Voldemar Väli

{{Infobox sportsperson

|name=Voldemar Väli

|image=Voldemar Väli.jpg

|caption=Voldemar Väli at the 1928 Olympics

|birth_date={{birth date|1903|1|10|df=yes}}

|birth_place=Kuressaare, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire

|death_date={{death date and age|1997|4|13|1903|1|10|df=yes}}

|death_place=Stockholm, Sweden

|sport=Greco-Roman wrestling

|show-medals=yes

|medaltemplates=

{{MedalCountry|{{flagicon|Estonia}} Estonia}}

File:Olympic rings.svg

}}

Voldemar Väli (10 January 1903 – 13 April 1997) was an Estonian two-time Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/va/voldemar-vali-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418003220/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/va/voldemar-vali-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-18 |title=Voldemar Väli |work=sports-reference.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/57833 |title=Voldemar Väli |work=Olympedia |access-date=9 December 2021}}

Career

Voldemar Väli was born in Kuressaare, on the island of Saaremaa. He began 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 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[https://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbfoeldeak/daten.php?spid=E22BB9AFD9FB4D49926706F59EBF3E37 Vaeli, Voldemar (EST)]. iat.uni-leipzig.de Domestically he won 19 titles between 1922 and 1942 in Greco-Roman and freestyle events. During World War II in 1944 he emigrated with family to Sweden.[http://www.esbl.ee/biograafia/Voldemar_Väli Väli, Voldemar]. Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon 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.

Legacy

A bronze sculpture of Väli was installed at the sports centre in his hometown of Kuressaare in October 2024.{{cite web|first=Margus|last=Muld|url=https://sport.err.ee/1609503679/kuressaares-avati-maadleja-voldemar-vali-skulptuur|title=Kuressaares avati maadleja Voldemar Väli skulptuur|website=Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR)|date=26 October 2024|access-date=24 November 2024|language=et}}

References

External links

[http://www.gbrathletics.com/olympic/wrestle.htm GBR Athletics]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311123228/http://www.eurolympic.org/jahia/Jahia/cache/offonce/pid/337;jsessionid=2A8FF51DFB25218A89FA8CB1BD432278?language=eng Eurolympic.org: The European Olympic Committee]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311022349/http://cbs.sportsline.com/olympics/summer/nations/history/EST Olympics History: CBS SportsLine.com]

Category:1903 births

Category:1997 deaths

Category:Sportspeople from Kuressaare

Category:People from Kreis Ösel

Category:Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Category:Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Category:Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics

Category:Estonian male sport wrestlers

Category:Olympic wrestlers for Estonia

Category:Olympic gold medalists for Estonia

Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia

Category:Olympic medalists in wrestling

Category:Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics

Category:European Wrestling Championships medalists

Category:Estonian World War II refugees

Category:Estonian emigrants to Sweden