Monument to Martin Klein

The Martin Klein monument introduces you to a sports hero from Viljandi County who wrote his name into Estonia’s Olympic history with an extraordinary achievement.

Martin Klein was the first athlete of Estonian origin to win an Olympic medal. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games, he stepped onto the mat in Greco-Roman wrestling against the Finn Alfred Asikainen. This turned into a true test of endurance – the match lasted an unbelievable 11 hours and 40 minutes and went down in history as the longest wrestling match of all time.

Klein emerged from the record-breaking struggle as the winner, but the exhausting match had taken its toll. He no longer had the strength to finish, and by withdrawing from the fight for the gold medal, he earned the silver. The record-breaking wrestling match has also found its place in the Guinness World Records.

A bronze statue by sculptor Mati Karmin commemorates the legendary wrestler and keeps alive one of the most remarkable stories in Estonia’s sports history.

Stop by the Martin Klein monument and discover the story of the man whose perseverance led Estonia to its first Olympic medal!