Zaikin, Ivan

Zaikin, Ivan Mikhailovich

 

Born Nov. 5(17), 1880, in the village of Verkhnetalyzino, in present-day Sechenovo Raion, Gorky Oblast; died Nov. 22, 1948, in Kishinev. Russian athlete, aviator. Champion weightlifter of Russia (1904).

A student of I. M. Poddubnyi, Zaikin became a professional wrestler in 1905. In 1908 he studied aviation in Paris and then made demonstration air flights over the cities of Russia. As a wrestler, Zaikin toured Europe, America, Africa, and Australia. He settled in Kishinev in 1934. A contest for the Zaikin wrestling prize is held annually in Moldavia.

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