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The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Finland

This page contains a list of the greatest Finnish Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 700 Wrestlers, 14 of which were born in Finland. This makes Finland the birth place of the 12th most number of Wrestlers behind South Korea and Iran.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Finnish Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Finnish Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Finnish Wrestlers.

1. Väinö Kokkinen (1899 - 1967)

With an HPI of 48.40, Väinö Kokkinen is the most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Väinö Kokkinen (25 November 1899 – 27 August 1967) was a Finnish Greco-Roman wrestler. He won two Olympic gold medals in the middleweight category, in 1928 and 1932, and finished in fourth place in 1936. Between 1925 and 1933 he won one gold and four silver medals at the European championships as well as six national titles (1926, 1929–32 and 1934). Kokkinen was a blacksmith by profession and fought in the Finnish Civil War. He started training in wrestling in 1921, after moving to Helsinki. He retired in 1936 and ran a successful business in the clothing and hospitality industry. In the 1940s he was also a board member of the sports club Helsingin Jyry.

2. Kalle Anttila (1887 - 1949)

With an HPI of 47.49, Kalle Anttila is the 2nd most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Kaarlo Johan Jalmari "Kalle" Anttila (30 August 1887 – 10 October 1949) was a Finnish wrestler. He won Olympic gold medals in the freestyle lightweight category in 1920 and in the Greco-Roman featherweight division in 1924. He also won world titles in the Greco-Roman featherweight in 1921 and 1922. Anttila was the Finnish champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1918–20 and 1929 and in freestyle wrestling in 1924 and 1929. He was born and raised in Finland In 1887, his family immigrated to Canada at the age of 4 where he was raised to work hard on a family farm. He died in 1949 and was buried in Sudbury.

3. Emil Väre (1885 - 1974)

With an HPI of 46.82, Emil Väre is the 3rd most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Emil Ernst Väre (28 September 1885 – 31 January 1974) was a Finnish wrestler who won the gold medals in the lightweight class at the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. Väre held the 1911 World title, the 1912 unofficial European title, and 1909 and 1911 national titles. Between 1912 and 1916 he won all his wrestling bouts. He retired after the 1920 Olympics to become a wrestling referee and coach. In the 1920s he acted a president, general-secretary, treasurer and vice-president of his wrestling club Viipurin Voimailijat and was a board member of the Finnish Wrestling Federation.

4. Verner Weckman (1882 - 1968)

With an HPI of 46.32, Verner Weckman is the 4th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Johan Verner Weckman (26 July 1882 – 22 February 1968) was a wrestler, who is the first Finnish Olympic gold medalist.

5. Kaarlo Koskelo (1888 - 1953)

With an HPI of 46.28, Kaarlo Koskelo is the 5th most famous Finnish Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Kaarlo Anton "Kalle" Koskelo (12 April 1888 – 21 December 1953) was a Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland who won the featherweight event at the 1912 Olympics. He then fought in World War I and Finnish Civil War, and in 1919 immigrated to the United States. He settled in Astoria, Oregon, where he became a prominent local businessman.

6. Kustaa Pihlajamäki (1902 - 1944)

With an HPI of 46.16, Kustaa Pihlajamäki is the 6th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Kustaa Kustaanpoika Pihlajamäki (7 April 1902 – 10 February 1944) was a Finnish wrestler. He competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won two gold and one silver medal. Between 1930 and 1943 he won nine European and 28 national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. Pihlajamäki worked as a policeman in Helsinki from 1925 to 1944, when he died during a Soviet bombing raid. A statue in his honor was installed in Helsinki in 1956, and in 2005 he became the first Finnish wrestler to be inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame. His brothers Arvi and Paavo were also national champions in wrestling, and his cousin Hermanni was an Olympic champion.

7. Eino Leino (1891 - 1986)

With an HPI of 45.58, Eino Leino is the 7th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Eino Aukusti Leino (7 April 1891 – 30 November 1986) was a Finnish freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1932 Olympics and won a medal each time, including a gold in 1920. Leino started as a diver and association football goalkeeper before changing to wrestling. In late 1914 he immigrated to the United States, and therefore did not compete at Finnish, European and world championships until 1930s, when he returned to Finland. He won the American AAU Championships in 1920 and 1923 and placed second in Finnish championships in 1936. Leino was a carpenter by profession, and later in 1949–52 also worked as a sports functionary in Finland.

8. Yrjö Saarela (1884 - 1951)

With an HPI of 44.90, Yrjö Saarela is the 8th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Yrjö Erik Mikael Saarela (13 July 1884 – 30 June 1951) was a Finnish wrestler, who won an Olympic gold and a world championship.

9. Hermanni Pihlajamäki (1903 - 1982)

With an HPI of 44.89, Hermanni Pihlajamäki is the 9th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Herman Matinpoika "Hermanni" Pihlajamäki (11 November 1903 – 4 June 1982) was a Finnish wrestler. He competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won a gold and a bronze medal, respectively. At the European championships he won a freestyle gold medal in 1931, and two silver medals in 1935, in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Pihlajamäki won six Finnish titles: in 1927, 1930, 1932 and 1935–1937, five of them in freestyle wrestling. He worked as a policeman. His cousin Kustaa was also a policeman and an Olympic champion in wrestling.

10. Kelpo Gröndahl (1920 - 1994)

With an HPI of 44.00, Kelpo Gröndahl is the 10th most famous Finnish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Kelpo Olavi Gröndahl (28 March 1920 – 2 August 1994) was a light-heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. He won another silver medal at the 1953 World Championships and finished fifth at the 1947 European Championships. Domestically he won 15 national titles, 11 in Greco-Roman (1943, 1946–1955) and 4 in freestyle wrestling (1948–1950, 1952). Gröndahl retired from competitions after failing to qualify for the 1956 Olympics. Between 1953 and 1980 he worked as the harbormaster of the Port of Pori. He also became a member of the Pori City Council and then a member of the Pori City board of directors. In 1962–1970 he was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the Finnish People's Democratic League, and was elected as a presidential elector in 1956, 1962 and 1968. In 1982 he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the Finnish Ministry of Education. A park in the Reposaari district of Pori is named after him. Gröndahl was married and had four children, born in 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1956.

People

Pantheon has 14 people classified as wrestlers born between 1882 and 1994. Of these 14, 3 (21.43%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living wrestlers include Pertti Ukkola, Marko Yli-Hannuksela, and Petra Olli. The most famous deceased wrestlers include Väinö Kokkinen, Kalle Anttila, and Emil Väre. As of April 2022, 6 new wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Kalle Anttila, Eino Leino, and Hermanni Pihlajamäki.