Each country has its own national heroes who are proud of the people. And it doesn’t matter what the political situation is, what forces rule today: a person who brought fame to his country should be revered, and even more so a person like Poddubny Ivan Maksimovich, whose biography is similar to an interesting novel with all the vicissitudes of life.
Childhood and youth
Ivan Poddubny was born on October 9, 1871. His family lived in Ukraine, in the village of Krasenivka, Poltava province. Today it is the Cherkasy region, where even in those days the peasants were engaged in arable farming. The future champion spent his childhood and youth in his native places, where he lived until the age of 21. It was a large family, Ivan was the oldest. But besides him there were six more children: three brothers and three sisters. Both parents and children were physically very strong and he althy. Maxim Ivanovich, the father of the family, was a he althy man and possessed great physical strength. A real hero who was compared to Hercules.
Ivan Poddubny: biography, family
The same strong grew andthe eldest son is Vanya. He was still 15 years old, and he already took part in the fight on sashes and was not afraid to grapple with his father. When he was 22 years old, he left home and worked in Sevastopol as a loader in the port. After working for two years, Poddubny moved to Feodosia. Here he got a job as a worker in the Livas company. During this period of life, Ivan begins to seriously engage in physical exercises. In the morning he runs, does exercises. Constantly exercising with dumbbells, lifting weights.
The young years of Ivan Poddubny's life are closely connected with work in the circus. In 1896, Beskorovayny's circus came to Feodosia on tour. Ivan attended one performance and after that went there every evening. He was especially interested in the performance, in which the athletes performed various tricks: they lifted weights and barbells, broke horseshoes, and bent thick metal rods. When, at the end of the performance, the athletes offered those who wished to repeat their tricks for a reward, Ivan Poddubny decided to test himself and entered the arena. The first attempt was unsuccessful. But Poddubny Ivan is a belt wrestler, and he managed to defeat almost all opponents. Only one did not master - the huge giant Pyotr Yankovsky.
After such a performance, an invitation was received to work as an athlete in the circus. Since then, a passion for circus art has come. The Truzzi circus worked in Sevastopol, where Poddubny went in 1897. He was recruited into a troupe of wrestlers led by Georg Lurich. After some period of time - work in the Nikitin circus. And since 1903, seriousFrench wrestling. Since that time, the life of Ivan Poddubny has changed: he became the winner of all the championships that were held in the country.
Sports achievements
In Kyiv, a club of athletes was created, which was founded by doctors E. Garnich-Garnitsky and A. Kuprin. In this club, Poddubny Ivan, a fighter by vocation, conducted his training. According to the observations of the club doctor, the ability of an athlete is that he is able to develop such strong energy at the right moment, which is like an explosion. In difficult and dangerous moments of the struggle, he did not experience confusion, did not lose courage. Poddubny was a smart and artistic athlete who was very popular with the public.
By 1903, Poddubny Ivan Maksimovich became a professional belt wrestler, who was already known in Kyiv, Odessa, Tbilisi, Kazan.
Private life
Working in the Kiev circus, the athlete fell in love with the gymnast Masha Dozmarova, who performed under the dome of the circus. She was his opposite: a small, fragile girl who was flexible and fearless. She worked on the trapeze without insurance.
Ivan watched her performance and was horrified at the risk she was exposed to. He courted her, and this did not go unnoticed: Masha also fell in love with the hero.
Tragic death
They became a bride and groom. They even set a date for the wedding. The brave man Ivan was not afraid of anything in the world, he just could not look at Masha's performances. He was so worried and afraid for her,that his heart ached. There was another performance. Masha performed her number to the music. When the most terrible moment came, the drum roll sounded. When there was a dull sound, Ivan jumped into the arena. Masha was lying in the arena and she was dead.
He wanted to live without her. Experiencing a terrible event, Poddubny leaves the circus. Shutting himself in, Ivan did not want to see anyone, to talk to anyone. He did not know what to do next: return home or go to Sevastopol and work as a loader? When the heartache subsided, Ivan received an invitation to participate in the World Championship in France.
Russian hero
He really looked like a real hero: Ivan Poddubny's height was 185 cm. Chest volume - 130 cm, biceps - 45 cm. At that time, these figures were very impressive. At the invitation of G. I. Ribopierre, Poddubny entered the St. Petersburg Athletic Society and began to seriously engage in French wrestling. Under the guidance of coach Eugene de Paris, the athlete was trained for three months. And now the Russian hero goes to Paris, where the championship was held at the Casino de Paris.
Paris experience
Poddubny Ivan, a fighter from God, has already won eleven victories, when the turn came to measure strength with the champion of Paris Raoul de Boucher. He was a young man, but also very strong physically. The age difference was significant: the enemy was 20 years old, Poddubny was 35 years old. But he felt during the fight that he would defeat the Frenchman. After a short period of time, the opponent becamecovered with sweat and simply slipped out of the hands of the Russian hero. The secret was revealed: it turned out that before the start of the battle, Raul was lubricated with olive oil. But this was prohibited by the rules of the competition. The fight was stopped at the request of Poddubny: he filed a protest with the judges.
According to their decision, the French athlete was wiped with a towel every five minutes, but he still sweated. After the end of the fight, the victory was awarded to Raul de Boucher. The judges justified their decision by the fact that the athlete very skillfully avoided the opponent's captures. Poddubny Ivan Maksimovich decided to take revenge.
Moscow Championship
His victorious march continued in Moscow, where the championship was held. Poddubny defeated all the participants here: Shemyakin, Lurich, Yankovsky. For this he receives a worthy first prize. Next - a trip to the provinces, where there are sold-out circuses: the reason is Ivan Poddubny. The weight that he was able to lift without any preparation is 120 kg. In 1904, the Ciniselli Circus hosted the international championship in French wrestling. Many famous wrestlers came to participate in it, including Raoul de Boucher.
Victory in Petersburg
The international championship lasted for a whole month. All the nobility of St. Petersburg sat in the front rows of the circus. The Russian athlete did not have a single defeat. Finally, it was the turn of the battle with Raul. Ivan Poddubny, a strong man, changed his technique this time and simply exhausted the Frenchman. Raul admitted his defeat. Of course, the first prize went to the Russian athlete. Along with the prize, he also received a cash equivalent of 55,000rubles.
But the victories did not cloud the athlete's head, and he continued to train, lived according to the regime. Every morning - exercises, weights, dousing with cold water. He walked daily with a metal cane in the fresh air. He was never owned by bad habits such as smoking and drinking. Ivan Poddubny, whose photos demonstrate this, retained his good he alth for a long time and looked great.
A busy life span
And here again Paris, and again the strongest wrestlers of all countries of the world. Ivan Poddubny, whose biography is full of championships and victories, goes to the capital of France in 1905. And here the strongman defeats everyone, even the well-known Iron Nese at that time - the Danish champion Nese Pedersen. For the championship, Poddubny receives the title of world champion and a bonus of 10,000 francs. Next, he is waiting for tours around the world.
There were trips to Nice, to Italy, Tunisia, Algeria, Germany. Everywhere Poddubny takes first place and receives first prizes. These years of Ivan Poddubny's life are so eventful, because victories and prizes await him everywhere, he received the title "Champion of Champions". In Vienna, he was awarded the title of champion in 1907 for the fourth time.
Victory March across Europe
All the years that followed this period were a real victorious procession of Poddubny. 1908 - victory in Paris at the World Cup, 1909 - the sixth victory in Germany. What is the secret of success and victories? First of all, this is the uncompromising nature of the champion. He wasincorruptible. He did not agree to fight according to the proposed scenario. Honor for such athletes as Ivan Poddubny, Ivan Zaikin, Nikolai Vakhturov, Ivan Shemyakin is more important than money.
Return Home
The period came when Ivan Poddubny decided it was time to leave his sports career. It happened in 1910. Saying goodbye to the circus arena, he returned home to the village of Krasenivka. Years pass, he is almost forty years old, it's time to think about the family. To begin with, the athlete decided to buy land for himself. In Bogohudovka, not far from his village, Ivan Poddubny acquired 130 hectares of land. His biography tells that he got married and started a family.
He bought allotments for his relatives, built himself a manor, two mills, bought a beautiful carriage. But the world champion and true professional Poddubny could not become a good landowner. He was illiterate, could not write well, did not recognize punctuation marks. At the table he clumsily used appliances. For Ivan Poddubny, it was too difficult, it was much easier to win in a fair fight than to take care of the household. Professional conscience and honor are the main things for such people, which should be remembered even now.
The collapse of a quiet life
Poddubny Ivan took care of the household for only three years. The family, for which he tried so hard, could not keep everything he gave her: the mill was burned by the younger brother, the second mill was sold to pay off debts. Competitors in the face of Rabinovich and Zarha defeated the great athlete in this “battle”. He returned to the carpet already in 1913.
Ivan Poddubny continued to show excellent results and calladmiration of fans and spectators. He never violated his principles and fought to an honest victory. But as time went on, life changed. There were global changes in the world: war, revolution. All this has affected the lives of many athletes, artists and cultural figures.
The Troubled Years
Ivan Poddubny, whose biography is full of events, was also at risk from the activities of various types of military groups. So, in 1919, drunken anarchists staged a shooting in the Zhytomyr circus. I had to run away without taking any things or money, wandering around the world. In the city of Kerch, he was shot by a drunken officer. During his wanderings, he met Nestor Makhno on his way.
There was a civil war, but Poddubny did not want to kill his compatriots, and therefore did not join anyone. He did not want to take up arms and continued to fight in the ring. Despite this, the Odessa Cheka arrested the champion. He was lucky only because many people remembered him and admired him. The authorities sorted things out and let him go. At this time, news came from home: the wife went to another man, taking with her his medals. The athlete stopped talking and eating, experienced a terrible depression. He was like this, Poddubny Ivan: the family and wife who betrayed ceased to exist for him. Subsequently, the wife wanted to return to him, but he no longer recognized her.
Country of Soviets
Finally, some order began to be established in the country, and the leadership came to the conclusion that the circus arena could serve as an excellent place for revolutionary agitation and propaganda. And in 1922 Ivan Poddubny continuedhis work in the Moscow circus. While on tour in Rostov-on-Don, Ivan Maksimovich met Maria Semyonovna, whom he married. And even got married in the church. Ivan Poddubny, whose photo spread all over the world, even began to look younger.
But now he has money problems. Therefore, it was necessary to tour, participate in various championships as much as possible. During the NEP period, he ended up in Germany. Here, too, he won many victories, despite the fact that he was much older than his rivals. Then he went to America - it was 1925.
America, America…
In America, he began to study freestyle wrestling. After training for a month, Ivan Poddubny was completely ready for fights. It was a real sensation, in which he was even named the champion of America. But even here there were problems: he was forced to stay in this country. They acted in different ways: they persuaded, threatened, did not pay money. But he is adamant and returns to his homeland in 1927. Here he continues his speeches further.
His circus life continued until the start of the 1941 war. He was at that time almost 70 years old. In 1939, Ivan Poddubny was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in the Kremlin. So the government appreciated his contribution to the development of sports. In addition, he became an Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
German occupation
Ivan Poddubny, whose biography, height, weight and worldwide fame inspired respect even for the German invaders, refused to be evacuated and continued to live with his wife in Yeysk. He never took off his order, even under the Germans. In order to somehow earn a living, he began to work in a billiard room. The athlete had to get food, because he never stopped training.
When the occupation was lifted, Ivan Poddubny again went on tour. The Honored Master of Sports of the USSR was awarded to the champion only in 1945. Despite his age, he continued to lead an active life. And two years later, at a performance in honor of the 50th anniversary of his work in the circus arena, the athlete still showed excellent results. But age still takes its toll, and this is inevitable.
Cruel reality
After a short time, Ivan Poddubny had a broken leg. And very soon, in 1949, he died of a heart attack. Today, a bust has been erected in the homeland of the champion, on which the words are carved: "Here lies the Russian hero." Since 1962, international tournaments for the prize of Ivan Poddubny have been held. He was the strongest man on Earth, not only physically, but also spiritually.
But not everything from the life of such a remarkable person is known to historians. There are many periods when his activities were not recorded, there is confusion with dates. Some historians argue that in the post-war famine, Ivan Poddubny did not have enough food. For an athlete who constantly trains, a special diet is required. The lack of vitamins, proteins and minerals could adversely affect the he alth of the famous hero. But the losses could not be replenished. After all, everything should be done on time, and realProtect the heroes of the Fatherland.
