Olympic wrestling champion Nikolai Balboshin describes his legendary grip strength

Five-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling Nikolai Balboshin has shared remarkable stories about his exceptional grip strength in an interview. Balboshin explained that he could feel opponents' grip strength during pre-match handshakes and use that to gauge their toughness. During matches, he would squeeze opponents' forearms so hard that blood flow stopped and their arms would swell. He recounted instances where opponents' arms became so damaged they couldn't continue wrestling. In one documented case at a medical dispensary, he broke a dynamometer that measured grip strength after exceeding its 120-unit maximum. Perhaps most notably, during a 1977 world championship medal ceremony, he squeezed the hand of the King of Sweden hard enough that he heard the royal fingers crunch, ensuring the monarch would remember the encounter. Balboshin's autobiography describes his crushing handshake as a signature move that few could withstand.