Heikki Savolainen

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Heikki Savolainen 1932 Olympia

Heikki Ilmari Savolainen (born September 28, 1907 in Joensuu , † November 29, 1997 in Kajaani ) was a Finnish gymnast . He won medals in five Olympic Games, including two golds, one silver and six bronze.

Life

Already in 1908 in London and 1912 in Stockholm had won in the team competition Finnish Turner medals. In 1928 in Amsterdam, the 21-year-old student Savolainen won bronze on the pommel horse behind the Swiss Hermann Hänggi and Georges Miez . This made him the first Finnish gymnast to win a medal in an individual competition at the Olympic Games. In 1931 Savolainen graduated from sports teacher training and worked as a physiotherapist. But at the same time he continued his studies with a focus on medicine.

In 1932 only five nations competed with a full team in Los Angeles. The Finnish team finished third behind the Italians and the Americans. In the all-around competition, the Italian Romeo Neri won with almost six points ahead of the Hungarians István Pelle and Savolainen. Savolainen also won bronze on bars behind Neri and Pelle. American Dallas Bixler won on the horizontal bar . Savolainen and his compatriot Einari Teräsvirta had the same number of points behind them. The compulsory jump-off for silver and bronze was not held. The Finnish team management announced instead that they had decided within the team that Savolainen would receive silver and Teräsvirta bronze.

In 1936 in Berlin, Savolainen again won bronze with the team behind the teams from Germany and Switzerland. In 1939 he received his doctorate and from then on worked as a doctor in Kajaani. During the winter war between Finland and the Soviet Union, he was chief physician in a military hospital with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Twelve years after the Berlin Games, the Finnish team won the London Olympics, ahead of Switzerland and Hungary. Savolainen was the sixth strongest gymnast in his team. After the competition , the all- around winner Veikko Huhtanen , the all- around third Paavo Aaltonen and Savolainen had the same result on the pelvis with 38.70 points. A jump-off was no longer planned, all three Finns received Olympic gold.

24 years after his first Olympic medal, Savolainen was also in the Finnish squad in Helsinki in 1952. He took the Olympic oath at the opening ceremony . With the team he won bronze behind the Soviet Union, which participated for the first time, and behind Switzerland.

Savolainen was the first to win six Olympic bronze medals. This achievement was later stopped by Harri Kirvesniemi , Alexei Nemow and Franziska van Almsick , it was not surpassed until 2007.

Savolainen remained a gymnast even after his career ended. At the age of seventy, he still mastered the giant rim on the horizontal bar and circular flanks on the pommel horse. In 2004 Heikki Savolainen was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame . His five sons all became gymnasts, but none of them could match their father's achievements.

Olympic placements

  • 1928 Summer Olympics
    • 6th place in the all-around competition
    • 3rd place on the pommel horse
    • 5th place in the team ranking
  • 1932 Summer Olympics
    • 3rd place in the all-around competition
    • 2nd place on the horizontal bar
    • 3rd place on bars
    • 6th place on the ground
    • 7th place on the pommel horse
    • 7th place on the rings
    • 3rd place in the team ranking
  • 1936 Summer Olympics
    • 9th place in the all-around competition
    • 5th place on the horizontal bar
    • 7th place on the bars
    • 3rd place in the team ranking
  • 1948 Summer Olympics
    • 14th place in the all-around competition
    • 1st place on the pommel horse
    • 6th place on the bars
    • 1st place in the team ranking
  • 1952 Summer Olympics
    • 29th place in the all-around competition
    • 4th place on the horizontal bar
    • 3rd place in the team ranking

literature

  • Erich Kamper , Herbert Soucek: Olympic heroes. Portraits and anecdotes from 1896 to today. Spiridon-Verlag, Erkrath 1991, ISBN 3-922011-20-9 .
  • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 .
  • Volker Kluge: Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle II. London 1948 - Tokyo 1964. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-328-00740-7 .

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Savolainen, Heikki
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Savolainen, Heikki Ilmari (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish gymnast
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Joensuu
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1997
Place of death Kajaani