RICKY BRUCH#1

Ricky Bruch (July 2, 1949 – May 30, 2011) was a Swedish Olympic athlete, actor and poet. His greatest success was an Olympic bronze in 1972 in the discus. He equalled the world record in 1972 with a throw of 68.40 meters. His personal best of 71.26 meters in the discus remains the Swedish record and puts him 9th all-time list.

Despite his Olympic success, we remember Ricky for his training intensity and for the documentary in which he starred, Soul is Greater than the World. This training video ranks among one of the best of all time. One of the scenes shows Ricky blow out a nasal artery while bench pressing, only to ignore the blood for another two reps.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqksKiImCk[/youtube]

A friend was quoted as saying, “You get to see just how close to insanity the quest for greatness can take somebody.”

He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man. Rest in peace Ricky Bruch.