Yrjö_Saarela

Yrjö Saarela

Yrjö Saarela

Finnish wrestler (1884–1951)

Yrjö Erik Mikael Saarela (13 July 1884 – 30 June 1951) was a Finnish wrestler, who won an Olympic gold and a world championship.[1]

Quick Facts Personal information, Birth name ...

Wrestling

Saarela began wrestling in 1906, coached by Carl Allén.[2]

By 1908 he was a well-established wrestler and was nominated into the Finnish Olympic team without trials.[3]

He won silver at the 1908 Olympics, which was a single-elimination tournament:

More information Round, Opponent ...

According to rumours, Weckman bribed Saarela to throw the final.[3] Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.[5]

He won the Finnish national heavyweight championship in 1908 and 1909.[6][7]

He won the over 83 kg class at the 1911 World Wrestling Championships.[8][9]

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He won the Olympic gold at the 1912 Games, which was a double-elimination tournament:

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The fifth round loss was a favour to Olin, who would've been eliminated otherwise. Saarela withdrew faking a knee injury. Olin returned the favour by letting him win the gold medal match, even though Saarela was exhausted after a three-hour bout against Jensen.[12][13]

He began a brief professional career after the 1912 games, wrestling mostly in international circuses touring in Finland.[14][15]

His amateur status was reinstated in 1924.[2] He returned to form at the age of 44, when he won Finnish national heavyweight championship bronze in 1929.[16] He was a regional coaching consultant in the Finnish Wrestling Federation in the 1930s.[17]

He received the Cross of Merit, in gold, of the Finnish Sports from the Ministry of Education in 1948.[18]

His Olympic medals are in the collection of the Sports Museum of Finland.[19]

Biography

His parents were Jaakko Sarkkinen and Maria Sunila, and he was born Yrjö Sarkkinen. They switched the last name after buying and moving to a farm named Saarela. He eventually inherited two thirds of the farm.[20]

He married Ester Elisabeth Markuksela in 1910. They had children:[21]

  1. Aino Kyllikki (1910–1972)
  2. Ahti Johannes (1912–1913)
  3. Erkko Olavi (1913–1972)
  4. Marja-Liisa (1915–1953)
  5. Yrjö Eino Mikael (1920–1940)
  6. Pentti Johannes (1922–1942)
  7. Pirkko Kaarina (1927–). She married economist Kaarlo Larna.

His personal economy suffered when had acted as a surety to loans that defaulted during the Great Depression. His farm bankrupted in 1931. However, thanks to an inheritance, he recovered quickly and returned to farming.[22]

He suffered a stroke in 1944 and was paralyzed.[22]

After he died, he was buried in his family plot. His name on the gravestone has an engraving of the Olympic rings. Saarela is the only Olympic winner from North Ostrobothnia.[23]

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yrjö Saarela.

Literature

  • Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.

References

  1. [1]
    "Yrjö Saarela". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. [2]
    Järvinen, Eino (1977). 70 vuotta suomalaista painia 1906–1976 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Wrestling Federation. p. 73.
  3. [3]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 45–46. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  4. [4]
    Cook, Theodore Andrea (1909). The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report (PDF). London: British Olympic Association. pp. 335–337. Retrieved 26 March 2019 – via LA84 Foundation.
  5. [5]
    Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2013). Urheilun tunteita ja tarinoita. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-952-247-437-7.
  6. [6]
    Virtamo, Keijo; et al., eds. (1976). Fokus urheilu 2 (in Finnish) (4th ed.). Helsinki: Otava Publishing Company. p. 276. ISBN 951-1-00331-3.
  7. [7]
    "1905–1909" (PDF). Suomen Painiliitto. Miesten kreikkalais-roomalaisen painin SM-kisojen tulokset 1898 - 2019 (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 2. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  8. [8]
    "World Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 1911-03-25 Helsinki (FIN) > 83.0 kg". Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland: United World Wrestling. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  9. [9]
    Järvinen, Eino (1977). 70 vuotta suomalaista painia 1906–1976 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Wrestling Federation. p. 107.
  10. [10]
    V. E. T. (April 1911). "Amatööri maailmanmestaruus painikilpailut Helsingissä maaliskuun 25, 26, 27 ja 28 p:nä 1911". Suomen Urheilulehti (in Finnish). No. 4/1911. Helsinki. p. 113. ISSN 0355-6085. Retrieved 29 March 2019 – via Digital Collections of National Library of Finland.
  11. [11]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. p. 74. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  12. [12]
    Erola, Lasse (2016). Suomalaisten olympiavoittojen tarinat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Paasilinna. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-952-299-110-2.
  13. [13]
    Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2011). Urheilijat maineen poluilla. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. pp. 244–245. ISBN 978-952-247-223-6.
  14. [14]
    M-o-n-i (1939). Suomalaisia mestaripainijoita (in Finnish). Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. p. 96.
  15. [15]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 103–106. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  16. [16]
    "1925–1929" (PDF). Suomen Painiliitto. Miesten kreikkalais-roomalaisen painin SM-kisojen tulokset 1898 - 2019 (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 4. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  17. [17]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 99–102. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  18. [18]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 107–108. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  19. [19]
    Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2011). Urheilijat maineen poluilla. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. p. 246. ISBN 978-952-247-223-6.
  20. [20]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 8–9. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  21. [21]
    Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 111–112. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  22. [22]
    Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2011). Urheilijat maineen poluilla. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. p. 248. ISBN 978-952-247-223-6.
  23. [23]
    Portaankorva, Juha (6 October 2009). "Painijalegenda sai renkaansa". Kaleva (in Finnish). Oulu. ISSN 0356-1356. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
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