LOIUS CYR - THE STRONGEST MAN IN RECORDED HISTORY

Since our childhood days, we have heard stories about many legends with incredible strength lifting huge objects with their unmatchable body structure. 'Hercules' for example is often depicted as a symbol of Strength. Even now we can see people with huge bodies competing in events to be the strongest man on the planet.


But the strongest man ever lived in the recorded history was Louis Cyr. He was a famous French Canadian Strongman who has achieved lot of fame by his strength and the most extreme, he carried nearly '2 Tons' on his back!

About Louis Cyr's Childhood

Louis Cyr was born on October 11th 1863 in Quebec, Canada.  He discovered his exceptional strength as soon as he started working in Lumber camps at the age of 12. He lifted lumber and presented his strength to his colleagues and later learned the story of 'Milo of Croton', a legendary strongman.

Inspired by the immense strength of Milo, Louis Cyr attempted to lift a calf as Milo did. But the calf kicked him in the back so he started training and lifting sacks filled with grain. Every day he went on adding 1 kilogram (Kg) of grain and carried for nearly half a kilometer. 


Louis Cyr's physical appearance
He had a curly hair resembling the hair style of Samson in the Bible. As he was a Canadian and had hairs like Samson, he was also called as 'Canadian Samson'. Within the age of 18, he was weighing more than 100 kg. Below are the physical dimensions of Louis Cyr -

• He weighed 140 kgs (310 pound).
• His Chest measured a massive 54 inches.
• Louis Cyr was 5 ft. and 10 inches (178 cm) tall.
• His Neck measured 21 inches in circumference.
• Biceps were 19 inches and thighs measured 33 inches.

Louis Cyr's reign as a Strongman

As soon as he attained the age of 18, he contested in 'Strongman contest' in Boston and lifted a fully grown horse off the ground which nearly weighed 700 kgs. Along with his wife, Louis Cyr started touring Quebec in a show which they called "The Troupe Cyr".  In 1886, Louis became the strongest man of Canada when he defeated his opponent by lifting a weight of 1,075 kgs on his back and a 99 kg barbell with one hand!

Incredible feats by Louis Cyr

Louis Cyr became famous by his indisputable and incontestable strength. He amazed people by displaying his strength and many of his mind-blowing achievements have been recorded. Below are the recorded feats by Louis Cyr during his lifetime -

• Cyr pushed a freight car up an incline with one finger which weighed 242 kgs.
• Louis holds the record for lifting the heaviest weight in one hand which weighed 124 kgs.
• Louis Cyr lifted a rock which weighed nearly 212 kgs from the ground up to his Shoulder at the age of 19!
• He resisted the pull of 2 horses by holding the ropes tied to them while the grooms made horses pull harder.
• The most extreme feat was achieved in 1895 when Louis carried 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg) which is nearly 2 tons on his back. The weight which amounted to 1.967 tons was 18 fully grown men and a platform on which those men sat.

Death of Louis Cyr

Louis Cyr suffered from 'Bright's Disease' and passed away on November 10th 1912 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Many monuments were erected and most notable of them all was the monument.