Orchestra, music plays loudly. Under the exclamations of the public, strongman Ivan Zaikin enters the circus arena. He is handsome and handsome. His muscles play under the skin. Having made a lap of honor, the athlete stops in front of the 25-pound anchor. The audience froze in anticipation. The circus grabbed his hands like ticks and put it on his back. Having passed the circle with the anchor, the athlete began to rotate this colossal load. The hall exploded with applause and applause. That was one of the many performances of the famous circus fighter and strongman Ivan Mikhailovich Zaikin. In this article, you will be presented with his brief biography.
Childhood
Zaikin Ivan Mikhailovich was born in the Simbirsk province in 1880. The boy's father was a famous fighter on the Volga. The childhood and youth of the future athlete passed in need and poverty. Ivan had to work since the age of 12. The boy imitated his father in everything and wanted to become an equally strong fighter.
First performance
Ivan's life changed when he got to work with the Merkuliev brothers. These millionaire merchants had their own athletic arena. It was there that Ivan Zaikin began his wrestling career. For the first time, the young man spoke at the amateur national championship, winning first place in weights. He later made his debut as a fighter in Tver.
Character and style
Despite the difficult life path, Ivan Zaikin did not become a tough, withdrawn person. Opponents noted its softness and openness in the arena. Powerful muscles, smooth movements, funny eyes and a good-natured face. No unnecessary movements and fuss. The jerk, seizure and throw occurred so quickly that the opponent did not even understand how he ended up on the shoulder blades.
Fights with Poddubny
Ivan Zaikin was considered a student of Poddubny. The wrestlers who met with the latter tried in the future to avoid such “pleasure”. Zaikin fought with Ivan Maksimovich as many as 15 times (from 1904 to 1916). Five fights ended in a draw, and ten - the defeat of the hero of this article. Contemporaries noted that these were not ordinary battles, but real battles.
Athletic numbers
But fighting in the arena is not all that Ivan Zaikin did. The wrestler also performed with athletic numbers. For example, he wore a 25-pound anchor on his back, raised the bar with ten spectators, a barrel (holding 40 buckets of water), bent sheet metal, etc. The most spectacular performance was the passage of a car with passengers along the boards lying on the athlete’s chest. With these numbers, Ivan Mikhailovich toured Australia, America, Africa and Europe.
Celebrity
Zaikin was friends with many famous people: Kamensky, Alexei Tolstoy, Blok, Chaliapin, Gorky, Kuprin and even Rasputin. The tsaritsyn priest Iliodor introduced the last athlete. When Rasputin was wounded with a knife, Zaikin wrote a letter to him, where he wished for a speedy recovery and strengthen physical as well as mental health.
Aviator
Once, while on a tour in Odessa, Ivan watched an airplane fly in the sky. Since then, he had a desire to become an aviator. In those days, Russian pilots could be counted on the fingers. They earned demonstrations. This is what Zaikin decided to do. Its sponsors were merchants from Odessa by the name of the Ptashnikovs.
After completing his studies in France in 1910, Ivan made a series of demonstration flights to Russian cities. He was attracted by risk and unusual impressions. It is likely that Zaikin would have made a ballooning career if not for one case.
Farewell to Aviation
At the next demonstration flights, Ivan Mikhailovich rolled brave men to the delight of the public. Among them was the famous writer Kuprin A.I. Zaikin himself approached Alexander Ivanovich and offered to conquer the sky. Taking off, Ivan Mikhailovich began to make a turn. And suddenly Kuprin saw his head at his knees. The writer did not feel fear, but noticed how their airplane rushed down, straight to the crowd of three thousand. At the last moment Zaikin managed to taxi to the side. If the aircraft fell into the crowd, there would be many victims. Fortunately, the airplane managed to land, and all remained alive. After this, the unsuccessful aviator no longer took to the sky, deciding to return to the arena.
Last years
From 1928 until his death, Zaikin Ivan Mikhailovich lived in Chisinau. There he organized his own "Sports Arena", which included professional athletes. Their performances were spectacular and educational in nature. Artful, strong, superbly built heroes were good promoters of a healthy lifestyle. In mid-1930, while performing the Live Bridge stunt, Ivan Mikhailovich received a serious head and shoulder injury, but was able to recover later. In 1934, the athlete took part in the tournament of wrestlers in the city of Riga.
At the end of 1945, Ivan Zaikin, whose biography is presented in this article, was invited to Leningrad to celebrate the 60th anniversary of national athletics. There he met with the famous referee and wrestler V. Lebedev. In 1948, Ivan Mikhailovich died in his 69th year of life. Zaikin was buried in Chisinau at the All-Saints Cemetery. In the memory of his descendants, he will remain a pioneer of aviation and a prominent representative of domestic athleticism.