Charles RIGOULOT

Charles Rigoulot set 12 world records in the light-heavyweight and unlimited classes from 1923-26: five in the snatch, six in the clean & jerk, and one in the total. His best lift was the snatch and he was a specialist in the one-arm snatch. He became a star as a strongman in the 1920s. In 1925 he turned professional and performed in the circus, as a catcher, and was also an actor and singer in the theater. Also an auto racer, in 1937 he took part in the 24 hours of Le Mans. On 3 March 1930 Rigoulot became the first man to lift the famed Apollon Railway Wheels, weighing 166 kg. While a prisoner in Germany during World War II, he is alleged to have bent the bars of a cell with his bare hands in order to assist an escape. In 1953 he became sports director at the Cognac Distillery Ricard. He was the father of figure skater Dany Rigoulot.