Abraham Kurland

Who was Abraham Kurland?

Abraham Kurland was a Danish wrestler.

Kurland was Jewish, and was born in Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark. He was affiliated with the Hakoah Jewish Sports club, København/Bagsværd, København.

He won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, after being narrowly defeated for the gold medal.

He was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics, but declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Germany. The Danish Olympic Committee had been afraid that he might win, which would "embarrass Denmark." Kurland and his brother left Denmark in 1943 for Sweden, along with much of the Danish Jewish community. They returned at the end of World War II. In the 1948 games Kurland participated, but he was then 45 years old and past his prime.