Reima Valdemar VIRTANEN

Reima Virtanen took up boxing in 1959 and won the Finnish Middleweight Championships in 1969, 1971 and 1972. He was also selected as the best Finnish boxer all those years. The 1972 Olympics were probably the best tournament for Virtanen as he reached the final, where he lost to Soviet Vyacheslav Lemeshev by knockout in the first round and earned a silver medal. Previously, Virtanen had won bronzes at the 1969 and 1971 European Championships and golds at the 1970 and 1972 Nordic Championships. Virtanen was selected to the Finnish Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.