A Modern Parallel
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Marcus Aurelius
A truly wonderful athlete who shows many similarities to Panagis Coutalianos is the Russian Valentine Dikul. We considered it right to present him on our page, while also making some comparisons, so that our readers can gain an insight on the way our own athlete, Panagis Coutalianos, appeared to the public. The way Dikul moves on stage is unique and worth observing, because it is rare these days to admire a genuine outdoor weightlifter on a circus stage. We see him appear by pushing aside the large velvet curtain. He enters the arena, greeting the crowd with modesty and manliness. The way he bows to the audience and speaks to the spectators, challenging them to try lifting his weights, resembles descriptions of Coutalianos’ performances.
Dikul was born prematurely, weighing just over one kilogram. His father Ivan Grigoryevich (1920–1950) was Ukrainian by nationality but was killed in the line of duty during the 2nd World War. His mother Anna Korneyevna (1925–1952) was Russian by nationality, and died when Valentin was still in kindergarten. Dikul was raised by his grandparents until he was seven years old, when he began living in orphanages. At the age nine, he became interested in the circus and helped to put up the circus tent, cleaning the arena, looking after the animals, sweeping, and washing the floors. At fourteen he began working as a motorcycle repairman. In his free time he trained in gymnastics, wrestling, weightlifting, balancing acts, acrobatics, juggling, and stunts, and eventually became involved with the circus in Kaunas.
In 1962, when Valentin was almost fifteen, he started in his first act of air gymnastics at the Sports Palace. The act was performed at an altitude of 13 meters. During one such performance, a steel support cross beam suddenly broke, and Valentin fell from 13 meters. He spent a week in intensive care at the City Hospital and was then transferred to the neurosurgery department of the hospital. His final diagnosis was a compression fracture of the lumbar spine and traumatic brain injury, with many local fractures.
Dikul trained for 5–6 hours a day lifting objects, stretching rubber bands and performing push-ups; however, his legs did not work. Suffering from pain in the spine and fatigue, he performed strength exercises and studied the medical literature on the spine, gathering the necessary information. Doctors asked him to stop wasting time and effort, explaining that success is impossible. But he continued to exhaustion. He began to lift weights light at first, then gradually increasing the weight, developing all the muscles of the back which he was capable of. Then he had the idea that you need to move the inactive parts of the body as if they were healthy a full cycle.[4] Tied a rope to his feet, passing it under the headboard, which played the role of the pulley and then pulling it and moving the feet. Then he began using counterweight loads. Friends helped him build a system of weights and pulleys around his bed designed by Dikul. Eight months later he was discharged from the hospital with the first group of disability.
After his rehabilitation, Dikul continued to train intensively, gradually acquiring enormous strength, the performance of which he presented in the circus.
Common elements of athletes Valentine Dikul and Panagis Coutalianos:
1) Both performed gymnastic shows in a circus.
2) Both were born fatherless.
3) Dikul performed with his daughter Anna and his wife Lyudmila, who were circus acrobats and ballerinas. Coutalianos often performed with his young son Antonios (born Nino), who was very flexible, as well as with his other two sons Georgios and Ellin, who were professional wrestlers and weightlifters.
4) Both performed gymnastic exercises with very heavy iron balls. In addition, they had a common act during which a “pyramid” of very heavy objects and people was formed, which were fixed on their stomachs while the rest of the body stood suspended and supported by the limbs (arms and legs) of the athletes.
5) Both athletes lifted enormous weights, setting records and breathtaking performances, even when they were over 50 years old.
