Eduard Pütsep (21 October 1898 – 22 August 1960) was an Estonian wrestler. He competed in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics and won a gold medal in the bantamweight division in 1924, becoming the first Olympic champion in wrestling from Estonia. In 1928 he placed sixth in Greco-Roman and ninth in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

Career

Eduard Pütsep was born in Vastseliina Parish (present-day

Võru Parish Võru Parish (; ) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Võru County Võru County ( or ''Võrumaa''; ) is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga and Põlva counties, Latvia's Alūksne and Ape municipalities, and Russia's ...

). He took up wrestling during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in 1917 placed third at the Russian championships. At his first international competition, the 1920 Olympics, he lost in a semifinal to the eventual silver medalist

Heikki Kähkönen Heikki Kähkönen (26 December 1891 – 30 June 1962) was a Finnish wrestler and Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. Kähkönen competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp where he received a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling ...

. Next year he finished fourth at the world championships, and in 1922 won a silver medal. He retired from competitions in 1933 and attended the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

as the head coach of the Latvian wrestling team. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he moved to Finland and continued to coach wrestlers there. Since 1977 an annual international wrestling tournament in his honor has been held in

Võru Võru (; ; ) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish. History Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, at the request of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, by the o ...

, Estonia. Pütsep could communicate in eight languages. Yet during his wrestling years he acted in silent films, and was nicknamed "Estonian

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...

". In 1924, he starred in ''Õnnelik korterikriisi lahendus'', directed by

Konstantin Märska Konstantin Märska ( in Kuressaare, Saaremaa, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 30 August 1951 in Tallinn) was an Estonian cinematographer and film director. Märska is buried at Rahumäe Cemetery in Tallinn Tallinn is the capital c ...

, and in 1925 played in ''

Tšeka komissar Miroštšenko ''Tšeka komissar Miroštšenko'' (The Cheka Commissar Miroshchenko) is an Estonian feature film made in 1925 directed by Paul Sehnert. Nikolai Root was the set designer. In 2012, the film was digitized. Plot In Soviet Russia of the 1920s, th ...

''.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Putsep, Eduard 1898 births 1960 deaths People from Võru Parish Sportspeople from Võru County People from Kreis Werro Wrestlers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Estonian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Estonian male film actors Estonian male silent film actors 20th-century Estonian male actors World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Finland