Arnold Luhaäär facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Arnold Luhaäär

Arnold Luhaäär in 1935
Personal information
Born	(1905-10-20)20 October 1905 Mõisaküla, Governorate of Livonia
Died	19 January 1965(1965-01-19) (aged 59) Tallinn, Estonia
Height	180 cm
Weight	120 kg
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Club	Eesti Töölisspordi Liit
Medal record Representing  Estonia Olympic Games Silver 1928 Amsterdam +82.5 kg Bronze 1936 Berlin +82.5 kg World Weightlifting Championships Bronze 1938 Vienna +82.5 kg European Weightlifting Championships Silver 1933 Essen +82.5 kg

Arnold Luhaäär (born October 20, 1905 – died January 19, 1965) was a super strong Estonian weightlifter. He was known for lifting really heavy weights! He competed in the Olympic Games twice, winning a silver medal in 1928 and a bronze medal in 1936.

Arnold Luhaäär: Estonia's Strongman

Arnold Luhaäär was a famous heavyweight weightlifter from Estonia. He was one of the strongest athletes of his time. He showed amazing strength in many competitions.

Early Life and Training

Arnold started weightlifting when he was just 14 years old in 1919. He quickly became very good at it. He won his first national title in Estonia in 1926. He continued to win national titles many times after that.

Interestingly, Arnold was also good at other sports. In 1931, he even won the national championship for Greco-Roman wrestling. This shows he was a very versatile athlete.

Olympic Glory and World Records

Arnold Luhaäär competed in two Olympic Games.

• In 1928, at the Amsterdam Olympics, he won a silver medal. This was a huge achievement for him and for Estonia.
• He couldn't go to the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. This was because Estonia did not have enough money to send a full team during the Great Depression.
• In 1936, at the Berlin Olympics, he won a bronze medal. This made him one of the few athletes to win medals in two different Olympics.

Besides his Olympic medals, Arnold also achieved other great things.

• In 1938, he placed third at the World Weightlifting Championships.
• In 1937, he set a new world record in the clean and jerk lift. This is one of the main lifts in weightlifting.

Life After Competing

After he stopped competing, Arnold Luhaäär continued to be involved in sports. He worked as a sports official and a referee. He helped organize and judge weightlifting events.

He was also an important member of the Estonian Weightlifting Federation. He served on their board from 1935 to 1940 and again from 1945 to 1952. From 1946 to 1948, he was the head of the Spartak Tallinn sports club.

To honor his memory, an annual weightlifting tournament is held in his hometown of Mõisaküla. This tournament has been held every year since 1992. It keeps his legacy alive for new generations of weightlifters.