Kustaa Pihlajamäki

Kustaa Kustaanpoika Pihlajamäki (7 April 1902 – 10 February 1944) was a Finnish wrestler. He competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won two gold and one silver medal. Between 1930 and 1943 he won nine European[1] and 28 national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.[2]

Kustaa Pihlajamäki

Personal information
Born	(1902-04-07)7 April 1902 Nurmo, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Died	10 February 1944(1944-02-10) (aged 41) Helsinki, Finland
Height	169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	56–66 kg (123–146 lb)
Sport
Sport	Wrestling
Club	HKV, Helsinki Helsingin Poliisi-Voimailijat, Helsinki
Medal record Representing  Finland Olympic Games 1924 Paris Freestyle, −56 kg 1928 Amsterdam Freestyle, −61 kg 1936 Berlin Freestyle, −61 kg European championships 1930 Stockholm Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1931 Prague Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1931 Budapest Freestyle, −61 kg 1933 Helsinki Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1934 Rome Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1934 Stockholm Freestyle, −61 kg 1935 Brussels Freestyle, −61 kg 1937 Paris Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1937 Munich Freestyle, −61 kg 1938 Tallinn Greco-Roman, −61 kg 1939 Oslo Greco-Roman, −61 kg

Pihlajämaki worked as a policeman in Helsinki from 1925 to 1944, when he died during a Soviet bombing raid. A statue in his honor was installed in Helsinki in 1956, and in 2005 he became the first Finnish wrestler to be inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame. His brothers Arvi and Paavo were also national champions in wrestling, and his cousin Hermanni was an Olympic champion.[2]

References

1. Pihlajamaeki, Kustaa (FIN). iat.uni-leipzig.de
2. "Kustaa Pihlajamäki". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.