Louis cyr

Who can lift 588 pounds with 1 finger? He carried 4500 pounds on his back and pushed a freight car up an incline. This man won a strongman competition when he was 17. He competed against Machaud from Quebéc. He won by lifting 400+ pounds. He was the first person to lift a barrel of cement with one arm easily, as if it were a 10 pound case for other people. This legendary strongman's name was Louis Cyr. Even though he was so strong he could do almost anything, he never beat up on anyone who was smaller than he was.

Louis was in many strongman competitions but when he was a kid he was small. He didn't go to school but worked in a lumbermill and around the house. There was no doubt that Louis Cyr would be a new Hercules, because his mother's dad was 6ft. 4in. 260 pounds. Since not many people could pronounce his name Noe-Cyprien Cyr, he was called Louis Cyr.

Louis didn't have much of a career working at the lumber mill, but when he was 17 that all changed. He was in his first strongman competition against Michaud from Quebec. Louis defeated him easily by lifting over 400 pounds. Then he spent more time at the lumber mill and became a real strongman, touring all over Canada, the United States, and Europe. He defeated everyone he faced, even the strongest man in Canada, by lifting 588 pounds with one finger! A man named Fox offered $5000 for the person who could defeat him in a strongman competition. Louis also did other sports like wrestling, and boxing.

Louis may have been in competitions and all that but he is most famous for some things he did that even people today can't accomplish! Like pushing a railway car up an incline by himself. He lifted a platform with 18 men sitting on it, weighing 4300 pounds, on his back! He is definitely best known for something he did that was amazing and hasn't been accomplished by anyone since. A man named Fox wanted to see how strong he actually was so he came up with a very hard challenge, not against another person, but against horses. Four horses were tied to his arms, two on each side. The ropes were tied to his arms, then to sturdy hooks in the trees and then to harnesses on the horses. If either arm left his chest or he lost his footing he would lose the competition. Louis gave the word and the grooms whipped and urged the horses to pull harder and harder. Louis didn't budge but the horses slipped and slid pulling. Louis won the competition and was the strongest man to date.

When Louis got older, he married a woman named Melina Comtois on January 16, 1882. When he was 47 he was 5'10" and 291 pounds. His chest was 60 in., forearms 16.3 in., neck 20 in., biceps 20 in., wrists 8.2 in., waist 47.4 in., hips 48.1 in., thighs 28.5 in. and calves 23 in. He died Noember 10, 1912, one month after his 49th birthday.