Apollon (strongman)

Apollon the Mighty (21 February 1862 – 18 October 1928), born Louis Uni, was a French strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially famous for his exceptional grip strength.

[3] Aged 14 he ran away from his parents' house and joined the traveling Italian circus ‘Caramagne’ at Lunel near his home town.

Uni took over the Café Fontaine in Paris, and after renovating it named it ‘Concert Apollon’ and began to put on theatrical programmes with athletic acts thrown in.

[8] Part of Uni's stage act was called ‘Escaping Prisoner’, during which he would bend the tempered iron bars of a cage through which he would then pass.

On 18 December 1892, at the Théâtre des Variétésin Lille in France Uni cleaned and jerked a 155 kilogram double barbell, with two weighted globes on each end of the bar.

It is now an important piece of strongman history, and is still a challenging feat for the modern day strongmen for its three notable features that made it hard to lift: the thick, nearly 2-inch diameter of the bar, its smooth surface and because the wheels were not revolving.

From 2002 to 2009, 9 more men: Mark Henry, Mark Philippi, Svend Karlsen, Raimonds Bergmanis, Vasyl Virastyuk, Mikhail Koklyaev, Andrus Murumets, Benedikt Magnússon and Derek Poundstone managed to power clean and either press or jerk the 166 kg (366 lb) implement overhead.

Additionally, 15 more men including Žydrūnas Savickas and Brian Siders managed to either press or jerk it following a continental clean.

When attempting to hold back two motorcars with outstretched hands he cried out in pain and suddenly dropped to the ground, having torn the muscles of his arms and burst a blood vessel.