Martin Klein
Estonian wrestler (1884–1947)
マルティン・クレイン
- Born
- 12 September 1884, Tarvastu Rural Municipality
- Died
- 11 February 1947, Tarvastu Rural Municipality
- Citizenship
- Estonia, Russian Empire
- Sport
- amateur wrestling
- Occupation
- amateur wrestler, military personnel
- Height
- 174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Martin Klein (12 September 1884 – 11 February 1947) was an Estonian wrestler who competed for the Russian Empire at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He won the silver medal in the middleweight class, becoming the first Olympic medalist born in the territory of modern Estonia. In the semi-final against the reigning world champion Alfred Asikainen, the two grappled for 11 hours and 40 minutes on a sunny day outdoors, until Klein managed to pin Asikainen. Klein was so exhausted from the bout – the longest wrestling match ever recorded – that he was unable to wrestle for the gold the next day, leaving Swedish wrestler Claes Johansson with the gold medal.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| wrestling at the 1912 Summer Olympics – men's Greco-Roman middleweight |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q942043 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.