| 1908 World Greco-Roman Championships | |
|---|---|
| Host city |  Vienna, Austria |
| Dates | 8–9 December |
The 1908 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship were held in Vienna, Cisleithania, Austria-Hungary on 8 December 1908.
| 1908 World Greco-Roman Championships | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Vienna, Austria |
| Dates | 8–9 December |
The 1908 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship were held in Vienna, Cisleithania, Austria-Hungary on 8 December 1908.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 |  Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (2 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight 75 kg | Bob Diry Austria | Alois Toduschek Austria | Harald Christensen Denmark |
| Heavyweight +75 kg | Hans Egeberg Denmark | Josef Rossum Austria | Josef Panzer Austria |
The 1908 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were relocated on financial grounds following the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, which claimed over 100 lives; Rome eventually hosted the Games in 1960.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, nine wrestling events were contested, all for men. There were four weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and five weight classes in freestyle wrestling.
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent, or attacking the opponent in a specific or designated technique. Combat sports share a long history with the martial arts.
Martin Burns, nicknamed Farmer Burns, was an American catch wrestler, wrestling coach, and teacher. Born in Cedar County, Iowa, he started wrestling as a teenager and made money traveling around the Midwest wrestling in carnivals and fairs. As a professional wrestler, he claimed the American Heavyweight Championship by defeating Evan "Strangler" Lewis in 1895 and held the title for two years, during the time when contests were legitimate. At this time, Martin Burns himself claimed to have wrestled in more than 6,000 matches and is said to have lost only seven. After the end of his active wrestling career he started a successful wrestling school in Omaha and later coached Cedar Rapids' Washington high school to the first Iowa high school state wrestling tournament title. He died in Council Bluffs in 1937. In 2001 Martin "Farmer" Burns was inducted into the International Wrestling Institute and Museum Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2002. The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Martin Burns in 2003 and Burns was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2017.
The freestyle bantamweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The bantamweight was the lightest class, allowing wrestlers of up to 54 kilograms (119 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The freestyle featherweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The featherweight was the second-lightest class, allowing wrestlers of up to 60.3 kilograms (133 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The freestyle lightweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The lightweight was the median weight class, allowing wrestlers of up to 66.6 kilograms (147 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The freestyle middleweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The middleweight was the second-heaviest weight class, allowing wrestlers of up to 73 kilograms (161 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The freestyle heavyweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The heavyweight was the heaviest weight class, allowing wrestlers over 73 kilograms (161 lb). Eleven wrestlers competed; nine from Great Britain, one from Norway, and one from the United States. The competition was held on July 23, 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The Greco-Roman lightweight was one of four Greco-Roman wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The lightweight was the lightest weight class, allowing wrestlers up to 66.6 kilograms (147 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The Greco-Roman middleweight was one of four Greco-Roman wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The middleweight was the second-lightest weight class, allowing wrestlers up to 73 kilograms (161 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The Greco-Roman light heavyweight was one of four Greco-Roman wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The light heavyweight was the second-heaviest weight class, allowing wrestlers up to 93 kilograms (205 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
Hungary competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. Austria and Hungary had separate NOCs, therefore results at Olympic Games are kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time.
Finland competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire at the time, but Finland's results are kept separate from those of Russia. In the Opening Ceremony Finland's team paraded under the national insignia flag of a Swedish-speaking female gymnastics club in Helsinki. 164 competitors, 162 men and 2 women, took part in 49 events in 10 sports.
Turkey, then the Ottoman Empire, first participated at the Olympic Games in 1908 and has sent athletes to compete in most editions of the Summer Olympic Games since then, except the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the period of worldwide Great Depression, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States-led boycott. Turkey has also participated in most Winter Olympic Games since their first appearance in 1936. Turkish athletes have won a total of 103 medals, divided into 41 golds, 26 silvers and 36 bronzes. Turkey won the most medals in wrestling. The National Olympic Committee for Turkey, Turkish National Olympic Committee was created in 1908 and recognized in 1911.
George Nicholas Mehnert was an American wrestler who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and 1908 Summer Olympics. He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
Enrico Porro was an Italian Greco-Roman wrestler and Olympic champion. He was the first gold medal at the Olympic Games of the Italian military sports body Gruppo Sportivo della Marina Militare.