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JWR VerifiedJWR-2026-000184

First Jewish Olympic Champion in Wrestling

Record holder

Richárd WeiszPerson

Record value

24 July 1908

Country represented: HungaryAchievement date: 24 July 1908Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Richárd Weisz and Aleksandr Petrov in the 1908 Olympic Greco-Roman heavyweight wrestling competition.

Richárd Weisz (Hungary), the 1908 Olympic Greco-Roman heavyweight champion, shown against silver medalist Aleksandr Petrov.Unknown author / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain

Official record definition

The earliest Jewish athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.

Measurement methodology

Chronological comparison of verified Jewish Olympic medalists in the defined sport/discipline, using official Olympic event dates and results.

Measurement point: Men’s Greco-Roman heavyweight final at the London 1908 Olympic Games, concluded on 24 July 1908, when Richárd Weisz secured the gold medal.

Record story

The first Jewish athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling was Richárd Weisz of Hungary. He secured the title at the London 1908 Olympic Games by winning the Greco-Roman heavyweight tournament. The wrestling competition ran from 21–24 July 1908, with Weisz claiming victory on the final day in London. His achievement is documented in Olympic history, where he is recorded as having defeated the field to become the heavyweight champion.

The record value is officially stated as "Gold — Greco-Roman heavyweight, London 1908". The claim is established through a chronological comparison of verified Jewish Olympic medalists in wrestling. A chronology from the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame lists Weisz's 1908 victory and confirms no earlier official Jewish Olympic wrestling champion, establishing him as the inaugural titleholder from the Jewish community in the sport.

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
26 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

Olympedia records Richárd Weisz as the London 1908 Greco-Roman heavyweight champion; the event ran 21–24 July 1908.

Superiority evidence

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Jewish Olympic medalist chronology lists Weisz with wrestling gold in 1908 and contains no earlier official Jewish Olympic wrestling champion.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Jewish Olympic Medalists — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Heavyweight, Greco-Roman, Men — London 1908 — Olympedia
  • Richárd Weisz vs Aleksandr Petrov 1908 Olympics — Wikimedia Commons

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Richárd Weisz — Olympedia

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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