship medal ceremony. After retiring, Balboshin completely eliminated sports supplements from his life.