Gustav Frištenský

Gustav Frištenský (18 May 1879 – 6 April 1957) was a Czech strongman and Greco-Roman wrestler. He competed in the first half of the 20th century. During his career, he competed in almost 10,000 fights. His first fight was when he was just 19 years old and the last one was when he was 72. Frištenský was a legend among Czech strongmen.
Life.
Gustav Frištenský was born in Kamhajek (now part of the village of Křečhoř). He had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. When he was child, he was small so nobody thought he could become famous sportsman. As teenager he started to lift weights and wrestle. He was learning to be a blacksmith but after suffering serious burns on his hand by a horseshoe, he left his craft. Frištenský went to Brno and he became a butcher in the butchery of Moritz Soffer. He trained in the gymnasium of the Hellas sports club. Soon, he left his job in butchery and started to focus on wrestling. In 1900, Frištenský participated in an international competition in Prague. There he won in weightlifting, wrestling and the discus throw. In 1901 he became the Moravia champion in wrestling and discus throw. In 1902, he became the Austria-Hungary champion. The following year he was the European champion.
Professional career.
But Frištenský was still an amateur. After these achievements, he became a professional. He worked for the Kludský circus. Frištenský traveled around the world including the United States. Finally, he returned to his homeland. Frištenský married Miroslava Ellederová in Litovel. In 1917, he stayed in Litovel permanently. He and his wife built a house next to the Morava River. Frištenský traveled to the US again and wrestled in New York in front of an audience of 30,000. In 1921, Frištenský became the Czechoslovakia champion. In 1929, he became a professional European champion. During World War II, Frištenský joined the resistance movement. Soon, afterwards he became a prisoner of war and his wife had to bribe a Nazi prison commander to free him. After the war, in 1945, Frištenský left the Sport world and lived in Litovel. In 1947, he became a widower. In 1956, Frištenský received a title "Merited Master of Sports". He died on 6 April 1957.