Athelda
Sandwina
Katie (Kate) Brumbach ("Great Sandwina") - possibly the best ever known strongwoman. She was born in 1884 in Vienna, Austria and passed away in 1952. Katie was the second oldest of 15 children whose parents were circus performers. Her parents, Philippe and Johanna Brumbach acted as a powerful pair in fairs and circuses and they had fourteen children. Kate participated in circus spectacles with her family, and the most exciting moment came when her father offered 100 marks to any man in the audience who would capable to defeat his daughter Kate in wrestling. According to the legend, nobody earned the 100 marks. Her husband of 52 years, Max Heymann, was one of those daredevils who accepted the challenge.
Famous powerlifter Eugene Sandow appeared in New York and responded to Kate’s strength challenge. Kate started lifting weights increasingly heavier and heavier and Sandow, subsequently, caught the ones she left and lifted them at the same time. Finally, Kate lifted a weight of 300 pounds (136 kg) on the level of her head whereas Sandow was able to lift it just to his chest, and Kate won the contest. Overpowering Sandow she decided to adopt the artistic name of "Sandwina" (female derivative from "Sandow"). She was capable to lift her husband of 75 kilograms above the head with just one arm and often used him in performances as a dumbbell. Among her actions were: tossing up iron balls of 14 kilograms which then she caught by the back of the neck; maintaining a carousel of 14 persons on her shoulders and bending iron bars of 5 centimeters in diameter
During the 1920s, 1930 and the beginning of the 1940, she worked in the United States. In 1941 season at the age of 57, Sandwina still worked as powerlifter in the "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus". At 64 year old she still was able to break horseshoes and to double bars of iron with the hands as well as to lift her husband with one hand. Subsequently she and her husband opened a restaurant in New York. Their son, Theodore Sandwina, was a famous heavyweight boxing champion in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Famous powerlifter Eugene Sandow appeared in New York and responded to Kate’s strength challenge. Kate started lifting weights increasingly heavier and heavier and Sandow, subsequently, caught the ones she left and lifted them at the same time. Finally, Kate lifted a weight of 300 pounds (136 kg) on the level of her head whereas Sandow was able to lift it just to his chest, and Kate won the contest. Overpowering Sandow she decided to adopt the artistic name of "Sandwina" (female derivative from "Sandow"). She was capable to lift her husband of 75 kilograms above the head with just one arm and often used him in performances as a dumbbell. Among her actions were: tossing up iron balls of 14 kilograms which then she caught by the back of the neck; maintaining a carousel of 14 persons on her shoulders and bending iron bars of 5 centimeters in diameter
During the 1920s, 1930 and the beginning of the 1940, she worked in the United States. In 1941 season at the age of 57, Sandwina still worked as powerlifter in the "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus". At 64 year old she still was able to break horseshoes and to double bars of iron with the hands as well as to lift her husband with one hand. Subsequently she and her husband opened a restaurant in New York. Their son, Theodore Sandwina, was a famous heavyweight boxing champion in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Charmion
The act opened with Charmion taking the stage in full Victorian attire. She would then mount the trapeze and proceed to undress to her leotard while performing impressive and strength-dependant stunts. The act was incredibly impressive and provocative for the era. However, the controversy created by her performances did not prevent the formulation of a devoted, and mostly male, fan base.
One of her greatest fans was Thomas Edison. As a result of that adoration, on November 11, 1901 Charmion committed a simplified version of her act to film for Edison. The film, simply entitled ‘Trapeze Disrobing Act’ focused more on the erotic aspect of the performance, though a few remarkable feats of strength are featured.
Charmion eventually retired to Santa Ana, California. She passed away on February 6, 1949 at the age of 73.
Vulcana
Better known by her stage name, Vulcana, Kate Williams was born in 1875 in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in Wales. Her parents were of Irish decent and her father was a well-respected local preacher. She spent her career performing as one half of a double act with her life partner, William Roberts (better known as his stage name, Atlas). The pair, who avoided controversy when they fled their home town together (Roberts was married with a child) after falling in love, went on to tour music halls in Britain, Europe and Australia. Their double act was called The Atlas and Vulcana Group of Society Athletes. Vulcana had a particularly strong bond with her husband, Atlas, although she used to pretend they were brother and sister in order to preserve the credibility of their double act.At the age of 30 she was 5'7" in height, weighed 161Lbs and had the following measurements: chest - 3'6", waist - 2'3", biceps - 1'3", thighs - 2'1", forearm - 1', neck - 1'3". Vulcana was able to lift 181Lbs with just one arm.
The height of Vulcana’s career was reached while she was living and working in France, where she found fame thanks to regular appearances in magazine articles. She won over one hundred medals during her career, including one personally awarded to her by Professor Edmond Desbonnet – often referred to as the “Father of French Bodybuilding”.Vulcana was exceptionally strong. She earned a reputation as a heroine due to many personal situations she found herself in; she once confronted a mugger who tried to steal her bag by grabbing his arm and leading him straight to the police station, and on another occasion she single-handedly pulled a stuck wagon from a ditch in London in front of a crowd of people. Her favourite technique was arm-twisting and she was particularly good at bench presses; she could reach weights of 124.5 pounds with her right hand and an over head lift with a 56 pound weight in each hand.
Olivia Lennox is a freelance writer from England who writes about city link for a logistics magazine and website in the UK.
Luisita Leers
By Olivia Lennox - Luisita Leers was a famous German circus acrobat and aerialist born Luise Krokel on 14th October 1909 in Wiesbaden, Germany. She came from a circus family; her mother, Gertrude Reichenbach, was also a touring acrobat. Luisita began training at a very early age and made her professional debut through the Roman Rings trapeze act in 1920 – at just 11 years old. She went on to find her fame through a particularly unusual and elegant trapeze routine, Les Leandros, when she was just 17 years old, and then went on to acquire leading roles in some of the world’s best and most extreme circus and acrobatics groups. This most notably included four years with Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey from 1928 – 1933. Her unique talent took her on tours around the world, performing at prestigious venues such as Berlin’s The Scala and Winterarten and New York’s Roxy Theatre.Luisita achieved worldwide fame thanks to her daring and demanding routine, as well as for her unique beauty. Muscular women were as rare in the early twentieth century as bicycle insurance on a desert island; Luisita had an impressive and unusual muscular physique, yet she maintained a strong femininity. She reached the peak of her career around 1930, when she claimed she could easily perform around 180 “rotations” (around a trapeze bar) without any trouble. Her signature stage act usually involved around 120 rotations – once she reached 139 in a single performance – and highlights of the routine included hanging by her neck from the trapeze while doing a vertical split.
She was once described by top French magazine, Variety, "Luisita Leers… is not only a remarkable performer, from a purely acrobatic viewpoint, but has one of those smiles that knocks 'em over and a body that remains beautiful in spite of its extraordinary muscles. She works high without a net. Muscular control is so perfect that her stuff looks easy, but when she hangs by the back of her neck, apparently just as easily as she did her simpler introductory turns, the audience realizes there was something to it all along"
Luisita’s career ended when she was in her mid-thirties. She went on to settle in the USA, where she got married and became an artist.
Mildred Burke
By Olivia Lennox - Mildred Burke is hailed by many as one of the greatest ever female wrestlers. She was certainly a pioneer, with a level of muscle development unusual in her time, and a strong determination to popularise women’s wrestling.
Early Years
Mildred Burke was born Mildred Bliss, in 1915 in Coffeyville, Kansas. At the age of seventeen, she agreed to marry her then boyfriend, and they moved to Kansas City together. There, Mildred saw her first wrestling event, and her lifelong passion was born. In Kansas, she later met Billy Wolfe, who was the Missouri state wrestling champion, and trained wrestlers at the local YMCA. She pestered Wolfe to teach her to wrestle, and eventually he let her in the ring, but he chose one of his best male fighters to take her on. Her body slammed her hard, but Mildred body slammed him back, pinning him down in the ring. From then on, Mildred knew she wanted to be a wrestler, and Billy Wolfe knew that he wanted to train her. The pair ended up marrying, and having children together.
A Star is Born
Mildred Burke was a star almost as soon as she began wrestling, with a incredible level of ability, beating both women and men. She wrestled around 200 men during the 1930s and only lost to one of them. Her real achievements, though, were in women’s wrestling. She worked hard to establish the sport and get it accepted. Before Mildred came along, few women wrestled. Some states even outlawed women’s wrestling taking place in front of an audience. Mildred Burke’s tenacity and professionalism encouraged others in to the ring.
Mildred held the women’s wrestling world championship title for fifteen years, becoming the first women’s champion in 1937, beating Clara Mortensen to the title. She began to tour both the US, and the world, entertaining many crowds and making some serious money in the process. By 1951, she was making $50,000 dollars a year. At the time, the average annual salary was around $2,500. For women, it was less than $1,000. Mildred Burke was an unquestionable success.
Mildred attributed her success to her unique ‘alligator clutch’ move. This move, she claimed, won her around 4,000 matches. Despite her success, Mildred was not a large woman. She stood around 5’2” and weighed around 138 pounds. She was the first female wrestler to develop some real, powerful muscles. At one time, the Los Angeles Police Department had a poster of her up in their offices, to remind their police officers to stay in shape. Her figure and appearance were much admired in general too, and she appeared in several magazine features, scantily dressed, pouting provocatively and flexing her muscles. She was voted one of the decade’s best dressed women in the 1940s.
Agony and Ecstasy
Despite her success, Mildred Burke’s life was filled with plenty of personal tragedy and public difficulty. Billy Wolfe was a womaniser who kept company with many of the other female wrestlers he trained. Their marriage broke up in 1952, and Wolfe tried to keep hold of their promotional company and out of the National Wrestling Alliance promotional organisation. They eventually cut a deal, and Mildred started her own company. In return, she waived all alimony, and Wolfe agreed to stay out of wrestling promotions for five years. He didn’t, and more legal wrangling ensued before Mildred’s company went bust in 1953. In 1954, she lost the title in an acrimonious grudge match against another Billy Wolfe protege, June Byers.
Mildred Burke had two children, Violet and Joseph. Violet sadly died aged eighteen, in 1951, while competing in a wrestling match herself. Mildred knew the dangers of wrestling all too well, and suffered serious injuries throughout her career. She had several broken bones, had her thumbs ripped out at the joints, and had all of her teeth knocked out. At one point, she suffered temporary blindness because of wrestling. There are plenty of dangerous jobs around, like being a fire-fighter or carrying outasbestos surveys, but few careers lead to as many serious injuries as Mildred Burke suffered during hers. Despite the physical battering she took, Mildred fought for two decades, for six days each week, for 50 weeks each year. She died from a stroke in 1989, aged 73.
Early Years
Mildred Burke was born Mildred Bliss, in 1915 in Coffeyville, Kansas. At the age of seventeen, she agreed to marry her then boyfriend, and they moved to Kansas City together. There, Mildred saw her first wrestling event, and her lifelong passion was born. In Kansas, she later met Billy Wolfe, who was the Missouri state wrestling champion, and trained wrestlers at the local YMCA. She pestered Wolfe to teach her to wrestle, and eventually he let her in the ring, but he chose one of his best male fighters to take her on. Her body slammed her hard, but Mildred body slammed him back, pinning him down in the ring. From then on, Mildred knew she wanted to be a wrestler, and Billy Wolfe knew that he wanted to train her. The pair ended up marrying, and having children together.
A Star is Born
Mildred Burke was a star almost as soon as she began wrestling, with a incredible level of ability, beating both women and men. She wrestled around 200 men during the 1930s and only lost to one of them. Her real achievements, though, were in women’s wrestling. She worked hard to establish the sport and get it accepted. Before Mildred came along, few women wrestled. Some states even outlawed women’s wrestling taking place in front of an audience. Mildred Burke’s tenacity and professionalism encouraged others in to the ring.
Mildred held the women’s wrestling world championship title for fifteen years, becoming the first women’s champion in 1937, beating Clara Mortensen to the title. She began to tour both the US, and the world, entertaining many crowds and making some serious money in the process. By 1951, she was making $50,000 dollars a year. At the time, the average annual salary was around $2,500. For women, it was less than $1,000. Mildred Burke was an unquestionable success.
Mildred attributed her success to her unique ‘alligator clutch’ move. This move, she claimed, won her around 4,000 matches. Despite her success, Mildred was not a large woman. She stood around 5’2” and weighed around 138 pounds. She was the first female wrestler to develop some real, powerful muscles. At one time, the Los Angeles Police Department had a poster of her up in their offices, to remind their police officers to stay in shape. Her figure and appearance were much admired in general too, and she appeared in several magazine features, scantily dressed, pouting provocatively and flexing her muscles. She was voted one of the decade’s best dressed women in the 1940s.
Agony and Ecstasy
Despite her success, Mildred Burke’s life was filled with plenty of personal tragedy and public difficulty. Billy Wolfe was a womaniser who kept company with many of the other female wrestlers he trained. Their marriage broke up in 1952, and Wolfe tried to keep hold of their promotional company and out of the National Wrestling Alliance promotional organisation. They eventually cut a deal, and Mildred started her own company. In return, she waived all alimony, and Wolfe agreed to stay out of wrestling promotions for five years. He didn’t, and more legal wrangling ensued before Mildred’s company went bust in 1953. In 1954, she lost the title in an acrimonious grudge match against another Billy Wolfe protege, June Byers.
Mildred Burke had two children, Violet and Joseph. Violet sadly died aged eighteen, in 1951, while competing in a wrestling match herself. Mildred knew the dangers of wrestling all too well, and suffered serious injuries throughout her career. She had several broken bones, had her thumbs ripped out at the joints, and had all of her teeth knocked out. At one point, she suffered temporary blindness because of wrestling. There are plenty of dangerous jobs around, like being a fire-fighter or carrying outasbestos surveys, but few careers lead to as many serious injuries as Mildred Burke suffered during hers. Despite the physical battering she took, Mildred fought for two decades, for six days each week, for 50 weeks each year. She died from a stroke in 1989, aged 73.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий