It happened 77 years ago Charles Rigoulot Lifts the Apollon Wheels March 3rd, 1930
Charles Rigoulot
Preparing to right hand snatch
220 lbs. as an amateur
Deadlifting a Globe Barbell
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Sometime in the 1890's, the great professional French Strongman Apollon (Louis Uni) fashioned himself a "barbell" with two railcar wheels connected by a thick axle.
The axle itself was 1.93 inches in diameter and weighed 366 pounds, so any lift with it was quite a test of grip strength.
Apollon was said to have lifted (clean and jerked) this incredible weight every night in his stage performances.
At some point in the future we will have a more in-depth article on Apollon and his famous Wheels but for now, we will discuss why March 3rd, 2007 marks a significant date in their history.
It was 77 years ago on March 3rd, 1930 when French weight lifter Charles Rigoulot cleaned and jerked the Apollon wheels in front of 6000 people at Wagram Hall in Paris, France.
Rigoulot, who won a gold medal in weightlifting at the 1924 Olympic Games, could clean and jerk over 400 lbs., but had to practice with the wheels for several weeks before
he could lift them successfully.
Charles Rigoulot preferred to perform many of his lifts with globe weights and an unusually long bar.
Heres a look at some of Rigoulot's personal bests:
Right Hand Snatch - 255 lbs
Left Hand Snatch - 221 lbs
Right Hand Snatch with Dumbbell 221 lbs
Left Hand Snatch with Dumbbell 219 lbs
Two Hands Olympic Press 253 lbs
Left Hand Dumbbell Swing - 194 lbs
Right Hand Dumbbell Swing - 219 lbs
Two arm clean and jerk - 402.5 lbs
Two dumbbells clean and jerk - 294 lbs
Two Arm Deadlift - 621 lbs
Two arm snatch - 315 lbs
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Lifting the Apollon Wheels - March 3rd, 1930 - Paris, France
Want to train to lift the wheels? Train on one of these.
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