David Karlsson was perhaps the strongest wrestler of this time. He started as a weightlifter and did 141 kg with the barbell with 2 arms jerk and 70 kg pushing the kettlebell. With the barbell, he broke Swedish records 24 times. Representing Östermalm AK, he was Swedish Champion in 1908 in the two-armed press. He gave up weightlifting in the spring of 1911 at the urging of his coach Tuomisto at the newly founded Djurgårdens IF in view of the upcoming home Olympics. At the 1912 Olympics, however, he lost his first two bouts against Finnish opponents and was eliminated.
Sweden