Voldemar Väli
 Voldemar Väli at the 1928 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 10 January 1903 Kuressaare, Estonia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 April 1997 (aged 94) Stockholm, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Greco-Roman wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
Väli started 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.[2] 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][3] 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Voldemar Väli". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ Vaeli, Voldemar (EST). iat.uni-leipzig.de
- ^ Väli, Voldemar. Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon
External links[]
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- 1903 births
- 1997 deaths
- Sportspeople from Kuressaare
- People from the Governorate of Livonia
- Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- Estonian male sport wrestlers
- Olympic wrestlers of Estonia
- Olympic gold medalists for Estonia
- Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- Estonian World War II refugees
- Estonian emigrants to Sweden
- European Wrestling Championships medalists
- Estonian Olympic medalist stubs
- Estonian sportspeople stubs
- European sport wrestler stubs