My name is Martin Lidberg. I was born in Stockholm February 1973 and I
was raised in Farsta with my family. I work at a company Called Rent A
Worker, which is what we do. Besides my work I’m a professional athlete
in wrestling and I give everything I can to reach my goals. I have two
wonderful kids, Nathalie and Isac. As a person I’m very stubborn and
goal-oriented. I get spurred by challenges and like it when it’s really
tough. I always give 100%. I’m a very social person therefore it’s
important that I spend time with my near and dears when I have
time off. For relaxation I often go fishing. It’s a good way to
clear my mind I think.

Why did I become a wrestler? As I child I had a surplus of
power and wanted to compete in everything. I loved to measure
my strength with others and for me it was natural to do this wrestling.
My teachers suggested that I should start with some kind of sport. I
got very excited and happy when my mother asked me what kind of
sport I wanted to start with. Wrestling was the obvious choice for me.
Frank Andersson was the big idol during that time and wrestling was
very popular. My mother was happy that I had chosen a sport that we
could afford. I went to my first training session during the autumn in
1980. We trained at spårvägens wrestling club I was only 7 years old
and have since that day been faithful to my club. There was a long
distance between my club and where I lived. Lucky for me my mother
and grandfather supported me and drove me there.

Wrestling came easy to me and I got good in very little time, they said
that I was a big talent, something out of the ordinary. In 1984 I won my
first Swedish Championship and during my junior career I succeeded in
winning 16 Swedish Championships. Which is a record in Sweden. Then in
1988 I quit for almost a whole year until early 1989 when I was convinced
to compete in the European Championship and won. That made me want
more, and since then it has just kept on.

Today I wrestle in the 96kilo class and during my active career I have managed to win
many great titles and gotten many fine awards, which I am very proud of. A very
interesting and funny event took place in 1997. I was invited by the Sumo Association
in Japan to compete in the World Championship of sumo wrestling. I won a silver medal in the 85kilo class. Wrestling is a very tough sport, which puts high demands on the wrestler both mentally and physically. It is also very comprehensive. You need strength, to be in good shape, agility and good technique. To be able to attain all this you need to train and compete internationally.

Wrestling has given me a lot and during these years I have learnt that hard work does give results. I learned a lot from the teammates that were older than me, both on the mat and off the mat. Wrestling has in this way been a part of my bring-up. I have been given the opportunity to travel and see a lot of different places in the world. I met a lot of friends a long the way and established many contacts that will exist after my wrestling career is over. It is important to me to be a person for someone to model them selves on, not just on the mat but also off the mat. After my athletic career I will probably be working within the athletic community parallel with my work. By doing so I will be giving back something to the sport that I love so much. I will also become involved with the interests of my children.

 

Name: Martin Lidberg
Born: February 1 1973
Family: Nathalie 1996, Isac 1998
Occupation: Self employed in the company Rent A Worker, Pro Athlete
Clubs: Spårvägen, Aalen
Sport: Wrestling
Weightclass: 96kg
Trainer: Sandor Csergö
Chiropractor: Lennart Gedin
Food Counsellor: Dr Magnus Nylander 
Mentor: Sedric Danielsson
Interests: Fishing, Ballsports, Spend time with friends.
Agent: Peter Billfeldt

Qualifications and Awards

European Championships Gold -04
World Championships Gold in Paris -03
European Championships Gold -00
Olympic Games 6th place -00
European Championships Silver -99
World Championships Bronze -98
European Championships Bronze -98
World Championships Silver in Sumowrestling -97
Olympic Games 6th place -96
Junior World Championships Won Twice
Junior European Championships Won Twice
Nordic Championships Won 6 Times
Swedish Championships Won 19 Times
Ranked 1st (World Ranking) 2 years in a row
Appointed Bundesleagues best wrestler, and many international awards and tournament victorys
Participated in three olympic games,
Athens 2004
Sydney 2000
Atlanta 1996