In 1932, Bruno Ahlberg became the first Finn to win an Olympic medal in boxing. On his way to the Olympic bronze in welterweight, Ahlberg defeated Tony Mancini from Canada and Luciano Fabbroni from Italy by decision, before he lost his semi-final match to German Erich Campe, also by decision. Alhberg won his bronze by walkover as Brit Dave McCleave did not show up. Ahlberg also competed at the 1936 Olympics, this time as a middleweight, but lost his first bout to American Jimmy Clark. Alhberg was Finnish champion in 1932 and 1933 and took a silver in 1935. During his youth, Ahlberg was also known as a national level ski jumper and swimmer. After the 1936 Olympics, Ahlberg turned professional, but had only moderate success, finishing his professional career in 1941 with a record of 11 wins (KO 1), 8 losses (KOby 2) and 6 draws. Ahlberg was selected to the Finnish Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.
Finland