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Ivar Johansson (wrestler)

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Ivar Johansson
Ivar Johansson in 1932
Personal information
Born(1903-01-31)31 January 1903
Norrköping, Sweden
Died4 August 1979(1979-08-04) (aged 76)
Norrköping, Sweden
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
Event(s)Greco-Roman
Freestyle
ClubIK Björnen, Norrköping
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1932 Los Angeles Welterweight
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Middleweight
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1929 Dortmund Welterweight
Silver medal – second place 1930 Stockholm Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1931 Prague Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1934 Rome Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1935 Copenhagen Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1937 Paris Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1938 Tallinn Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1939 Oslo Middleweight
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1932 Los Angeles Middleweight
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1934 Stockholm Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1935 Brussels Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1937 Munich Middleweight

Ivar Valentin Johansson (31 January 1903 – 4 August 1979) was a Swedish wrestler who competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1932 he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman welterweight and freestyle middleweight events. Four years later he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman middleweight competition.[1]

Career

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At the 1932 Olympics Johansson first competed as a freestyle middleweight. Despite being a favorite, he lost his first bout to Kyösti Luukko. Yet he won his all other bouts by fall, while Luukko lost in the semifinals and finished second.[2] Two days later he was scheduled to compete as a Greco-Roman welterweight. For this purpose he shed five kilograms of bodyweight by fasting and sweating in a sauna, yet relatively easily won all four bouts.[3] Later the same year he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.

Johansson never competed at the world championships. At the European championships he won nine titles in 1931–1939, six in Greco-Roman and three int freestyle wrestling.[1][4]

Johansson grew up in a rural area near Norrköping, where he built his strength by manual labor at a farm. He then moved to Norrköping city to work as a police officer and then as a wrestling coach. The annual wrestling award "Ivars Guldsko" was established in Sweden in his honor after his death.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ivar Johansson Archived 17 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ Wrestling at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Middleweight, Freestyle Archived 7 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  3. ^ Wrestling at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Welterweight, Greco-Roman Archived 28 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  4. ^ Johansson, Ivar (SWE). iat.uni-leipzig.de
  5. ^ Ivar Johansson. Swedish Olympic Committee
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