Kelpo Grondahl

Kelpo Grondahl medal table
Kelpo Grondahl
Wrestler
Finland
Olympic games
silver	1948 London	Semi-difficult Greco
gold	1952 Helsinki	Semi-difficult Greco
World Championship
silver	1953 Naples	Semi-difficult Greco

Kelpo Olavi Grondahl (born March 28, 1920 in Pori ; † August 2, 1994 ibid) was a Finnish wrestler .

Career

Grondahl began as a teenager in 1932 with the rings . He became a member of the wrestling club Reposaaren Kunto, which belonged to the Finnish Workers' Sports Association and to which he remained loyal throughout his career. He wrestled mainly in the Greco-Roman style. He has participated in the Finnish championships since 1940. He was Finnish champion for the first time in 1943. He won the light heavyweight title, the weight class in which he started constantly (up to 87 kg body weight). Because of the Second World War , Kelpo could not begin his international career until 1947. His greatest success was the Olympic victory in Helsinki in 1952 . After 1955 he ended his international wrestling career, but remained active for his club until 1960.

After his wrestling career, Grondahl, who worked as a port overseer, started a career as a politician. He was a member of the municipal parliament of Pori and from 1962 to 1970 Finnish member of parliament for the left-wing SKDL . In the presidential elections in 1956, 1962 and 1968 he was an electorate.

He was married to Anja Sylvia Nieminen since 1945 .

Sporting successes

International career

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, Hs = light heavyweight)

• 1947, 5th place , EM in Prague , GR, Hs, with victories over Muharrem Candaş , Turkey and K. de Groot, Netherlands and one defeat against Gyula Kovács , Hungary ;
• 1948, silver medal , OS in London , GR, Hs, with victories over Charles Istaz , Belgium , Erling Lauridsen , Denmark , Umberto Silvestri , Italy , Peter Enzinger , Austria and one defeat against Karl-Erik Nilsson , Sweden ;
• 1952, gold medal , OS in Helsinki, GR, Hs, with victories over Josef Schummer , Luxembourg , Max Leichter , Germany , Umberto Silvestri, Karl-Erik Nilsson and Schalwa Tschikladse , Soviet Union ;
• 1953, 2nd place , World Cup in Naples , GR, Hs, with victories over Karl-Erik Nilsson, Gyula Kovács, L. Melgers, Netherlands , Kurt Rusterholz , Switzerland and one defeat against August Englas , Soviet Union

Most important international battles

• 1952, USSR - Finland, GR, Hs, point defeat against August Englas,
• 1954, Sweden - Finland, GR, Hs, points victory over Viking Palm ,
• 1954, Sweden - Finland, GR, Hs, point defeat against Karl-Erik Nilsson

Finnish championships

Kelpo Grondahl won the Finnish championship in Hs, GR in 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955, in free style in 1949 and 1951. He was champion of the workers' sports association TUL in both styles seventeen times.

Results at the championships of the Finnish Wrestling Federation:

• 1943, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Samppa Mäkelä and Paavo Sepponen
• 1946, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Paavo Sepponen and Ahti Hautalammi
• 1947, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Elmer Härmä and Mikko Mansikka
• 1948, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Pauli Riihimäki and Viljo Heiskanen
• 1948, 1st place , FS, Sg, ahead of Pekka Mellavuo and Lenni Rajamäki
• 1949, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Ivar Vacklin and Ragnar Martinpuro
• 1949, 1st place , FS, Hs, in front of Evert Repo
• 1950, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Pentti Päärilä and Evert Repo
• 1950, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Ivar Vacklin and Vihtori Ahven
• 1951, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Veikko Peräkorpi and Heikki Sepponen
• 1952, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Matti Fagerroos and Veikko Peräkorpi
• 1952, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Paavo Sepponen and Martti Knuutila
• 1953, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Martti Knuutila and Veikko Lahti
• 1954, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Ivar Vacklin and Antti Vuorela
• 1955, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Pentti Jaskari and Paavo Saarijärvi

Results at the championships of the workers' sports association TUL:

• 1944, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Viljo Martelius and Erkki Teerioja
• 1945, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Pentti Vuotila and Viljo Kataja
• 1946, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Jaakko Virta and Valä Mäkinen
• 1947, 1st place , GR, Hs, in front of I. Teräs and Bruno Mäkinen
• 1948, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Jaakko Virta and Ivar Vacklin
• 1949, 1st place , GR, Sg, ahead of Taisto Kangasniemi and Kaino Mäkelä
• 1949, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Ivar Vacklin and Pentti Päärilä
• 1950, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Viljo Heiskanen and Pauli Koivu
• 1950, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of A. Mykrä and O. Latva
• 1951, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Pentti Päärilä and Viljo Heiskanen
• 1951, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Pentti Päärilä and Ivar Vacklin
• 1952, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Veikko Laulainen and Heikki Friberg
• 1952, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Pentti Päärilä and Jaakko Vesanen
• 1953, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Vilho Laulainen and Veikko Valtanen
• 1954, 1st place , FS, Hs, ahead of Sauli Autio and Erkki Kuorikoski
• 1955, 1st place , GR, Sg, ahead of Taisto Kangasniemi and Jaakko Virta
• 1956, 1st place , GR, Hs, ahead of Ivar Vacklin and Reino Aro

Web links

• Profile of Kelpo Grondahl at the Institute for Applied Training Science
• Kelpo Grondahl in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Kelpo Grondahl on the side of the Finnish Parliament