Martin Klein and Alfred Asikainen: The Match That Wouldn’t End

No one is quite certain why the Estonian Greco-Roman wrestler Martin Klein, who had competed in several international events under his nation’s flag, chose to appear at the 1912 Olympic Games wearing the uniform of tsarist Russia. It was a choice that may have stirred the spirit of his formidable semifinal opponent, the Finn Alfred Asikainen. Like many of his countrymen, Asikainen felt no love for Russia, which had controlled Finland since 1809. The International Olympic Committee evidently sympathized with the Finns, allowing Finnish athletes to compete in neighboring Sweden under their own flag—a decision the Russians hotly contested.

Klein’s semifinal match with Asikainen was hotly contested as well. Under a blazing summer sun, the two middleweights grappled for long minutes, each seeking to throw the other off balance. As the minutes stretched into an hour, the referees allowed Klein and Asikainen to take a short rest break. The event continued for another half hour, when the referees ordered another rest break. On it went until, after 11 gruelling hours, Klein finally pinned Asikainen to the mat.

Despite his defeat, Finnish nationalists and the international press alike hailed Asikainen as a hero, a symbol of their small country’s capacity to resist their much larger neighbor; Klein, for his part, was all but ignored. His victory, won after what remains the longest wrestling match in Olympic history, was Pyrrhic. Still exhausted after his ordeal, Klein refused to compete against Claes Johansson, the Swedish favorite, the next day. Johansson took the gold medal in the event by default, with Klein being awarded the silver and Asikainen the bronze.