Tauno Into KOVANEN

Tauno Kovanen took up wrestling in 1947, when he was already 30-years-old, and, five years later, won a surprising bronze medal in the Greco-Roman heavyweight class at the 1952 Olympics, which was his only major international tournament. Domestically, Kovanen never won a Finnish title, capturing Greco-Roman heavyweight silver in 1952 and bronze in 1951, 1953 and 1954, and freestyle heavyweight silver in 1950 and 1953 and bronze in 1951 and 1952. By profession Kovanen was a policeman and twice won the European Police Forces Championships title in heavyweight wrestling.