Viktor Smeds
 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Viktor Reinhold Smeds | ||||||||||||||
| National team | Finland | ||||||||||||||
| Born | September 18, 1885 Petalax, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire | ||||||||||||||
| Died | February 22, 1957 (aged 71) Helsinki, Finland | ||||||||||||||
| Resting place | Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Filosofian kandidaatti, University of Helsinki, 1907 | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Chief executive officer, teacher, police chief, reporter, real estate agent | ||||||||||||||
| Spouses |
| ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Gymnastics, boxing | ||||||||||||||
| Club |
| ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Viktor Reinhold Smeds (18 September 1885 – 22 February 1957) was a Finnish sportsleader and a boxer, who also won an Olympic bronze in gymnastics.
Sport[edit]
He was one of the most significant and internationally best-known sports leaders of his generation in Finland. His impact was especially pivotal in boxing. He also developed strength sports and wrestling, and won an Olympic medal in gymnastics.[1]
Olympics[edit]
| Games | Sport | Event | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 Summer Olympics | Gymnastics | Men's team | 3rd | Source: [2] |
| 1924 Summer Olympics | Boxing | Light heavyweight | Did not start | Source: [3] |
He was the leader of the Finnish Olympic boxing team in 1932 and 1936.[4]
He was a wrestling judge at the 1920, 1924 and 1928 games, and a jury chairman in 1936 and 1948. He was a boxing judge at the 1928 and 1932 games and a jury chairman in 1948. He oversaw the boxing events at the 1952 games.[4]
He sat in the board of the Finnish Olympic Committee in 1932–1953.[4]
Other sport[edit]
He represented Finland in Nordic students' rowing competition twice. His team placed 3rd in 1907,[5] and 1st in 1908.[6]
He won the Finnish championship in boxing in light heavyweight in 1923 and heavyweight in 1925.[7][8] He also wrote some boxing-related guides.[1]
He also played football and tennis.[9]
Club memberships:
- Lovisa Tor, founder and chairman[1]
- Helsingin Nyrkkeilyseura, founder and chairman[1]
- Helsingin Atleettiklubi, chairman[10]
Sports leader[edit]
- International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, president in 1929–1952, honorary president[11]
- International Federation of Amateur Boxers / Amateur International Boxing Association, vice president in 1938–1950
- Associazione Pugilistica Professionistica Europea, board member[12]
He founded the Finnish Boxing Federation in 1923. He was the president of the federation until his death, except for one year-long break.[1]
He also was the chairman of the wrestling chapter of Finnish Gymnastics and Sports Federation in 1921–1922.[13]
Career[edit]
Smeds completed his matriculation exam in Vaasa Swedish Lycaeum in 1904, and graduated as a filosofian kandidaatti (roughly Master of Arts) from the University of Helsinki in 1907.[1]
He moved to Loviisa to teach Russian, gymnastics and physical education in 1909. He was also the local police chief.[1]
He was a businessman in various companies first in Saint Petersburg in 1916–1918 and then in Helsinki from 1918. He started his own business in 1940.[1]
He was a recruiter for the Finnish volunteers in the Waffen-SS.[14] He also interrogated Soviet prisoners of war in Finland. He left for Sweden in Operation Stella Polaris but soon returned to Finland.[15]
He spoke about twelve languages.[9]
Accolades[edit]
He received the following official decorations:[4]
- Finnish state decorations:
- Medal of Liberty, 1st Class
- Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Commemorative medal of the Winter War
- foreign national orders:
- Commander of the Order of Vasa (Sweden)
- Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Fourth Class of the Order of the White Star (Estonia)
- awards of sports:
- Grand Cross of Merit of Finnish physical education and sports
- Cross of Merit, 1st Class, of the Finnish Olympic Games 1952
- German Olympic Decoration, 1st Class
- Medaille d'honneur de l'Education Physique (France)
Family[edit]
His parents were farmer Johan Erik Smeds and Lovisa Båsk.[1]
His first wife was Aina Maria Niska, sister of Algoth Niska, married in 1910.[16] They had two children:[1]
- Tove Maria, born 1912
- Björn, 1915–1952
His second wife was Helena Somow, married 1927. His third wife was Greta Carlson, married 1952.[1]
He's buried at the Hietaniemi Cemetery.[17]
Sources[edit]
- Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000. Suuri olympiateos (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 312. ISBN 951-98673-1-7.
- Viktor Smeds at Olympedia
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Autio, Veli-Matti (2007). "Smeds, Viktor". In Mäkelä-Alitalo, Anneli; et al. (eds.). Suomen kansallisbiografia. Studia biographica (in Finnish). Vol. 9: Siltanen–Tott. Helsinki: Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-951-746-450-5. ISSN 1456-2138.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 185. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
- ^ Comité Olympique Français. Avé, M. (ed.). Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel [The Games of the VIIIth Olympiad Paris 1924 – Official Report] (PDF) (in French). Paris: Librairie de France. p. 200. Retrieved 1 October 2019 – via LA84 Foundation Digital Library.
- ^ a b c d e Lounasheimo, Ilmo; Salokangas, Atle (1993). Kehän ääreltä. 70 v. suomalaista nyrkkeilyä (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen nyrkkeilyliitto. pp. 82–83. ISBN 952-90-5201-4.
- ^ Schwey. (September 1907). "Skandinaavialaisten ylioppilaitten soutukilpailu vuonna 1907". Suomen Urheilulehti (in Finnish). pp. 466–467. ISSN 0355-6085. Retrieved 5 October 2019 – via Digital Collections of National Library of Finland.
- ^ "Soutu". Suomen Urheilulehti (in Finnish). July 1908. pp. 410–411. ISSN 0355-6085. Retrieved 5 October 2019 – via Digital Collections of National Library of Finland.
- ^ Lounasheimo, Ilmo; Salokangas, Atle (1993). Kehän ääreltä. 70 v. suomalaista nyrkkeilyä (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen nyrkkeilyliitto. pp. 268–270. ISBN 952-90-5201-4.
- ^ "SM-mitalistit 1923–1950" (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen Nyrkkeilyliitto. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ a b Sevón, Enzio (1983). "Viktor Smeds". Petalax historia (in Swedish). Vol. II. Petalax: Petalax hembygdsförening. pp. 565–568. ISBN 9519951911.
- ^ Hytönen, Mattiesko (1991). Vanhin ja kaunein. Helsingin Atleettiklubi 1891–1991 (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 36.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "President". Corsier-sur-Vevey: United World Wrestling. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Vares, Vesa (2022). "Kohti olympiaunelmaa". In Virtapohja, Kalle (ed.). SVUL:n vuosisata. Suomen suurin ja vaikutusvaltaisin urheilujärjestö [The Century of SVUL]. Suomen Urheilumuseosäätiön tutkimuksia (in Finnish). Vol. 4. Helsinki: Urheilun ja liikunnan kulttuurikeskus TAHTO, SVUL. p. 188. ISBN 9789526644219. ISSN 2243-1489.
- ^ Järvinen, Eino (1977). 70 vuotta suomalaista painia 1906–1976 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Wrestling Federation. p. 62.
- ^ Hakanpää, Mika; Saurio, Jari; Laitinen, Jouko; Uola, Mikko; Rosendahl, Raimo (2013). Suomalaisten Waffen-SS -vapaaehtoisten matrikkeli 1941–1943 (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Tampere: Veljesapu-Perinneyhdistys ry. p. 281. ISBN 9789529319305.
- ^ Uola, Mikko (2013). Unelma kommunistisesta Suomesta 1944–1953 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Minerva. p. 228. ISBN 9789524927680.
- ^ Kallonen, Kari (2014). Algoth Niska. Salakuljettajien kuningas (in Finnish). Tampere: Revontuli. p. 37. ISBN 9789526665269.
- ^ "Smeds Viktor Reinhold". Hautahaku.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 February 2023.