Playbill from the show “She floored 100 men” of Pärnu Theater Edla. The late nineteenth and the early twelfth centuries was a golden age of tall baltic girl deviantart powerlifting and wrestling.

At the edge of the XIX and XX centuries circus wrestling became an exceptionally popular spectacle. Popularity of circus wrestlers would be compared just to the popularity of contemporary rock singers. Although many wrestling matches were staged, some of them were still real and ran in full strength. Big circus troupes sure had wrestler teams, which often included women as well.

Wrestlers demonstrated techniques on each other and challenged daredevils from the audience. An 1890 spectacle in London featured a blonde female wrestler called Nellie, who offered 5 pounds to any man out of the audience who managed to defeat her in a wrestling match. In 1899 and 1900 female wrestling matches were held in “Les Folies Bergeres” in Paris. In 1891, the New York “Police Gazette” sponsored a “female wrestling championship match”.

Photo from Wikipedia Two more outstanding strongwomen must be mentioned here: Sandwina and Vulkana. Estonian athlete, circus artist, strongwoman and wrestler. March 30, 1922 not far away from her birthplace. Maria Loorberg’s close friend and companion. Photo by an unknown author Anette Busch was born in the 1882 in Rapla County, in a rural Estonian village.