Sigurjón Pétursson

Sigurjón Pétursson started wrestling in 1905 and soon became a local celebrity in Glíma wrestling. In the 1910s, he was considered the best wrestler on the island. He competed in the middleweight B division at the 1912 Olympics, as well as in both Olympic Glíma demonstration events (1908, 1912). In wrestling, he advanced to round 5, where he was shouldered by the Hungarian Béla Varga after 4:30 minutes. In Glíma, he placed second in the 1912 demonstration tournament. As a stern patriot, he insisted on competing under the flag of Iceland, which did not become independent before 1918.

He was also a pioneer of swimming in Iceland, building one of the early swimming pools there and founding swimming clubs. Later Sigurjón taught swimming in Álafoss and in 1934 he sponsored the building of an indoor swimming pool. In 1910-12 he was also Iceland’s best track & field athlete and 1910-11 the country’s skating champion. After competing in Stockholm, he was one of the founders of Iceland’s Sport Federation.

Sigurjón was a merchant’s assistant before, in 1917, he acquired a share of a wool factory at Álafoss, just outside Reykjavik, together with his brother. In 1946, he became the sole owner. He was also the co-founder of the Association of Icelandic Entrepreneurs and was its chairman for the initial 12 years. He also took a keen interest in Icelandic culture and psychic research. He was believed to have telepathic communication with dead compatriots including the Icelandic poet Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845). Sigurjón was one of the main campaigners in the controversy over Jónas’ remains.