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Verner Weckman

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Verner Weckman
Personal information
Full nameJohan Verner Weckman
National teamFinland
Born(1882-07-26)July 26, 1882
Loviisa, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
DiedFebruary 22, 1968(1968-02-22) (aged 85)
Helsinki, Finland
Resting placeHietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki
Monument(s)Memorial relief in Loviisa, by Matti Haupt, 1963
EducationMaster of Science in Engineering, mechanical (1907) and electrical (1908) engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Occupation(s)Plant manager, chief executive officer, technical director
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight85–90 kg (187–198 lb)
Spouses
  • Ingrid Suoma Regina Svedberg (1910–1947)
  • Dagmar Maria Falin (Lund) (1948–)
Sport
SportGreco-Roman wrestling
Club
  • Helsingfors Gymnastikklubben (1902–1903)
  • Helsingin Atleettiklubi (1903–1904)
  • Germania Karlsruhe
Medal record
Representing Russia Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1908 London Light heavyweight
Intercalated Games
Gold medal – first place 1906 Athens Middleweight
Silver medal – second place 1906 Athens All-around

Johan Verner Weckman (26 July 1882 – 22 February 1968) was a Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland. He competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games and the 1908 Summer Olympics and won two gold and one silver medal.[1][2] He was the first Finnish Olympic gold medalist.

He was inspired to take up wrestling at the age of 15. He joined the club Helsingfors Gymnastikklubben in 1902, then moved to Helsingin Atleettiklubi in 1903.[3] He won the Finnish national Greco-Roman heavyweight championship in 1904.[4][5]

He completed his matriculation exam at the Helsinki Swedish Real Lyceum in 1902 and then studied at the Helsinki Polytechnical Institute.[6] He moved abroad in 1904 to avoid conscription. He studied briefly in ETH Zurich and then moved to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where he joined the club Germania Karlsruhe.[7]

He won the unofficial Greco-Roman heavyweight world title in Duisburg in 1905.[8]

Weckman was the initiating force behind Finland sending a team to the 1906 Intercalated Games. He was being pressured to change citizenship and to join the German team, but Weckman insisted on representing Finland. He found a private financial supporter, and four Finnish competitiors travelled to Athens.[7] He won gold in his class, and then silver in the all-around event, which was exclusively for the class-winners:

Verner Weckman in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Event Round Opponent Result
Middleweight[9] First round  Paul Boghaert (FRA) Win
Quarter-finals  Sauveur (BEL) Win
Semi-finals  Rudolf Lindmayer (AUT) Win
Final  Robert Behrens (DEN) Win
All-around[10] First bout Bye
Second bout  Søren Marinus Jensen (DEN) Loss

He was nominated into the 1908 Finnish Olympic team without trials.[11]

Verner Weckman at the 1908 Summer Olympics Greco-Roman light heavyweight[12]
Round Opponent Result
First round Bye
Second round  William West (GBR) Win by fall at 1:53
Quarter-finals  Fritz Larsson (SWE) Win by fall at 4:10
Semi-finals  Hugó Payr (HUN) Win by fall at 5:35
Final (best out of three)  Yrjö Saarela (FIN) Loss by fall at 4:22
Win by fall at 5:07
Win by fall at 16:10

According to rumours, Weckman bribed Saarela to throw the final.[13] Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider there to be plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.[14]

He retired from wrestling after the 1908 games.[14] He is the first Finn to win an Olympic gold, both including and excluding the Intercalated Games.[15] He also is the first Finnish wrestler to win a world championship, although unofficially.[16]

Weckman graduated Master of Science in mechanical engineering in 1907 and electrical engineering in 1908, and worked as a technical director in asbestos mining in the Ural Mountains until 1921, when he returned to Finland, where he worked at the Kaapelitehdas, becoming its chief executive officer in 1937–1955.[6]

He was awarded the honorary title vuorineuvos in 1953.[17][18] Talouselämä magazine listed Weckman among the 100 most significant business executives of Finland's history in 2012.[19]

There is a memorial dedicated to him in his birth town Loviisa. Made by Matti Haupt in 1963, Olympic rings were added to it in 2010.[20]

Family

His parents were farm owner Anders Weckman and Fredrika Johansson.

His first marriage was to Ingrid Suoma Regina Svedberg (1889–1947) in 1910. They had two children:

  1. Gunnel Ingrid Emilia (1914–)
  2. Per Verner Anders (1916–)

He became a widow in 1947, and married Dagmar Maria Falin (former Lund) (1894–) in 1948.[21]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Verner Weckman.
  1. ^ Verner Weckman. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ Verner Weckman. Suomen Urheilumuseo
  3. ^ M-o-n-i (1939). Suomalaisia mestaripainijoita (in Finnish). Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. p. 53.
  4. ^ Virtamo, Keijo; et al., eds. (1976). Fokus urheilu 2 (in Finnish) (4th ed.). Helsinki: Otava Publishing Company. p. 276. ISBN 951-1-00331-3.
  5. ^ "1898-1904" (PDF). Suomen Painiliitto. Miesten kreikkalais-roomalaisen painin SM-kisojen tulokset 1898 - 2019 (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b Häikiö, Martti (2001). Nokia Oyj:n historia (in Finnish). Vol. 1. Fuusio. Helsinki: Edita. pp. 72–73. ISBN 951-37-3327-0.
  7. ^ a b Sjöblom, Kenth (2006). "Olympiaseikkailu Suomen ensimmäisten olympiaedustajien matka Ateenaan 1906". In Forsén, Björn; Sironen, Erkki (eds.). Kadonnut Kreikka. Suomalaisten matkakuvauksia ennen massaturismia. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia (in Finnish). Helsinki: The Finnish Literature Society. pp. 181–183. ISBN 951-746-696-X. ISSN 0355-1768.
  8. ^ "unofficial World Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 1905-06-11 Duisburg (ALL) > 85.0 kg". Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland: United World Wrestling. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. ^ Mallon, Bill (2009). The 1906 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland. pp. 150–152. ISBN 9780786440672.
  10. ^ Mallon, Bill (2009). The 1906 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 9780786440672.
  11. ^ Erola, Lasse (2016). Suomalaisten olympiavoittojen tarinat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Paasilinna. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-952-299-110-2.
  12. ^ Cook, Theodore Andrea (1909). The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report (PDF). London: British Olympic Association. pp. 335–337. Retrieved 26 March 2019 – via LA84 Foundation.
  13. ^ Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 45–46. ISBN 951-99570-3-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ a b Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2013). Urheilun tunteita ja tarinoita. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-952-247-437-7.
  15. ^ Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000. Suuri olympiateos (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 369. ISBN 951-98673-1-7.
  16. ^ Järvinen, Eino (1977). 70 vuotta suomalaista painia 1906–1976 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Wrestling Federation. pp. 107–120.
  17. ^ "Suomalaiset talouden alan arvonimellä palkitut". Biografiakeskus (in Finnish). Finnish Literature Society.
  18. ^ Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2013). Urheilun tunteita ja tarinoita. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. p. 206. ISBN 978-952-247-437-7.
  19. ^ "Tässä ovat Suomen historian 100 merkittävintä yritysjohtajaa" (in Finnish). Helsinki: Alma Talent Oy. 30 November 2012. ISSN 0356-5106. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  20. ^ Paappanen, Outi (23 February 2011). "Verner Weckman rengastettiin vihdoin". Uusimaa (in Finnish). ISSN 0357-1858. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  21. ^ Soukola, Timo; Häikiö, Martti (2007). "Weckman, Verner". In Klinge, Matti; Mäkelä-Alitalo, Anneli; et al. (eds.). Suomen kansallisbiografia. Studia biographica (in Finnish). Vol. 10. Trana–Österman. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. pp. 384–385. ISBN 978-951-746-451-2. ISSN 1456-2138.
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