Yrjö Saarela


Yrjö Erik Mikael Saarela was a Finnish wrestler, who won an Olympic gold and a world championship.

Wrestling

Saarela began wrestling in 1906, coached by Carl Allén.
By 1908 he was a well-established wrestler and was nominated into the Finnish Olympic team without trials.
He won silver at the 1908 Olympics, which was a single-elimination tournament:
RoundOpponentResult
First roundWin by fall at 3:50
Second roundWin by fall at 2:31
Quarter-finalsWin by fall at 12:24
Semi-finalsWin by fall at 11:36
Final Win by fall at 4:22
Final Loss by fall at 5:07
Final Loss by fall at 16:10

According to rumours, Weckman bribed Saarela to throw the final. Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.
He won the Finnish national heavyweight championship in 1908 and 1909.
He won the over 83 kg class at the 1911 World Wrestling Championships.
OpponentResult
Undecided
Win by fall at 2:34
Win by fall at 4:25
Win by points

He won the Olympic gold at the 1912 Games, which was a double-elimination tournament:
RoundOpponentResult
First roundWin by fall at 32:37
Second roundWin by walkover
Third roundWin by fall at 6:12
Fourth roundWin by fall at 3:36
Fifth roundLoss by withdrawal at 6:00
Sixth roundWin by fall at 6:00
Final roundWin by withdrawal at 3:16:00
Final roundWin by fall at 9:00

The fifth round loss was a favour to Olin, who would've been eliminated otherwise. Saarela withdrew faking a knee injury. Olin returned the favour by letting him win the gold medal match, even though Saarela was exhausted after a three-hour bout against Jensen.
He began a brief professional career after the 1912 games, wrestling mostly in international circuses touring in Finland.
His amateur status was reinstated in 1924. He returned to form at the age of 44, when he won Finnish national heavyweight championship bronze in 1929. He was a regional coaching consultant in the Finnish Wrestling Federation in the 1930s.
He received the Cross of Merit, in gold, of the Finnish Sports from the Ministry of Education in 1948.
His Olympic medals are in the collection of the Sports Museum of Finland.

Biography

His parents were Jaakko Sarkkinen and Maria Sunila, and he was born Yrjö Sarkkinen. They switched the last name after buying and moving to a farm named Saarela. He eventually inherited two thirds of the farm.
He married Ester Elisabeth Markuksela in 1910. They had children:
  1. Aino Kyllikki
  2. Ahti Johannes
  3. Erkko Olavi
  4. Marja-Liisa
  5. Yrjö Eino Mikael
  6. Pentti Johannes
  7. Pirkko Kaarina. She married economist Kaarlo Larna.
His personal economy suffered when had acted as a surety to loans that defaulted during the Great Depression. His farm bankrupted in 1931. However, thanks to an inheritance, he recovered quickly and returned to farming.
He suffered a stroke in 1944 and was paralyzed.
After he died, he was buried in his family plot. His name on the gravestone has an engraving of the Olympic rings. Saarela is the only Olympic winner from North Ostrobothnia.

Literature

*