Alfred Neuland

Alfred Neuland

Neuland in 1920
Personal information
Born	10 October 1895 Valga, Estonia
Died	16 November 1966 (aged 71) Tallinn, Estonia
Height	166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Club	Kalev Tallinn
Medal record Representing  Estonia Olympic Games 1920 Antwerp -75 kg 1924 Paris -75 kg World Championships 1922 Tallinn -75 kg

Alfred Karl Neuland (10 October 1895 – 16 November 1966) was an Estonian weightlifter. He competed in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively, becoming the first Olympic gold medalist from Estonia. He won a world title in 1922,^[1] and set three ratified world record in 1920–23: one in the snatch and two in the clean and jerk.^[2]

Born in Valga, Estonia, Neuland studied in Riga, Latvia, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. He took up weightlifting relatively early, and placed second at the Russian championships in 1913 and 1914; he won the Russian lightweight title in 1915 and middleweight title in 1916. Neuland then fought in World War I and Estonian War of Independence, and after demobilization won Estonian weightlifting titles in 1921, 1923 and 1924. After that he retired from competitions and worked as a businessman, weightlifting coach and referee in Valga in 1921–40. In 1950–55 he headed the Estonian Experimental Soft Drinks Factory in Tallinn. In 1995 a monument in his honor was installed in Valga, and since 2000 an annual memorial weightlifting tournament has been held there.^[1][3]

References