Ivan the Powerful

"Ivan the Poweful" tells the outstanding life story of Ivan Firtsak who was born in June 1899 in a Ukrainian village Bilky, Irshava district in Zakarpattia Oblast. At 18 he became a performer with a Czechoslovak circus and traveled to 64 countries of the world, astonishing everybody with his victories. He was a weightlifting champion of Czechoslovakia and a bodybuilding champion of Europe. He earned the nickname Strong Ivan Croton for his incredible strength. Ivan Firtsak won a great number of single combats with famous wrestlers of the world. From hands of the Queen of England he received a helmet and a belt decorated with gold and diamonds. The American press called him the strongest man of the XX century. In 1937, in the prime of his fame, he returned to his homeland.