Voldemar Väli

Voldemar Väli

File:Voldemar Väli.jpg Voldemar Väli at the 1928 Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1903-01-10)10 January 1903 Kuressaare, Estonia
Died	Stockholm, Sweden
Sport
Sport	Greco-Roman wrestling
Medal record Representing Estonia Olympic Games 1928 Amsterdam Featherweight 1936 Berlin Lightweight European Championships 1926 Riga Featherweight 1927 Budapest Featherweight 1930 Stockholm Lightweight 1931 Prague Lightweight

Voldemar Väli (10 January 1903 – 13 April 1997) was an Estonian two-time Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.

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 Olympics. Domestically he won 19 titles between 1922 and 1942 in Greco-Roman and freestyle events. After 1942, in the midst of World War II, he emigrated with family to Sweden. 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. In Sweden, he was a metal worker and later established a doll factory with his wife.

External links

• GBR Athletics
• Eurolympic.org: The European Olympic Committee
• Olympics History: CBS SportsLine.com