BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
In 1956, at the age of 23, Matti Jutila came to Sudbury from Finland to visit friends and see Canada. In time, he would become one of the country?s best amateur wrestlers of all time, including being inducted into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987.
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Matti Jutila, 70, holds up a trophy and the plaque he received from the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987. |
An avid sports enthusiast, Jutila, grew fond of the Nickel City and eventually became a Canadian citizen.
While living and growing up in Finland, Jutila played all kinds of sports. He participated in track and field, skiing, ski jumping, swimming, soccer and wrestling among other sports.
?I began wrestling when I was about 10 or 12,? said Jutila. ?I liked it because it was a demanding, competitive
sport.?
When young Jutila came to Sudbury he started working in construction, but he continued to wrestle.
In 1957, Jutila claimed his first Canadian Amateur Free-Style Wrestling Championship in the lightweight division.
He would go on to capture two more lightweight titles in 1958 and 1959. From 1962-64, Jutila hoisted three more free-style crowns in the flyweight division.
While dominating the Canadian free-style circuit, Jutila also wrestled in the Greco-Roman wrestling class, winning four titles between 1957 and 1964.
Jutila is still proud of his grappling accomplishments.
?It?s always nice to win something because that?s what an athlete trains for,? said Jutila. ?I trained hard to win those titles. I would work for eight-plus hours a day, then go and train at night for wrestling.?
On top of winning Canadian titles, Jutila had the opportunity to represent Canada at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. While at the prestigious sporting event, he captured a silver medal in wrestling.
In 1963, he went to the Pan-American Games and won another silver medal. In 1964, Jutila represented Canada at the Olympic Summer Games. In his first match, he defeated the world champion, but in the process he pinched a nerve in his neck.
He didn?t capture a medal at the Olympics and it would be the last time Jutila wrestled competitively as injuries finally caught up to him.
Wrestling for Canada was an obvious high for Jutila.
?I was Canadian and I was proud to represent Canada,? said Jutila. ?It was a great feeling.?
In the midst of his wrestling glory, Jutila also found time to win a major skiing competition. In 1959, he captured the Canadian Three-Man Relay Cross-Country Skiing Championship in Thunder Bay. Jutila cross-country skied because it kept him in shape.
?Two guys I skied with in Sudbury were only going to go if I went with them,? said Jutila. ?I did, and we ended up winning the championship.?
After hanging up the tights, Jutila continued working in construction and took a job in the early seventies with Laurentian University as a physical educator and wrestling teacher.
In 1975, Jutila began working for Ellis Don, a large construction company. He was able to see the province of Ontario because of it, travelling from London to Timmins to Kingston and everywhere in between. Jutila even worked as a superintendent on the construction of the Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island.
Jutila, now 70, is enjoying retirement by relaxing at the home he built himself in 1959.
?It?s a good home because it?s still standing,? said a smiling Jutila. ?I also go hunting and fishing.
?I still exercise every morning,? added Jutila. ?I do push ups, chin ups and leg raises.?
