Voldemar Väli
![]() Voldemar Väli at the 1928 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | (1903-01-10)10 January 1903 Kuressaare, Estonia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 13 April 1997(1997-04-13) (aged 94) Stockholm, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Greco-Roman wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Voldemar Väli (10 January 1903 – 13 April 1997) was an Estonian two-time Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.[1][2]
Career
Voldemar Väli was born in Kuressaare, on the island of Saaremaa. He began training in wrestling at age 17, and four years later competed at the 1924 Olympics, but was eliminated in a preliminary bout. In 1926 he won his first European title and established himself as a world top featherweight and later lightweight wrestler. He missed the 1932 Olympics because Estonia did not send a team due to the Great Depression, and finished out of the podium at the 1933, 1934, 1937 and 1938 European Championships; however, he earned a bronze at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[3] Domestically he won 19 titles between 1922 and 1942 in Greco-Roman and freestyle events. During World War II in 1944 he emigrated with family to Sweden.[1][4] He ended his sporting career in 1945 after a match between the local Estonians and the team from Stockholm. He beat the Swedish champion Einar Karlsson.
Väli worked a crane operator at the Port of Tallinn.[1] In Sweden, he was a metal worker and later established a doll factory with his wife.[1]
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- GBR Athletics
- Eurolympic.org: The European Olympic Committee
- Olympics History: CBS SportsLine.com
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- 1912
Kaarlo Koskelo (FIN)
- 1920
Oskari Friman (FIN)
- 1924
Kalle Anttila (FIN)
- 1928
Voldemar Väli (EST)
- 1932
Giovanni Gozzi (ITA)
- 1936
Yaşar Erkan (TUR)
- 1948
Mehmet Oktav (TUR)
- 1952
Yakiv Punkin (URS)
- 1956
Rauno Mäkinen (FIN)
- 1960
Müzahir Sille (TUR)
- 1964
Imre Polyák (HUN)
- 1968
Roman Rurua (URS)
- 1972
Georgi Markov (BUL)
- 1976
Kazimierz Lipień (POL)
- 1980
Stelios Mygiakis (GRE)
- 1984
Kim Weon-kee (KOR)
- 1988
Kamandar Madzhidov (URS)
- 1992
Mehmet Akif Pirim (TUR)
- 1996
Włodzimierz Zawadzki (POL)
- 2000
Varteres Samurgashev (RUS)
- 2004
Jung Ji-hyun (KOR)
- 2008
Islambek Albiev (RUS)
- 2012
Omid Norouzi (IRI)
- 1912–1920: 60 kg
- 1924–1928: 62 kg
- 1932–1936: 61 kg
- 1948–1960: 62 kg
- 1964–1968: 63 kg
- 1972–1996: 62 kg
- 2000: 63 kg
- 2004–2012: 60 kg
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