Ivar Johansson

Ivar Valentin Johansson, born on 31 January 1903, was a Swedish wrestler who competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1932 he won the gold medal in both the Greco-Roman welterweight and the freestyle middleweight events, and four years later he won the Greco-Roman middleweight title. At the 1932 Games he first competed as a freestyle middleweight and, although a favourite, lost his first bout to Kyösti Luukko, yet won all his other bouts by fall; two days later he shed five kilograms by fasting and sweating in a sauna to compete as a Greco-Roman welterweight and won all four bouts. He was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal that year. He never competed at the world championships but won nine European titles between 1931 and 1939, six in Greco-Roman and three in freestyle wrestling. He grew up near Norrköping, worked as a police officer and then as a wrestling coach, and the Swedish wrestling award Ivars Guldsko is named after him. He died on 4 August 1979.