Jussi Salila

Jussi Salila competed in three Olympic Games but without taking home any medals. In 1912, he took part in the middleweight B division (< 82.5 kg), where he was eliminated in round 3. At Antwerpen in 1920, he reverted to the freestyle, probably due to the strong Finnish competitors in the heavyweight of the Greco-Roman style. But in the unfamiliar style, he was already eliminated after losing to Switzerland’s Robert Roth. For years later, he returned to Greco-Roman, but he again lost his first two bouts. His greatest success was the heavyweight gold in the 1921 Greco-Roman World Championships in his home country. In 1923, he won the heavyweight division of freestyle wrestling at the Göteborg Games. Domestically he won two heavyweight titles (1918, 1924) for the Helsinki’s HAK, placed 2nd in 1913 and 3rd in 1914.

Salila worked for 25 years in the Helsinki Police Department. As a policeman, he was popular under his nickname “Hollola Jussi”, referring to his native Hollola. He died after suffering a heart attack during wrestling practice.