13 Facts About Ivan Yarygin

Ivan Yarygin set a record for the fastest pin victory in the World Cup history at 27 seconds.

An exceptional upper-body wrestler, Ivan Yarygin was widely regarded for his tremendous physique and high-strength aggressive style, always aiming to pin down his opponents, with most of his stoppage wins came by way of fall achieved through rapid fireman's lift and slamming the opponent to the mat.

One of the most prestigious tournaments in the World was put together in his honor - The Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament is held annually in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and has the reputation of being one of the hardest tournaments in the World.

Ivan Yarygin was born as the sixth child in a family of ten siblings.

Since early age Ivan Yarygin helped his father at his blacksmith workshop.

Ivan Yarygin then was drafted and went on to win the Soviet Armed Forces heavyweight championships in Sambo wrestling, gaining the Master of Sports degree in Sambo.

Ivan Yarygin then switched to freestyle wrestling, and won 1968 Russian SFSR national youth championships and 1969 Soviet youth championships.

When Ivan Yarygin wrestled Russell Hellickson at Hellickson's hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, Ivan Yarygin let him up to prevent further injury, and wrestled just hard enough to protect himself until Hellickson finally fainted to pain.

Ivan Yarygin then lost several minor contests, and decided to retire from competition, settled in his native village of Sizaya, where he worked as a lumberjack in Taiga forest.

Ivan Yarygin retired from competition permanently in 1980 and became a wrestling coach.

Ivan Yarygin was a key organizer of the 1997 World Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk.

Ivan Yarygin was killed in a car crash in 1997, crashing his car into a roadside-parked heavy truck.

In 2010 Ivan Yarygin was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.