Verner Weckman

Johan Verner Weckman (26 July 1882 – 22 February 1968) was a wrestler, who is the first Finnish Olympic gold medalist.

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
MonumentsMemorial relief in Loviisa, by Matti Haupt, 1963
EducationMaster of Science in Engineering, mechanical (1907) and electrical (1908) engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
OccupationPlant manager, chief executive officer, technical director
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight85–90 kg (187–198 lb)
Spouse(s)
  • 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 Finland
Olympic Games
1908 London Light heavyweight
Intercalated Games
1906 Athens Middleweight
1906 Athens All-around
World Championships
1905 Duisburg (unofficial) Heavyweight

Wrestling

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.[1] He won the Finnish national Greco-Roman heavyweight championship in 1904.[2][3] Then he moved to Germany, where he joined the club Germania Karlsruhe.[4]

He won the unofficial Greco-Roman heavyweight world title in Duisburg in 1905.[5]

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 competitors travelled to Athens.[4] He won gold in his class:

Verner Weckman in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Event Round Opponent Result
Middleweight[6] First round  Paul Boghaert (FRA) Win
Quarter-finals  Sauveur (BEL) Win
Semi-finals  Rudolf Lindmayer (AUT) Win
Final  Robert Behrens (DEN) Win
All-around[7] First bout Bye
Second bout  Søren Marinus Jensen (DEN) Loss

The all-around event was exclusively for class-winners, and no physical medals were awarded for the three participants.[8]

He was nominated into the 1908 Finnish Olympic team without trials.[9]

Verner Weckman at the 1908 Summer Olympics Greco-Roman light heavyweight[10]
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.[11] Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider there to be plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.[12]

He retired from wrestling after the 1908 games.[12]

Weckman is the first Finn to win an Olympic gold, both including and excluding the Intercalated Games,[13] and the first Finnish wrestler to win a world championship, although unofficially.[14] Weckman also joked that he was the first Russian Olympic winner, when he met with Soviets during negotiations for the Finnish war reparations to the Soviet Union.[15]

He donated his gold medals to the Sports Museum of Finland.[16]

Business career

He completed his matriculation exam at the Helsinki Swedish Real Lyceum in 1902 and then studied at the Helsinki Polytechnical Institute.[15] He moved abroad in 1904 to avoid conscription. He studied briefly in ETH Zurich and then moved to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.[4]

Weckman graduated as a Master of Science in mechanical engineering in 1907 and electrical engineering in 1908. He briefly served in Westinghouse Electric Corporation in France in 1909, and then worked as a technical director in asbestos mining in the Ural Mountains until 1921. Then he returned to Finland, where he worked at the Kaapelitehdas, first as a technical director in 1921–1937, then its chief executive officer in 1937–1955.[17] He remained in the company board after retirement.[18]

He was a deputy board member of The Finnish Employers' Confederation in 1942–1947[19] and board member in metal industry and engineering associations.[17]

Accolades

He is an honorary chairman of Helsingin Atleettiklubi.[17]

He was awarded the honorary title vuorineuvos in 1953.[20][21]

He received the following honorary awards:[17]

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.[22]

Talouselämä magazine listed Weckman among the 100 most significant business executives of Finland's history in 2012.[23]

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.[24]

References
  1. M-o-n-i (1939). Suomalaisia mestaripainijoita (in Finnish). Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. p. 53.
  2. Virtamo, Keijo; et al., eds. (1976). Fokus urheilu 2 (in Finnish) (4th ed.). Helsinki: Otava Publishing Company. p. 276. ISBN 951-1-00331-3.
  3. "1898-1904" (PDF). Suomen Painiliitto. Miesten kreikkalais-roomalaisen painin SM-kisojen tulokset 1898 - 2019 (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. "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.
  6. Mallon, Bill (2009). The 1906 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland. pp. 150–152. ISBN 9780786440672.
  7. Mallon, Bill (2009). The 1906 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 9780786440672.
  8. Vettenniemi, Erkki (2007). Pohjolan helleenit. Suomalaisten olympiaurheilujen synty [The northern Hellas. Origins of Finnish olympic sports]. Historiallisia tutkimuksia (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. p. 278. ISBN 978-951-746-934-0. ISSN 0073-2559.
  9. Erola, Lasse (2016). Suomalaisten olympiavoittojen tarinat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Paasilinna. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-952-299-110-2.
  10. 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.
  11. Lintala, Esko (1984). Yrjö Saarela — painimattojen aristokraatti (in Finnish). Oulu: Lions Club Oulu-Oulujoki. pp. 45–46. ISBN 951-99570-3-0.
  12. Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2013). Urheilun tunteita ja tarinoita. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-952-247-437-7.
  13. Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000. Suuri olympiateos (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 369. ISBN 951-98673-1-7.
  14. Järvinen, Eino (1977). 70 vuotta suomalaista painia 1906–1976 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Wrestling Federation. pp. 107–120.
  15. Häikiö, Martti (2001). Nokia Oyj:n historia (in Finnish). 1. Fuusio. Helsinki: Edita. pp. 72–73. ISBN 951-37-3327-0.
  16. Rantamaa, Antti J., ed. (1954). Olympiavoittajien testamentti. Kahdenkymmenenkuuden suomalaisen olympiavoittajan harjoitusneuvoja ja elämänohjeita nuorisolle (in Finnish). Pellervo. p. 21.
  17. Suomen liikemiehiä. Talouselämämme miesten elämäkertoja 1948 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen kirja. 1948. p. 713.
  18. Cronström, Eige; et al. (1965). Puoli vuosisataa kaapeliteollisuutta 1912–1962 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen kaapelitehdas osakeyhtiö. p. 196.
  19. Mansner, Markku (1984). Suomalaista yhteiskuntaa rakentamassa. Suomen työnantajain keskusliitto 1940–1956 [The Finnish Employers' Confederation 1940–1956] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Teollisuuden kustannus. p. 532. ISBN 951-9240-75-6.
  20. "Suomalaiset talouden alan arvonimellä palkitut". Biografiakeskus (in Finnish). Finnish Literature Society.
  21. Teronen, Arto; Vuolle, Jouko (2013). Urheilun tunteita ja tarinoita. Kiveen hakatut (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kirjapaja. p. 206. ISBN 978-952-247-437-7.
  22. Paappanen, Outi (23 February 2011). "Verner Weckman rengastettiin vihdoin". Uusimaa (in Finnish). ISSN 0357-1858. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  23. "Tässä ovat Suomen historian 100 merkittävintä yritysjohtajaa" (in Finnish). Helsinki: Alma Talent Oy. 30 November 2012. ISSN 0356-5106. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  24. Soukola, Timo; Häikiö, Martti (2007). "Weckman, Verner". In Klinge, Matti; Mäkelä-Alitalo, Anneli; et al. (eds.). Suomen kansallisbiografia. Studia biographica (in Finnish). 10. Trana–Österman. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. pp. 384–385. ISBN 978-951-746-451-2. ISSN 1456-2138.
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