Osvald Käpp

{{Short description|Estonian wrestler (1905–1995)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Osvald Käpp

| image = Osvald Käpp.jpeg

| image_size =

| caption =

| height = 173 cm

| birth_date = {{birth date|1905|2|17|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Tallinn, Estonia

| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|12|22|1905|2|17|df=yes}}

| death_place = New York, New York, U.S.

| sport = Wrestling

| club =Kalev Tallinn

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's freestyle wrestling }}

{{MedalCountry | {{flagIOC|EST|1928 Summer}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

{{MedalGold | 1928 Amsterdam | 66 kg }}

{{MedalSport | Men's Greco-Roman wrestling }}

{{MedalCompetition | European Championships }}

{{MedalSilver | 1926 Riga | 67.5 kg }}

{{MedalBronze | 1927 Budapest | 67.5 kg }}

}}

Osvald Käpp (17 February 1905 – 22 December 1995) was an Estonian wrestler who competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman lightweight events at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/57819 |title=Osvald Käpp |work=Olympedia |access-date=9 December 2021}} He won the freestyle contest in 1928{{cite news |title=5 Nations Leading in Wrestling |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119508386/osvald-kpp-1905-1995/ |work=Monrovia News-Post |date=August 2, 1932 |location=Monrovia, CA |page=2 |access-date=February 23, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{cite news |title=The Olympic Games, 1984 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119508366/osvald-kpp-1905-1995/ |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=July 26, 1984 |location=Philadelphia, PA |page=99 |access-date=February 23, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Estonia in 1932. He also won two medals in Greco-Roman wrestling at the European championships in 1926–27.

Käpp trained as a gymnast and basketball player before changing to wrestling in 1923. In 1929, during the Great Depression, he immigrated to New York City, and won the AAU Greco-Roman (1929) and freestyle titles (1930–31). He retired in 1931, but was convinced to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics, as Estonia could not afford sending an Olympic team to Los Angeles and was recruiting Estonians living in the United States (only Käpp and Alfred Maasik agreed). Lack of preparation took its toll, and Käpp was eliminated after three rounds in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.{{cite news |title=5 Teams Lead in Wrestling |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119436903/osvald-kpp-1905-1995/ |work=The Huntsville Times |date=August 2, 1932 |location=Huntsville, AL |page=4 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

Käpp was a pastry-chef. While living in Tallinn he worked at a candy factory and later opened a bakery in New York.