Osvald Käpp

Osvald Käpp

Personal information
Born	(1905-02-17)17 February 1905 Tallinn, Estonia
Died	22 December 1995(1995-12-22) (aged 90) New York City, United States
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Sport
Sport	Wrestling
Club	Kalev Tallinn
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  Estonia Olympic Games 1928 Amsterdam 66 kg Greco-Roman wrestling European Championships 1926 Riga 67.5 kg 1927 Budapest 67.5 kg

Osvald Käpp (17 February 1905 – 22 December 1995) was an Estonian wrestler who competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman lightweight events at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics.^[1] He won the freestyle contest in 1928^[2][3] and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Estonia in 1932.^[4] He also won two medals in Greco-Roman wrestling at the European championships in 1926–27.^[5]

Käpp trained as a gymnast and basketball player before changing to wrestling in 1923. In 1929, during the Great Depression, he immigrated to New York City, and won the AAU Greco-Roman (1929) and freestyle titles (1930–31). He retired in 1931, but was convinced to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics, as Estonia could not afford sending an Olympic team to Los Angeles and was recruiting Estonians living in the United States (only Käpp and Alfred Maasik agreed). Lack of preparation took its toll, and Käpp was eliminated after three rounds in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.^[6][7]

Käpp was a pastry-chef. While living in Tallinn he worked at a candy factory and later opened a bakery in New York.^[6][8]

References

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