The first time Vesper competed, in 1964, he did not win a medal. However, the second time, in 1968, Vesper won a gold medal in the Greco-Roman wrestling event.
Vesper also competed for East Germany in the FILA Wrestling World Championships. Upon his first appearance, 1963, in Helsingborg, he came in second in the Greco-Roman event. He competed in the 78kg weight class and the Seniors age group. His second appearance, in 1967, held in Bucharest, also resulted in a silver medal in the Greco-Roman event. He competed in the Seniors age group and the 78kg weight class.
Sources
Rudolf Vesper at the International Wrestling Database
At the 1904 Summer Olympics, seven wrestling events were contested, all in the freestyle discipline. Then-known as catch wrestling, it was the first time freestyle wrestling was featured, as the first Olympic wrestling contests had been in the Greco-Roman style. Weight classes also made their first appearance. The sport continues to be in the Olympic program to the present day.
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.
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At the 1928 Summer Olympics, thirteen wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were six weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and seven classes in freestyle wrestling. The freestyle competitions were held from July 30 to August 1, 1928 and the Greco-Roman events were held from August 2 to August 5, 1928.
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Athletes from East Germany competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 226 competitors, 186 men and 40 women, took part in 124 events in 18 sports. It was the first time that West Germany and East Germany had sent separate teams to the Summer Olympic Games.
Austria competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 73 competitors took part in 39 events in 13 sports.
Germany competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 185 competitors, 180 men and 5 women, took part in 69 events in 14 sports. Due to the political fallout from World War I, this was the country's last appearance until 1928.
Denmark competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. 154 competitors, 150 men and 4 women, took part in 66 events in 14 sports.
Denmark competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 91 competitors took part in 55 events in 14 sports.
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Kazım Ayvaz was a Turkish Olympic medalist sports wrestler in the lightweight class and a trainer. He won the gold medal in Men's Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1964 Olympics and became world champion twice.
Søren Marinus Jensen was a Danish sport wrestler who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games and the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He won medals at each Game; however, the gold medals he won at the 1906 Games are no longer considered to be Olympic medals. He remains Denmark's most successful wrestler at the Olympics. In addition, he was World Champion in 1905 and won multiple European championship silver medals.
Lothar Metz was a German wrestler.
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Petros Galaktopoulos is a Greek former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler. Born in Athens, Galaktopoulos competed in five olympic tournaments from 1964 till 1976. He won two olympic medals, in the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics. He was named the 1968 and 1972 Greek Athlete of the Year.
Frank Stäbler is a German Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the 2012 European Championship and 2015 World Championship in the welterweight category. Stäbler trains at TSV Musberg in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, coached by Janis Zamanduridis from the national wrestling team.
Andrey Samokhin is an amateur Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's light heavyweight category. He won a bronze medal for his division at the 2008 Asian Wrestling Championships in Jeju City, South Korea, and silver at the 2009 Asian Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
Rudolf Watzl was an Austrian Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece and won a gold and a bronze medal.
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