Apollon The Emperor of Athletes - LA84 Foundation

AUGUST 1997 IRON GAME HISTORY
at the same time.
It is a feat that can only be described as “prodigious.”
From Tunis
Apollon placed a piano on his chest and then had the
orchestra director climb up, too. The poor man had doubtless
never played on the abdomen of a god, and he pounded out a terrific
din that passed as a tune. A wiseacre was heard to remark that
the conductor was certainly weaker on the piano than Apollon was
underneath it.
From Lyon
Apollon is certainly a worthy descendant of the well-known
ancient gladiators whose names have been preserved in history.
We were reminded of the king of strength by his entrance on the
stage, his passage through the enormous bars, and his sweeping
movements as he posed in his cloak.
From Lille
Apollon claims to be a real Parisian, and to prove it, he
expresses how he feels in the midst of his exercises by saying, “Faï
caou” [It’s hot]. 8
From Havre
at the Alcazar Theater of Havre
. . . Crest, whose strength has not prevented gracefulness;
Fournier from Lyon; and Andre who reminds us of Alfred. This
Andre, the elegant Parisian model who has been applauded so
heartily at the old Circus Ingouville, is a handsome young man with
a beautiful form and aristocratic limbs. Andre is the last word in
unclothed elegance. Then we come to Apollon who, because of his
physique, calls to mind the ancient Farnese Hercules.
From Bordeaux
And how might we praise you,
You who are both Hercules and Apollon?
You who have carried so long and far the fame
Of our dear France;
You who have burst your chains,
Oh, Champion of the universe
How might we celebrate your rebirth
If not in verse?
Your muscles are chiseled in perfect proportion
And our eyes are very pleasantly charmed
By the grace of your presence,
But the strength which God has given you
You flaunt so effortlessly.
31
We hardly notice the swelling of steely muscles on your
body. You betray no emotion on your face when you lift overhead
an axle and two railroad wheels weighting 150 kilos. That is a real
feat of strength!
From Liège
Apollon takes an iron bar as fat as a finger in his right
hand and by giving it three sharp raps with his left hand, he bends
it in two; from this action, as one might well understand, his blood
is liable to gush out following this feat. Apollon finishes by hanging
from a trapeze by his knees while lying and balancing a draught
horse weighing 750 kilos.
From Saint-Étrienne
Apollon is called “the god of music” because he smilingly
supports a piano on his chest. People were allowed to come on
the stage in order to lift and test the weights that Apollon uses.
From Paris
When, one wonders, are the French going to recover from
their mania of believing that everything foreign is superior? Thus,
at this time when wrestling is a very popular spectacle, why do we
make such a big to-do over champions from Greece, Romania,
Turkey, England, America, and who know where? Especially since
our beautiful land of France has produced such brawny fellows as
Apollon and others.
Go see them and you will come back convinced that the
old Gauls might still compete fearlessly with the men of any other
nation. Is that not correct, Apollon? Is that not correct?
From Grenoble
He is always superb with his musculature worthy of [Léon]
Cladel’s [1835-1892] famous painting Ompdrailles.
From Valence
As the start of his performance, he enacted the escape of
a prisoner from the Bastille. In order to put his plan in action, he
bent the huge iron bars of his cell.
From Montpellier
Do not confuse the real Apollon with the pygmies who
masquerade under his name. They ate like the ass in the fable who
covered itself with a lion’s skin.
From Saint-Étienne
This Hercules (as he deserves to be called), this colossus
arrives on stage amid the noise of a fusillade, and he then forces
open the bars of a prison cell.