Aleksander Richard Aberg ( – 15 February 1920) was an EstonianThe Eugene O'Neill Review, Vol. 28-30 — Suffolk University, 2006 — p. 125
/ref> professional

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

and

free-style wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

world champion of the early 20th century. He took part in the World Heavyweight Championship and was one of the three most famous Estonian professional wrestlers, along with Georg Lurich and Georg Hackenschmidt.

Biography

Aberg was born in Kolga Manor, Harju County, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire. He was of

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

origin. He wrestled in North America (1913–14 and 1915–16) with mixed success. Together with Lurich he came back via

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to Russia in 1917 and arrived in Estonia in autumn. They participated in a wrestling tournament in Tallinn that remained unfinished due to the approach of the German troops. The athletes went to Saint Petersburg and on to South Russia. The war meant an end to work in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. As the war spread, the men had to move further inside Russia. They could stop only in a far corner of South Russia, Armavir, Kuban Oblast. Their aim was to leave Russia across the Black Sea by boat. The front reached them in 1920 and Armavir passed from hand to hand in battles several times, many perished. Warm winter brought on typhoid. Due to the war, medical aid was difficult to get. Lurich fell ill first and could not be rescued, dying on 22 January 1920. Aberg had also become infected but he managed to defeat the illness. Unfortunately he rushed his recovery, caught pneumonia, and died on February 15, 1920, in Armavir. The wrestlers were buried in one grave in Armavir German cemetery. The international Aleksander Aberg Memorial in Greco-Roman wrestling has been held in Estonia since 1960.

Footnotes

References

Georg Kristjanson Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

, "Eesti raskejõustiku ajaloost" ( Lurichist Taltsini). Eesti Raamat, Tallinn 1973, pages.145–157 * * * * *

External links

New York City Wrestling Results - 1915.

Georg Lurich Biographical data
1881 births 1920 deaths Estonian professional wrestlers Estonian strength athletes People associated with physical culture People from Kuusalu Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Deaths from pneumonia in Russia {{Estonia-wrestling-bio-stub