Matti Laakso
Matti Laakso Samuel ( born March 23, 1939 in Ilmajoki ) is a former Finnish wrestler. He was two-time medalist at the European Championships in Greco-Roman style in the welter - and middleweight.
Career
Matti Laakso began as a teenager in 1947 when Ringer Club Koskenkorvan Urheilijat with the rings. He had a younger brother, Martti Laakso, who also started with the rings two years later. As both athletes had advanced in the international Ringereleite, the similarity of their names repeatedly led to confusion.
Matti Laakso quickly developed into a very good wrestler, who ran both styles, but concentrated in the international championships in which he could participate from 1963 to the Greco- Roman style. He was a police officer and struggled over the course of his career, yet for the clubs Vasaan Voima - Veikot, Oulu and Oulu Poliisiurheilijat Pyrintö.
His first Finnish championship titles won Matti Laakso at the age of 19 years in 1958 in Greco-Roman. Style in a lightweight. By the end of his wrestler career in 1974, he added this item yet added a further 17 Finnish championship title. He won it in four different weight classes from lightweight to heavyweight.
His debut on the international wrestling mat was Matti Laakso in 1960, when he was allowed to go at the Olympic Games in Rome in Greco-Roman wrestling in the welterweight division at the start and took a very good 6th place with four wins. Among the defeated wrestlers from him also were the strong Franco Benedetti from Italy and Bertil Nyström from Sweden. The dream of a medal defeated then the launching of the all-German team Günther Maritschnigg from Witten, Matti Laakso the defeated in the fifth round and threw out of the race.
Matti Laakso finished in 1963 at the Nordic Championships Welterweight 1st place before Harald Barlie from Norway. In the same year he came at the World Championships in Helsingborg welterweight to 9th place, where there was another German wrestler with Rudolf Vespers from Rostock, prevented by a victory over him, better placement.
After Matti Laakso had to be satisfied at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 with the 10th place, he finally succeeded at the European Championships 1966 in Essen a medal win. He won there four bouts, defeating thereby also the West German champion Peter Nettekoven from Dortmund and only lost in the final of the Soviet athletes Vladislav Iwlew.
In the years 1967 and 1968 he even reached at the international championships, although very good rankings, but could not win any medals. At the World Championship 1969 in Mar del Plata, which took place in March of the year Matti Laakso achieved an outstanding 5th place in the middleweight and at the European Championships in 1969 in Modena, he finished in the middleweight division 3rd place and won thereby the bronze medal once again a medal. He won it on the Swiss Jimmy Martinetti, the German master Ernst Knoll and the Turks Ali Kazan.
At the European Championships in Berlin in 1970, he came at middleweight again on the 5th Place. Noteworthy is his draw against the Soviet representatives Tomaz Machavariani. In 1972 he went for the last time at international championships at the start. At the European Championships in Katowice, he came up with the 7th Place and in the Olympic Games in Munich, it was enough with a win, one draw and one defeat only for the 13th Place.
After Munich, Matti Laakso ended his international career Ringer.
International success
(all competitions in the Greco-Roman style, OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, Le = Lightweight, We = welterweight, Mi = middleweight, Hs = light heavyweight until 1962-67 kg 73 kg, 79 kg =. 87 kg, and 1968 up to 70 kg, 79 kg, 87 kg and 97 kg and from 1969 up to 68kg, 74 kg, 82 kg and 90 kg body weight)
Countries fighting
In the 1960s and 1970s regularly took place countries fighting between Finland and Sweden. Matti Laakso represented in these countries often fighting his country, scoring victories over the Swedish wrestler Hans Mark, A. Karlsson, Ovsiannikov, Leopold Israelsson, L. Söderkvist, Bengt Fridh, Roland Andersson, Larsson, wringing draw against Bertil Nyström and Jan Kärström.
Finnish Championship
Swell
- Journal athletics numbers 23/1963, page 16, 10/1965, page 16
- Documentation of International Wrestling Championships FILA, 1976, pages O -60, = -75, E- 49, F -71, E -53, E-60, E.66, W.82, E-77, W -89, E -86, O -96
- Website of the Institute for Applied Training Science of the University of Leipzig,
Note: On this site the results of the brothers were Laakso ( Matti, born March 23, 1939 and Martti, born December 19, 1943) is mixed. The results of the weight classes up to 73 kg, 78 kg and 82 kg belong to Matti Laakso and the results of the weight classes up to 62 kg and 63 kg belong to Martti Laakso.