Kārlis Pētersons

Kārlis Pētersons played a variety of sports in his youth, but he began focusing on wrestling in the early 1920s. His training improved after he joined the military in 1923 and he won several army titles in the Greco-Roman, lightweight division. He won his first of four consecutive Latvian national titles in that category in 1927 and represented his country as a light-heavyweight at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. There, he lost in the third round of the Greco-Roman event to upcoming silver medalist Onni Pellinen of Finland. He also came in fourth at the European Championships in 1930 and 1931.

An injury to his leg took Pētersons out of wrestling for two years, but during that time he competed in his other passion, weightlifting, and won the national heavyweight title in 1932. He returned to wrestling in 1934 as a heavyweight and was second at the national championships, behind Edvīns Bietags. After skipping the 1935 edition, he captured the next two titles in 1936 and 1937, but his sporting activities were ended by the onset of World War II. By career, he was an officer in the army and he later worked as an administrator in wrestling.