Voldemar Väli (10 January 1903 – 13 April 1997) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n two-time Olympic medalist in

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Career

Voldemar Väli was born in

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

, on the island of

Saaremaa Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

. 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 The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, 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 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 ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Domestically he won 19 titles between 1922 and 1942 in Greco-Roman and freestyle events. 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 ...

in 1944 he emigrated with family to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

.Väli, Voldemar
Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon He ended his sporting career in 1945 after a match between the local

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

and the team from

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He beat the Swedish champion Einar Karlsson. Väli worked a crane operator at the Port of Tallinn. In Sweden, he was a metal worker and later established a

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

factory with his wife.

Legacy

A bronze sculpture of Väli was installed at the sports centre in his hometown of Kuressaare in October 2024.

References

External links

GBR AthleticsEurolympic.org: The European Olympic CommitteeOlympics History: CBS SportsLine.com
1903 births 1997 deaths Sportspeople from Kuressaare People from Kreis Ösel Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Estonian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for 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 European Wrestling Championships medalists Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden {{Estonia-wrestling-bio-stub