Richard Voliva

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Richard Lawrence "Dick" Voliva (born October 18, 1912 in Bloomington , Indiana , † November 2, 1999 in Amherst , Massachusetts ) was an American wrestler and coach. He was winner of the silver medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin in free style middleweight.

Career

Dick Voliva grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and began wrestling in high school there . As was customary in secondary schools at the time, he only learned the free style. In the early 1930s, he was twice Indiana high school welterweight champion. He later attended Indiana University . Here, too, he devoted himself to wrestling and finished in 1933 at the NCAA (US-American University Sports Association) Collegiate Championships in the welterweight division in 2nd place and in 1934 in first place.

In 1936 Dick Voliva won the US Olympic elimination for the Olympic Games in Berlin in the middleweight division. In Berlin he wrestled very successfully and won the silver medal with five wins . In the fight for the gold medal, he lost to the more experienced Frenchman Émile Poilvé on points.

After these Olympics, Dick moved to Montclair State University in New Jersey , where he became a wrestling coach. He held this office very successfully for over 25 years. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1984 for his services to wrestling .

International success

1936, silver medal , Olympic Games in Berlin , freestyle, middleweight (up to 79 kg body weight), with victories over Karam Rasul, India , Jan van der Merwe, South Africa , Ahmet Kireççi , Turkey , Kyösti Luukko , Finland a . Ernst Krebs , Switzerland and a loss to Émile Poilvé , France

swell

  • 1) various issues of the specialist magazine "Athletik" from 1936,
  • 2) Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships; 1976,
  • 3) Website of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Voliva, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Voliva, Richard Lawrence; Voliva, Dick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler and coach
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Bloomington , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH November 2, 1999
Place of death Amherst , Massachusetts