Oskar David FRIMAN

Oskari Friman took up wrestling in 1908 and by the middle of the 1910s was considered the second best Finnish Greco-Roman lightweight wrestler, behind his clubmate Emil Väre. Due to World War I, Friman made his international début at the 1920 Olympics and, not relishing his chances against Väre, entered the Games as a featherweight. After winning gold in that class at the Olympics, and after Väre’s retirement, Friman established himself as the World’s best Greco-Roman lightweight wrestler by winning the World title in 1921 and his second Olympic gold in 1924. Friman also competed at the 1925 European Championships but, to everyone’s surprise, did not medal. Friman was the Nordic middleweight champion in 1920-21 and 1923 and won 11 Finnish titles: in 1915-17 in featherweight, in 1918-21, 1923 and 1928 in lightweight and in 1922 and 1924 in middleweight. During and after his wrestling career, Friman worked as a butcher and tinsmith and later served as head coach of the Finnish and Swedish national wrestling teams.