Marko Asell
Marko Tapio Asell ( born May 8, 1970 in Ylöjärvi ) is a Finnish wrestler. He won at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in the welterweight division. From 2007 to 2011 he was a member of the Social Democratic deputy in the Parliament of Finland.
Career
Marko Asell began in 1982 as a teenager with the rings. He was especially a member of the Sport Club Koo -Vee Tampere, where he remained until the end of his career as a wrestler in 2001. He was active only in the Greco-Roman wrestling and was trained by Pasi Sarkinen. He trained as a painter and house painter and was a member of the Finnish Social Democratic Party. After he worked for a time as a local politician, he moved in 2007 to the party as a deputy in the Finnish parliament.
Even as a junior Marko Asell qualified for participation in several international championships. The first start he graduated in 1987 at the Junior European Championships in Katowice, where he reached the 11th place in the lightweight. In the following years, he received better rankings. So he was at the Junior World Championship in 1988 in Wolfurt / Austria and finished fifth at the Junior World Championship ( espoir ) in Budapest welterweight also the 5th place. In 1990 he was at the Junior European Championships sixth in the welterweight division.
In 1990 Marko Asell was first Finnish champion in the senior middleweight and made it with Jouko Salomäki and Timo Niemi, two renowned wrestler behind. From 1991 to 1994 he was at the Finnish Championship, who finished second (1991 ), three ( 1992) and three ( 1994). In those years, were placed at these Championships Timo Niemi, Tuomo Karila and Seppo Salimäki before him. He came therefore ceased in 1994 his first appearance at an international championship of the elderly, which he started doing in the welterweight division. At the World Cup 1994 in Tampere, it was enough, however, only for 14th place. In 1995, he came at the European Championships in Besançon to ninth place and also at the 1996 European Championships in Budapest, he could not with a 16th place position in front of the field.
All the more surprising then came his great success at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He defeated there welterweight Stojan Dobrew from Bulgaria, Takamitsu Katayama from Japan and Artur Tschigasow from Ukraine and was thus in the final against Cuban Filiberto Ascuy Aguilera, however, gave him no chance of defeating him quickly. Winning an Olympic silver medal was but Marko Asell a sensational success.
At the European Championships in 1997 in Kouvola, he then confirmed this success, because he was there with wins over Alberto Recuero from Spain, Vladimir Kopytow from Belarus, Erol Koyuncu from Turkey and Mircea Constantin of Romania and a defeat in the final battle against Torbjörn Kornbakk from Sweden Vice European champion.
From 1998 Marko Asell started again at middleweight. After a 10th place at the World Championships in Gävle, where he among other things, Ara Abrahamian defeated from Sweden, he reached at the 1999 World Cup in Athens in this weight class with three wins still an excellent fourth place. At the 2000 European Championships in Moscow he finished only twelfth place and at the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney, he lost to Thomas Zander from Germany and Hamza Yerlikaya from Turkey and wound up a 17th place.
After he finished his wrestler 's career.
International success
Finnish Championships
( senior level only )
Notes
- All competitions in the Greco-Roman style
- OS = The Olympic Games, World Championships = Weltmeisterschaftent, EM = European Championships
- Lightweight, then to 68 kg welterweight, to 76 kg Medium weight up to 82 kg ( up to 1996) and to 85 kg ( 1997-2001 ), light heavyweight, to 97 kg body weight
Swell
- Journal The Ringer
- Database of the Institute for Applied Training Science at the University of Leipzig
- Website of the Finnish Sports Federation TUL