Alfred Asikainen

Alfred Johan "Alpo" Asikainen (2 November 1888 – 7 January 1942) was a Finnish wrestler who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal.^[1]

Alfred Asikainen

Asikainen (right, in black) and Klein wrestling at the 1912 Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1888-11-02)2 November 1888 Viipuri, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Died	7 January 1942(1942-01-07) (aged 53) Mäntsälä, Uusimaa, Finland
Weight	Middleweight (67.5–75kg)
Medal record Men's Greco-Roman wrestling Representing  Finland Olympic Games 1912 Stockholm Middleweight World Championships 1911 Helsinki Middleweight

Sporting career

Asikainen won the Greco-Roman middleweight event at the 1911 World Wrestling Championships in Helsinki. It was the only time he finished on the podium at a World Wrestling Championship.^[2]

At the 1912 Olympics, Asikainen won against his first four opponents, including the eventual winner Claes Johanson. In the semifinal, he wrestled Estonian Martin Klein,^[3] who was forced to represent Russia,^[4] for eleven hours and forty minutes (time limits were introduced to wrestling in 1924) on a blisteringly sunny day outdoors in the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. After one hour, a short rest was granted, and then every thirty minutes.^[5]

Asikainen lost by pin, and Klein withdrew from the final due to exhaustion, resulting in Johansson winning the gold medal by default.^[3] Asikainen was awarded the bronze medal.^[4] The bout between Asikainen and Klein remains the longest wrestling match in history.^[6]