Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Viipuri, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire | 2 November 1888|||||||||||||||||
Died | 7 January 1942 Mäntsälä, Uusimaa, Finland | (aged 53)|||||||||||||||||
Weight | Middleweight (67.5-75kg) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Alfred Johan "Alpo" Asikainen (2 November 1888 – 7 January 1942) was a Finnish wrestler who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. [1]
Asikainen won the Greco-Roman middleweight event at the 1911 World Wrestling Championships in Helsinki. It was the only time he finished within the podium at a World Wrestling Championship. [2]
At the 1912 Olympics Asikainen won against his first four opponents, including the eventual winner Claes Johanson. In the semifinal he wrestled Estonian Martin Klein, [3] who was forced to represent Russia, [4] for eleven hours and forty minutes (time limits were introduced to wrestling in 1924) on a blisteringly sunny day outdoors in the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. After one hour, a short rest was granted, and then every thirty minutes. [5]
Asikainen lost by pin, and Klein ended up withdrawing from the final due to exhaustion, resulting in Johansson winning the gold medal by default. [3] Asikainen was awarded the bronze medal. [4] The bout between Asikainen and Klein remains the longest wrestling match in history. [6]