Kristjan Palusalu

Kristjan Palusalu

Kristjan Palusalu , originally to 1935 Kristjan Trossmann , (February * 26 ^{. Jul} / 10. March  1908 ^greg. In the village Saulepi, today rural municipality Varbla ; † 17th July 1987 in Tallinn , Soviet Union ) was an Estonian wrestler .

Life and Sport until 1939

Kristjan Palusalu grew up in his birthplace and was active as a teenager with gymnasts, weightlifting and athletics. In 1929 he was drafted into the military police in Suurupi near Tallinn, where he began wrestling. He liked it and with a height of 1.84 meters and a weight of about 100 kg had the best conditions for a good heavyweight. In the course of his career he increased his weight to about 115 kg. He joined the wrestling club Sport Tallinn and was trained there by Anton Ohake.

As early as 1929 he started at the Estonian championships in free style, but remained unplaced after defeats against Olaf Luiga and Otto Viikberg. The same happened to him at the Estonian championship in 1930 in the Greco-Roman style, where he lost again to Luiga and Viikberg. At the Estonian championship in 1930 in free style, he then finished in heavyweight a. a. with victories over Arnold Luhaäär and Alexander Köllot and defeats against Olaf Luiga and Otto Viikberg took 3rd place and won his first medal at an important championship.

He also took 3rd place at the Estonian championship in 1931 in the Greco-Roman style. He defeated u. a. Alexander Köllot, Olaf Luiga and Eduard Männiko, but lost to Arnold Luhaäär. In the same year he was used in Riga in an international match between Estonia and Latvia , defeating Albert Zvejnieks . In a double international match against Finland in Tallinn in 1931, he defeated Väinö Leitise, but was defeated by the experienced Edil Rosenquist .

In 1932 Kristjan Palusalu became Estonian masters in both styles. In spring 1932, in preparation for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a four-country match with Sweden, Estonia, Hungary and Germany took place in Stockholm . Kristjan Palusalu represented the Estonian colors in the heavyweight division. He had to pay tribute to his relative inexperience in international wrestling, because he lost to Raymund Badó from Hungary, Georg Gehring from Germany and Carl Westergreen from Sweden, all heavyweight wrestlers with great international success. Estonia did not send wrestlers to the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In 1933 Kristjan Palusalu was again the Estonian master in both styles. In an international match between Latvia and Estonia in Riga, he was again winner over Albert Zvejnieks. In 1933 he started at a European championship for the first time. This took place in Helsinki in the Greco-Roman style . In the heavyweight division there were only four wrestlers at the start. Kristjan Palusalu lost to Carl Westergreen and Kurt Hornfischer from Germany and took 4th place.

In 1934 Kristjan Palusalu lost in Helsinki in an international match against Finland against Arvo Niemelä on points. In the same year he was defeated in the final battle of the Estonian championship in the Greco-Roman style by Nikolai Karklin and therefore only finished 2nd. That was the last loss he suffered from an Estonian wrestler in his career.

In 1935 he defeated in Tallinn in an international match against Finland Hjalmar Nyström on points.

At the European Championships in Rome (GR) and Stockholm (F) in 1934 and in Copenhagen (GR) and Brussels (F) in 1935, Estonia only took part with a few athletes, probably for economic reasons. Kristjan Palusalu was not at the start in any of them.

In 1936 Kristjan Palulalu was again Estonian master in both styles. At the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 , Estonian wrestlers were back at the start. Kristjan Palusalu represented Estonia in the heavyweight division in both styles and was in Berlin in the form of his life. From August 2 to August 4, 1936, the fighting took place in free style. He defeated Josef Klapuch from Czechoslovakia, Robert Herland from France, Mehmet Çoban from Turkey, Werner Bürki from Switzerland and Hjalmar Nyström from Finland and won his first gold medal. In the Greco-Roman style competitions, which took place from August 6 to August 9, 1936, he defeated Eduard Schöll from Austria, Zoltan Kondorossy from Romania, John Nyman from Sweden, Mehmet Coban and the three-time European champion (1933 to 1935) Kurt Hornfischer from Germany and won his second gold medal.

Kristjan Palusalu was the most successful athlete in his homeland during the interwar period. At the opening ceremony of the 1936 Games, he carried the Estonian flag into the Olympic Stadium.

In 1937 he was again the Estonian master in both styles. In the Greco-Roman style, he defeated Johannes Kotkas , who would one day be his successor. That year he also started at the European Championships in Greco-Roman style in Paris . He won the title there with victories over Georg Gehring , Germany, Gyula Bobis , Hungary, Léon Charlier , Belgium, Robert Herland, John Nyman and Josef Klapuch in a superior style. At the European Free Style Championships in Munich in 1937, where Kurt Hornfischer won, he was not at the start.

On January 7, 1938, Kristjan Palusalu suffered a serious shoulder joint injury in a fight in Tallinn. However, he initially recovered from it and defeated Arvo Niemelä on March 14, 1938 in Helsinki in an international match against Finland. In the same month he was again Estonian master in the Greco-Roman style before Johannes Kotkas and Nikolai Karklin.

Shortly afterwards he injured his shoulder again. The injury turned out to be so severe that he had to end his wrestling career.

After wrestling

After the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940 in the wake of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact Palusalu as many of his countrymen deported . Sentenced to death after attempting to flee, he reported as a "volunteer" to the Finnish front, where he deserted to Finland in autumn 1941 . He returned from Finland to his homeland, which was still occupied by Germany until 1944. After the Red Army invaded again in 1944, Palusalu was initially imprisoned. In the Estonian SSR he initially worked as a construction worker, but was then allowed to work as a wrestling trainer.

Since Palusalu was the most successful Estonian athlete of the interwar period and his fate exemplifies the sufferings of his people under Soviet rule, he has remained one of the most popular Estonian athletes to this day. The bronze soldier of the controversial war memorial in Tallinn is said to be modeled after the figure of Kristjan Palusalu.

International success

year	space	competition	Style	Weight class	Results
1933	4th	EM in Helsinki	GR	Heavy	after losing to Carl Westergreen , Sweden and Kurt Hornfischer , Germany
1936	gold	OS in Berlin	F.	Heavy	after victories over Josef Klapuch , Czechoslovakia, Robert Herland, France, Mehmet Çoban , Turkey, Werner Bürki , Switzerland and Hjalmar Nyström , Finland
1936	gold	OS in Berlin	GR	Heavy	after victories over Eduard Schöll, Austria, Zoltan Kondorossy, Romania, John Nyman, Sweden, Mehmet Coban and Kurt Hornfischer, Germany
1937	1.	EM in Paris	GR	Heavy	after victories over Georg Gehring , Germany, Gyula Bóbis , Ungtarn, Léon Charlier, Belgium, Robert Herland, John Nyman and Josef Klapuch

Explanations

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

literature

• Professional magazines athletics and strength training
• Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships 1896 to 1976, 1976

Web links

• Profile of Kristjan Palusalu at the Institute for Applied Training Science
• Kristjan Palusalu in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Sports achievements and photo (Estonian)
• Portrait with Photo (Estonian)