Longest wrestling match

[SocraTease]

 

Imagine wrestling for almost half a day (11 hour) under the blazing summer sun with no end in sight. That’s precisely what happened in Stockholm 1912, during what would become the longest Olympic wrestling match in history.

Unlike today's six-minute wrestling matches filled with rapid takedowns and decisive holds, early Olympic wrestling had one rule for victory: pin your opponent. With **no time limit**, bouts could stretch endlessly. And in 1912, they did.

The epic showdown between **Estonia’s Martin Klein** (competing for the Russian Empire) and **Finland’s Alfred Asikainen** remains unparalleled. Their match, in the **Greco-Roman style**, spanned a jaw-dropping **11 hours and 40 minutes**. Only upper-body strength and technique were allowed, making the marathon clash even more demanding.

Both Klein and Asikainen were titans of their time. Klein, undefeated throughout the competition, faced Asikainen, a 1911 world champion and heavy favorite, in a battle for a spot in the gold-medal match. With a sweltering Swedish summer pressing down, their Herculean duel wore on for nearly **half a day** before Klein finally pinned Asikainen. Victory, however, came at a steep price: Klein, utterly spent from the effort, withdrew from the final, conceding the gold to **Sweden’s Claes Johnson**.

This legendary contest didn’t just push the boundaries of human endurance; it reshaped the sport itself. The grueling match highlighted the need for regulated time limits to ensure the safety and spectacle of wrestling.

Years later, though Klein was eligible to compete again in the 1920 Olympics, he chose instead to coach the **Estonian team** at Antwerp, embodying the spirit of passing the torch to future athletes.

An 11-hour battle, the limits of human will, and the dawn of modern wrestling rules—this match is a testament to the raw resilience that defined early Olympic competition.

 

 

#OlympicHistory #WrestlingLegends #Stockholm1912 #LongestMatchEver

[BAC]

Shoot, and I was going to say Fix v. Suriano.

[Voice of the Quakers]

Billy Pierce had a 25 minute match via ultimate OT at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Dallas. Can't remember his opponent. The match was glorious - much more action packed than you would've imagined given the style and the weight class.

[CHROMEBIRD]

I didn't realize that wrestlers competed in singlets (or tights that look like singlets) back then, but after looking up photos of early 1900s Olympics, there they were.  For some reason, I thought they wore some type of leggings or shorts and no top, then some sort of t-shirt/tank top and leggings "uniform" until the singlet was un-banned in the 1960s or so. 

[gimpeltf]

7 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

I didn't realize that wrestlers competed in singlets (or tights that look like singlets) back then, but after looking up photos of early 1900s Olympics, there they were.  For some reason, I thought they wore some type of leggings or shorts and no top, then some sort of t-shirt/tank top and leggings "uniform" until the singlet was un-banned in the 1960s or so. 

That was mainly a number of mid-west schools in the mid 60s as I recall.

[Bigbrog]

Dennis Hall v Brandon Paulson (Greco) battled for 17 minutes in the Olympic trials...I believe in 2004

[AgaveMaria]

and we think Greco is boring now...

[billyhoyle]

Every single match during the 2015 NCAA season in the 174lb weight class. 

Edited November 8 by billyhoyle

[Wrestleknownothing]

Back in the day (1920's and most of the 30's) NCAA bouts were 10 minutes. If a takedown happened in the first 2 minutes then they would go 2-4-4. If no takedown occurred in the first two minutes it was a single 10 minute period. OT's were two 2 minute periods.

Not sure which these fall into, but the longest bouts I found were 13:54 in 1931 at 118 in the quarters between Stanley "Havin' A" Ball and Sumner "Always Be Moving" Forward. Ball had a ball with the pinfall.

And the longest title bout lasted 12:12 two years later at 145 between Allen "Killer" Kelley and Foy "Appropriately Named" Stout. It was Stout who saw the lights that day.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

Any of John Lockhart's NCAA matches in 2001.

[MadMardigain]

On 11/7/2024 at 1:48 PM, Bigbrog said:

Dennis Hall v Brandon Paulson (Greco) battled for 17 minutes in the Olympic trials...I believe in 2004

I was there it was a crazy battle of attrition. Attacks throughout, not a hanging on each other snooze fest. 

Edited Saturday at 03:47 AM by MadMardigain

[Pinnacle]

On 11/6/2024 at 9:33 AM, BAC said:

Shoot, and I was going to say Fix v. Suriano.

If you include challenge bricks this brings in Fix vs Vito. 

[bnwtwg]

On 11/7/2024 at 6:03 PM, AgaveMaria said:

and we think Greco is boring now...

Greco used to be boring. It's still boring now but it used to be too