Johan Olin

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Olympic medal record
Men's Wrestling
Silver	1912 Stockholm	Greco-Roman heavyweight

This article is about Finnish wrestler Johan Fredrik "John" Olin . There is also an article on wrestler John Olin.

Johan Fredrik "John" Olin (born June 30, 1883 - died December 3, 1928) was a Finnish wrestler who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He won the silver medal in the heavyweight class.

• In 1916, Olin, the mammoth Finn, captured a claim to the World Heavyweight championship after a controversial bout with Joe Stecher in Springfield, Massachusetts. On December 12, 1916, In one of the great forgotten matches and upsets in wrestling history, he defeated Stecher. After 2 hrs and 40 min., both wrestlers ended up outside the ring brawling. Olin wanted to continue but Stecher declined to return to the ring. Olin was awarded the bout by the referee. Stecher injured his shoulder during the match and was out of the ring for over 1 1/2 months. In newspaper reports no mention of the title is made. Why the public continued to support Stecher is unclear. John Olin's promoters claimed the World Title but Olin was mild mannered and didn't make much noise about being the champion. It may be that the press refused to accept Olin as champion because his win was fluke due to injury and no one believe Olin could truly defeat Stecher. Also Frank Gotch was still alive at the time and many still saw him as the "real" world champion. As Stecher didn't consider himself defeated, the idea of Olin as champ had much going against it. This claim to the title, called the Olin Line by historians, did continue. Olin lost his claim "world title" to Ed "Strangler" Lewis in Chicago on May 2, 1917. After 2 hours and 37 minutes, John Olin concedes match due to a shoulder injury. Referee was Frank Gotch and he praised Lewis as the best. The Strangler would not be as mild manner as Olin, and actively claimed the title. Olin resided in Worcester, Massachusetts during his stay in the United States, and wrestled as a professional for several years. He died in Inkoo, Finland.

[edit] External links

• profile
• The World Title and Contenders of 1915 to 1920 by Steve Yohe
• The New York Times Article November 26, 1920 STECHER DEFEATS OLIN.; Wrestling Champion Defends Crown Successfully in Boston
• The New York Times Article January 27, 1918 LEADERS TO MEET ON MAT.; Zbyszko, Olin, Stecher, and Hussane to Wrestle at Garden.