Ivan Poddubny

Ivan Maximovich Poddubny, Piddubny was a Ukrainian professional wrestler from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. He began his sports career around 1900 his career lasted for about forty years and he lost only two times.

Poddubny was born on John the Apostle day in 1871 into a family of Zaporozhian Cossacks in the village of Krasenivka, in the Zolotonosha county of the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire . Having a big family Piddubny senior had a difficult time to provide for his big family, therefore Ivan was forced to leave the fathers house before turning 20. As a young man, Poddubny worked as a fitter in the ports of Sevastopol and Feodosiya for seven years earning a nickname of Ivan the Great. In Feodosiya Ivan started to practice with kettlebells and participated in some wrestling fights. Sometime since 18971898 he started traveling with circus tours and performed at first Sevastopol and later Kiev arenas.

Source: Wikipedia