August Englas

August Englas was the last great Estonian wrestler before the emergence of 2006 and 2013 World champion Heiki Nabi. A veteran of World War II, Englas took up wrestling only in 1947, when he was nearly 22-years-old. Englas competed as a freestyle light-heavyweight at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, finishing fourth. At the 1953 World Championships, Englas won gold in Greco-Roman light-heavyweight and the next year won gold in freestyle light-heavyweight. Englas is the last wrestler to win the World title at both styles of wrestling (as of 2016). Englas’ international career ended after a serious shoulder injury in 1955, but he continued to compete domestically for five more years.

Englas was the Soviet light-heavyweight freestyle champion in 1949-52 and 1954 and light-heavyweight Greco-Roman champion in 1951 and 1953. At the Estonian SSR championships, Englas won golds in freestyle light-heavyweight in 1948, 1952, 1957 and 1959 and in Greco-Roman light-heavyweight in 1948, 1952 and 1955. After finishing his sporting career in 1960, Englas worked as a wrestling coach and wrestling referee in Estonia.