Jānis Polis

Jānis Polis competed at the 1912 Olympics in the middleweight A division. After one win and two losses, he was eliminated after round 3. In the following years, he became champion of the Baltic Province (1912, 1913), of the Russian Empire (1913) and won gold and silver in the middleweight at the 1913 and 1914 All-Russian Olympiad, respectively. Polis saw action in World War I but later retreated to Inner Russia. There, he married but was divorced after just five years.

After returning to Rīga, in 1921 he was co-founder of the heavy athletics club “Krauze”. In his second Olympics in 1924, he already represented the independent Latvia in the heavyweight class. After withdrawing from the competition in round 4, in solidarity with the eliminated Latvian wrestler Rūdolfs Ronis, he took a shared 5th place instead of fighting for the medals. From 1920-25, he claimed the Latvian heavyweight title six consecutive times. He also competed in the 1921 World Championships.

In 1926, he turned professional, winning the title of European champion this year. His professional career lasted well into the 1930s. During this time, he also became the head coach of the Latvian wrestlers, coaching them, for instance, at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games.

After the Second World War, he worked in Riga Central Market but continued to coach the wrestlers in the sports club “Daugava”.