Olympic wrestling champion Nikolai Balboshin recounts 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 gauge an opponent's strength by their handshake before a match, and during bouts he would squeeze forearms so hard that opponents' hands would swell up. He described how he would grab near the elbow and hold on while the opponent tried to pull away, creating a reverse massage effect that caused severe swelling. Balboshin recalled incidents where opponents collapsed unable to continue, crying that their arm was "dead." He also broke a dynamometer during a medical examination after exceeding its 120-unit maximum. In his autobiography, he recounted making a trainer's fingers look "flattened" and deliberately giving a strong handshake to the King of Sweden during an awards ceremony in 1977, believing he heard the king's fingers crunch.