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Lillian Leitzel was 4 feet nine inches tall, weighed 95 pounds and was gifted
with a strenght almost unbelievable. The record for one handed chin ups by a male
athlete at the time was held by an English man named Cutler. In 1878 he completed
12 one handed chin ups. The difficulty of chinning with one hand is well recognized. So when Lillian bragged that she could beat the world record the gymnasts who were present scoffed at her claim. Lillian was 36 years old at the time. A small friendly wager was placed to test her boast. Ms. Leitzel took the bar and clicked off 27 right arm chin ups in a row. After the payoff and a short rest, she took the bar with her left hand and did 19 more chin ups with her left hand. |
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