Johan Richthoff

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Johan Richthoff

Johan Cornelius Richthoff (born April 30, 1898 in Limhamn , Skåne , † October 1, 1983 ibid) was a Swedish wrestler . He was twice Olympic champion ( 1928 in Amsterdam and 1932 in Los Angeles ) and was also three times European champion in 1929 and 1930.

Career

Johan Richthoff was one of the best Swedish wrestlers in the 1920s and early 1930s and therefore one of the best in the world. He was a giant, almost two meters tall, which was a rarity for the time. He belonged to the sports club Brottningklubben Kärnan Limhamn . Always in the heavyweight division, he wrestled in both styles, but mostly preferred the free style at major international championships . In Sweden he had great competitors in Carl Westergren and Rudolf Svensson , both also Olympic champions , which prevented Johan Richthoff from even greater success at international championships.

When he first participated in the Olympic Games in 1924, he had to be content with fifth place in the heavyweight division in Paris . He then won his first international medal at the European Championships in Riga in 1926 , where he played in Greco-Roman. Stil took 3rd place after a defeat against Georg Gehring from Germany . In 1927 he was at the European Championships in Greco-Roman. Style in Budapest second winner, although his defeat against the local Raymund Badó was surprising. At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 he was used in free style and won the gold medal there with victories in the decisive fights against Aukusti Sihvola from Finland and Edmond Dame from France .

In 1929 and 1930 he was European champion. 1929 in Paris in the free style and in 1930 in Stockholm in the Greco-Roman style. He won the final fights against Edmond Charlier from Belgium and Hjalmar Nyström from Finland.

In 1932 Johan Richthoff won the large international tournament in Stockholm in the Greco-Roman. Heavyweight style ahead of tough competitors Carl Westergren and Rudolf Svensson . But at the end of his career as an amateur wrestler at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932, he was only used in free style, where he was once again Olympic champion. He won there in front of not too difficult competition in the heavyweight division before John Horn Riley from the USA and Nikolaus Hirschl from Austria , although only these three wrestlers were at the start in this competition.

After the Olympic Games, Johan Richthoff stayed in the United States, where he appeared in professional wrestling matches in 1932 and 1933. After that he was a coach for the Swedish freestyle wrestling team for several years.

He was very popular in Sweden. In 1930 he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet gold medal .

International success

year space competition style Weight class Results
1924 5. OS in Paris F. Heavy after a win over A. Sanwire, Great Britain and a loss to Henri Wernli , Switzerland
1926 3. EM in Riga GR Heavy after a defeat against Georg Gehring , Germany and victories over Alberts Zwejnieks, Latvia and Stefan Dömeny, Hungary
1927 2. EM in Budapest GR Heavy after victories over Willi Müller, Germany, Edmond Dame , France and Mehmet Çoban , Turkey, a defeat against Raymond Badó, Hungary and a victory over Josef Urban , Czechoslovakia
1928 gold OS in Amsterdam F. Heavy after victories over Edward George, USA, Edmond Dame and Aukusti Sihvola , Finland
1929 1. EM in Paris F. Heavy after victories over A. Edwards, Great Britain, Ding, Switzerland, Léon Charlier , Belgium and Edmond Dame
1930 1. EM in Stockholm GR Heavy after victories over Georg Gehring, Josef Urban and Hjalmar Nyström , Finland
1930 1. EM in Brussels F. Heavy after defeating Léon Charlier
1930 1. Intern. Tournament in Stockholm GR Heavy before Georg Nilsson u. John Nyman , bde. Sweden
1931 2. Intern. Tournament in Gothenburg GR Heavy behind Hjalmar Nyström u. in front of Carl Westergren , Sweden
1931 2. Intern. Tournament in Malmö GR Heavy behind Carl Westergren u. before Hjalmar Nyström
1932 1. Intern. Tournament in Stockholm GR Heavy before Carl Westergren and Rudolf Svensson , bde. Sweden
1932 gold OS in Los Angeles F. Heavy after victories over John Horn Riley , USA and Nikolaus Hirschl , Austria

Successes at Swedish championships

Johann Richthoff was in 1925 and 1930 in the Greco-Roman style and in 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932 Swedish master in free style, each in the heavyweight division

Explanations
  • GR = Greco-Roman style, F = free style
  • OS = Olympic Games, EM = European Championship
  • Heavy weight, at that time over 87 kg body weight

literature

  • Athletics magazine
  • Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships 1896 to 1976, 1976
  • Anniversary band "Svensk Brottning 100 år", 2009

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Richthoff, Johan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Richthoff, Johan Cornelius (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Limhamn
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 1983
Place of death Limhamn