Karri Toivola was the son of Lassi Toivola, a well-regarded Finnish wrestling referee, and Karri took an interest in the profession himself, passing the international judging course in 1983. He refereed at every edition of the World Championships from 1989 through 2014, as well as at five editions of the Olympics (1996-2012), and received the Golden Whistle as the world’s best referee in 1995. Administratively, he served on the referee commission of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (since 2014, United World Wrestling (UWW)) from 2007 through 2012, followed by a stint as chairman from 2013 through 2015. In 2018, he was inducted into the UWW’s International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
| Games | Sport (Discipline) / Event | NOC / Team | Phase | Unit | Role | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Summer Olympics | Wrestling |  FIN |
Karri Toivola | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #6 | Martin Berberyan — Arif Abdullayev | Referee | ||||
| Lightweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Mohammad Talaei — Cary Kolat | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match 3/4 | Mun Ui-Je — Adem Bereket | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Alexander Leipold — Yosmany Romero | Referee | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Mogamed Ibragimov — Davyd Bichinashvili | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Vadym Tasoiev — Melvin Douglas | Judge | ||||
| Bantamweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Sim Gwon-Ho — Lázaro Rivas | Judge | ||||
| Bantamweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #6 | Mohamed Moustafa Abou Elea — Steven Mays | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Sheng Zetian — Jim Gruenwald | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Ali Ashkani — Koba Guliashvili | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Ryszard Wolny — Rustam Adzhy | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Matt Lindland — Davyd Manukian | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Murat Kardanov — Tamás Berzicza | Judge | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Hamza Yerlikaya — Sándor István Bárdosi | Referee | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Hamza Yerlikaya — Mukhran Vakhtangadze | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Kostas Thanos — Urs Bürgler | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #4 | David Vála — Marek Sitnik | Referee | ||||
| 2004 Summer Olympics | Wrestling | FIN |
Karri Toivola | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Chikara Tanabe — Kim Hyo-Seop | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Li Zhengyu — Shaun Williams | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Mavlet Batyrov — Dilshod Mansurov | Judge | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Amiran Kardanov — O Song-Nam | Judge | ||||
| Lightweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Kenji Inoue — Jeong Yeong-Ho | Judge | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Jamill Kelly — Ruslan Bodișteanu | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match 3/4 | Iván Fundora — Krystian Brzozowski | Referee | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Taras Danko — Mamed Aghaev | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Khadzhimurat Gatsalov — Aliaksandr Shamarau | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Fatih Çakıroğlu — Tüvshintöriin Enkhtuyaa | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | István Majoros — Oleksiy Vakulenko | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Oleksiy Vakulenko — Irakli Chochua | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Dennis Hall — Petr Švehla | Referee | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Artyom Kiouregkian — Sheng Jiang | Judge | ||||
| Lightweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Makoto Sasamoto — Davor Štefanek | Judge | ||||
| Lightweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #4 | Şeref Tüfenk — Ali Ashkani | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Kanat Begaliyev — Moisés Sánchez | Judge | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Aleksandr Dokturishvili — Varteres Samurgashev | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Danil Khalimov — Yasha Manasherov | Referee | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Aleksey Mishin — Mélonin Noumonvi | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Mijaín López — Yuriy Yevseychyk | Judge | ||||
| Flyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Patricia Miranda — Li Hui | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Kaori Icho — Sara McMann | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Kyoko Hamaguchi — Stanka Zlateva | Referee | ||||
| 2008 Summer Olympics | Wrestling | FIN |
Karri Toivola | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Henry Cejudo — Namiq Sevdiyev | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Namiq Sevdiyev — Yang Kyong-Il | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Radoslav Velikov — Besarion Gochashvili | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Lightweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Bazar Bazarguruyev — Vasyl Fedoryshyn | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Lightweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Mike Zadick — Vasyl Fedoryshyn | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Ramazan Şahin — Otar Tushishvili | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Ramazan Şahin — Mehdi Taghavi | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #12 | Andriy Stadnik — Doug Schwab | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Otar Tushishvili — Geandry Garzón | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Kiril Terziev — Iván Fundora | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Gheorghiță Ștefan — Emzarios Betinidis | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Revaz Mindorashvili — Harutyun Yenokyan | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Serhat Balcı — Travis Cross | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #5 | Harutyun Yenokyan — Adnan Rhimi | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #8 | Georgy Ketoyev — Zaurbek Sokhiyev | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #15 | Georgy Ketoyev — Wang Ying | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Georgy Ketoyev — Davyd Bichinashvili | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Davyd Bichinashvili — Harutyun Yenokyan | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Flyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Iryna Merleni-Mykulchyn — Li Xiaomei | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #1 | Elina Vaseva — Maria Dunn | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #1 | Kyoko Hamaguchi — Rosângela Conceição | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Kyoko Hamaguchi — Yelena Perepelkina | Mat Chairman | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Maider Unda — Ohenewa Akuffo | Mat Chairman | ||||
| 2012 Summer Olympics | Wrestling | FIN |
Karri Toivola | ||||
| Featherweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Mingiyan Semyonov — Choi Gyu-Jin | Referee | ||||
| Lightweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Ryutaro Matsumoto — Almat Kebispayev | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #6 | Saeid Abdevali — Atakan Yüksel | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Steeve Guénot — Pedro Muléns | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #6 | Aliaksandr Kikiniou — Askhat Dilmukhamedov | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #8 | Zurabi Datunashvili — Ben Provisor | Judge | ||||
| Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Damian Janikowski — Mélonin Noumonvi | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Ghasem Rezaei — Rustam Totrov | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Ghasem Rezaei — Artur Aleksanyan | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Heiki Nabi — Johan Eurén | Judge | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Rıza Kayaalp — Dremiel Byers | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #6 | Heiki Nabi — Iosif Chuhashvili | Judge | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #15 | Yury Patrikeyev — Khasan Baroyev | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men (Olympic) | Match #2 | Iosif Chuhashvili — Łukasz Banak | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu — Sushil Kumar | Referee | ||||
| Welterweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #7 | Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu — Liván López | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Jordan Burroughs — Sadegh Goudarzi | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Sadegh Goudarzi — Gábor Hatos | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #16 | Davit Khutsishvili — Pürevjavyn Önörbat | Referee | ||||
| Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Giorgi Gogshelidze — Nicolai Ceban | Judge | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match 1/2 | Artur Taymazov — Davit Modzmanashvili | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #1 | Tervel Dlagnev — Aliaksei Shamarau | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #3 | Daulet Shabanbay — Davit Modzmanashvili | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #4 | Komeil Ghasemi — Arjan Bhullar | Referee | ||||
| Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | Match #15 | Taha Akgül — Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi | Referee | ||||
| Flyweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #8 | Iwona Matkowska — Davaasükhiin Otgontsetseg | Referee | ||||
| Lightweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Tonya Verbeek — Tetiana Lazareva | Referee | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #2 | Jing Ruixue — Lyubov Volosova | Judge | ||||
| Middleweight, Freestyle, Women (Olympic) | Match #1 | Soronzonboldyn Battsetseg — Martine Dugrenier | Referee |
