Lauri Koskela

Finnish wrestler (1907–1944)

Lauri Koskela

Personal information

Born

16 May 1907
Lapua, Finland

Died

3 August 1944 (aged 37)
Baryshevo, Leningrad, Russia

Height

167 cm (5 ft 6 in)

Weight

62–68 kg (137–150 lb)

Sport

Greco-Roman wrestling

Club

Lapuan Virkiä

Medal record

Men's Greco-Roman wrestling

Representing Finland
Olympic Games
	1936 Berlin	66 kg
	1932 Los Angeles	61 kg
European championships
	1935 Copenhagen	66 kg
	1937 Paris	66 kg
	1938 Tallinn	66 kg
	1939 Oslo	66 kg

Lauri Koskela (16 May 1907 – 3 August 1944) was a Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland. He competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won a bronze and a gold medal, respectively.^[1] Koskela was the European champion in 1935, 1937 and 1938 and placed third in 1939. Domestically, he won seven titles in 1932–33, 1936 and 1940–43.^[2]

Kidnapping and death

Koskela lived in Lapua, South Ostrobothnia, where he worked at the State Cartridge Factory. Koskela was a member of the local trade union branch and the Communist Party of Finland. In 1930, he was kidnapped by the fascist Lapua Movement. Koskela represented the left-wing club Ponnistus until the fall of 1930, when he joined the right-wing Virkiä in order to make it to the Olympics, as the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation did not participate the games.^[2] Koskela was killed in action during the Continuation War in 1944.^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lauri Koskela.

^ "Lauri Koskela". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Lauri Koskela (1907–1944)". Helemi – Lapua Historical Database (in Finnish). 24 July 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.