Olympic history of Finland

FIN

FIN

The Olympic history of Finland began in 1906 with the private participation of four Finnish athletes in the unofficial Olympic Intermediate Games in Athens in 1906 . In 1907 the Finn Baron Reinhold Felix von Willebrand was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), shortly afterwards Finland founded its National Olympic Committee Suomen Olympiakomitea and officially took part in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London for the first time. Until the Games in the 1912 Summer Games , Finland was still part of the Russian Empire as an autonomous grand duchy ; however, the results were separated from those of Russia. Finland did not take part as an independent country until 1920 and has since been present at all Summer Olympics and the Winter Games that took place from 1924 onwards. Young athletes have competed in all of the Youth Olympic Games that have been held so far.

Logo of the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics

General

Finland is one of the nations that has won at least one medal in all of its participation. Finland is a world leader in cross-country skiing. With 76 medals won, the country is second behind Norway in the Olympic rankings for this sport. Cross-country skiing is the most successful winter sport in Finland and the third most successful sport ever. Finland does even better in athletics with 114 medals and in wrestling with 83 medals. In wrestling, Finland ranks 4th behind the USA, the Soviet Union and Sweden. Finland ranks equally in athletics behind the USA, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.

The first Finnish Olympic team started in 1908 and consisted of 68 participants. The members of the shooting team with the free rifle in three-position combat, Emil Nässling, Frans Nässling, Gustaf Nyman, Heikki Huttunen, Voitto Kolho and Huvi Tuiskanen, were the first Finnish Olympians on July 9, 1908. On July 8, 1912, the swimmers Tyyne Järvi and Regina Kari became the first Finnish women to take part in the Olympic Games. The first winter athletes were figure skaters who took part in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Sakari Ilmanen entered on April 25, 1920. The next day , the first winter athlete was Ludowika Jakobsson , who won the pair skating with her husband Walter Jakobsson and was the first Finnish woman to win a medal or to become an Olympic champion. Her husband Walter was the first male winter sportsman to win a medal and become an Olympic champion at the same time.

The first men's medal was won by the all-around gymnastics team on July 16, 1908. On July 22, wrestler Verner Weckman became the first Finnish Olympic champion with his victory in the Greco-Roman light heavyweight division. The first woman to win a medal at summer games was javelin thrower Kaisa Parviainen on July 31, 1948 , who won silver. The first Olympic champion at the Summer Games was the canoeist Sylvie Saimo on July 28, 1952 , who won the kayak single.

The most successful Olympian is the long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi , who won a total of nine gold and three silver medals between 1920 and 1928. He is still the most successful athlete at the Olympic Games and is ranked 8th among the most successful athletes ever. The most successful winter sportsman is the speed skater Clas Thunberg with five gold, one silver and one bronze medal between 1924 and 1928 . The most successful woman is the cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi . Between 1976 and 1994 she won three gold and four bronze medals.

The ski jumper Janne Ahonen played most of the Olympic Games . It started seven times between 1994 and 2018. Another ski jumper from Finland holds the record as the youngest Olympic champion at the Winter Games. Toni Nieminen set this record in 1992 when he won gold on the large hill at the age of 16 years and 259 days.

Most of the Finnish athletes started at the 1952 domestic summer games. 258 Finns took part in Helsinki. Most of the winter athletes were there in 2018, the team comprised 100 athletes.

With 37 medals, Finnish athletes won the most medals in Paris in 1924. Four years earlier in Antwerp they won three fewer medals, but achieved one Olympic victory (15) more than in Paris (14). Finnish winter sports enthusiasts won 13 medals in Sarajevo in 1984. With four gold medals, they achieved as many Olympic victories as in 1924, 1988 and 2002.

Finland has an IOC member with voting rights in the former track and field athlete Sari Essayah . Essayah participated while walking in 1992 and 1996. In 1992, she took fourth place over 10 kilometers.

Applications and hosting of the Olympic Games

Applications

Summer games

So far Finland has applied twice to host the Summer Olympics. As early as 1928, the first plans were made to bring the Olympic Games to Finland, which is why a foundation was established to build the Helsinki Olympic Stadium . The first application was at the 1932 IOC session in Los Angeles for the 1940 Summer Olympics . While waiting for the IOC's decision, construction began on February 12, 1934, on the stadium, which had been designed by Yrjö Lindegen and Toivo Jäntti . At the IOC session in Berlin in 1936 , 26 of the members present decided for Finland, 21 for Japan. Absent members had previously voted by postal vote , which resulted in an election result of 36 to 27 for Japan, whereupon the IOC awarded the Games to Tokyo . Nevertheless, construction work on the stadium continued and was almost completed by the summer of 1938. When Japan failed to host the Second Sino-Japanese War , Finland accepted the offer in June 1938 as runner-up to play the games after all. The official inauguration of the Olympic Stadium took place on June 12, 1938; the eastern wall and missing rows of seats were completed during the year. In autumn 1939 the Second World War broke out and, as a result, the Winter War . The construction work on the swimming stadium was interrupted, but the Olympic village in Koskelantie with accommodation for 3,200 athletes was completed by 1940. On April 23, 1940, Finland also decided not to host the event because of the war. The 1940 Summer Games were completely canceled.

Paavo Nurmi lighting the Olympic flame

After the end of the war, Finland decided on April 23, 1947, under the leadership of Erik von Frenckell , the President of the Organizing Committee, to apply again. In the vote in Stockholm on June 17, 1947 , Helsinki received the majority of the votes and thus the IOC won the bid to host the 1952 Summer Olympics . Building on the preparatory work in the previous application, the Organizing Committee developed its plans for the 1952 Summer Games. Most of the events were to take place around the Olympic Stadium, only the pentathlon and some football games were relocated to cities outside Helsinki ( Hämeenlinna , Turku , Tampere , Kotka and Lahti ). The Olympic Stadium itself was slightly expanded and received 20,000 more seats on wooden stands, which increased its capacity to 70,000. In addition, changing rooms, showers etc. had to be set up for the athletes, for whom competitions were now also offered, and some of the venues had to be modernized. The interrupted construction work on the swimming stadium continued in 1947. A stadium was built in Taivallahti for the rowing competitions in 1940, but in 1952 it no longer complied with the regulations. That is why a temporary stadium was built in Meilahti. The Olympic village, built in 1940, had meanwhile been released for private use and was inhabited by 500 families, which is why a new one was built in Käpylä. Originally designed for 3,400 residents, the plans were revised again due to the high number of participants at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London . The complex ultimately offered space for 4,800 people.

Winter games

Finland put together five applications to host the Winter Games. Lahti applied for the events in 1964 , but failed without a vote. When applying to host the 968 Winter Games , they were eliminated in the second ballot; when applying for the 1972 Winter Games , they were eliminated with seven votes in the first ballot. Tampere applied to host the 1976 Winter Game . Tampere was eliminated with eight votes in the second ballot. Helsinki's application to host the 2006 Winter Games was not accepted by the IOC.

Alignment

The 15th Olympic Games took place in Helsinki from July 19 to August 3, 1952. A total of 4955 athletes (4436 men, 519 women) from 69 countries, including the Soviet Union for the first time , took part in 149 competitions in 17 sports. The Olympic flame was lit by Paavo Nurmi, the Olympic oath was taken by gymnast Heikki Savolainen .

Overview of the participations

Summer games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
1896-1904	not participated
1908	62	62	0	Bruno Zilliacus	1	1	3	5	13
1912	164	162	2	One Saastamoines	9	8th	9	26th	4th
1920	63	62	1	Emil Hagelberg	15th	10	9	34	4th
1924	120	120	0	Elmer Niklander	14th	13	10	37	2
1928	69	67	2	Akilles Jarvinen	8th	8th	9	25th	3
1932	40	40	0	Akilles Jarvinen	5	8th	12	25th	7th
1936	107	102	5	Akilles Jarvinen	7th	6th	6th	19th	5
1948	122	117	5	Hannes Sonck	8th	7th	5	20th	6th
1952	258	228	30th	Väinö Suvivuo	6th	3	13	22nd	8th
1956	71	70	1	Eeles Landström (Melbourne) Erkki Estola (Stockholm)	3	1	11	15th	13
1960	117	107	10	Eeles Landström	1	1	3	5	17th
1964	89	84	5	Eugen Ekman	3		2	5	12
1968	66	60	6th	Pentti Linnosvuo	1	2	1	4th	24
1972	96	89	7th	Ilkka Nummisto	3	1	4th	8th	14th
1976	83	77	6th	Let Virén	4th	2		6th	11
1980	105	99	6th	Peter Tallberg	3	1	4th	8th	12
1984	86	73	13	Esko Rechardt	4th	2	6th	12	15th
1988	78	59	19th	Jouko Salomäki	1	1	2	4th	25th
1992	88	60	28	Harri Koskela	1	2	2	5	29
1996	76	47	29	Mikko Kolehmainen	1	2	1	4th	40
2000	70	40	30th	Heli Rantanen	2	1	1	4th	31
2004	53	36	17th	Thomas Johanson		2		2	62
2008	57	31	26th	Juha Hirvi	1	1	2	4th	44
2012	56	29	27	Hanna-Maria Seppälä		2	1	3	60
2016	54	26th	28	Tuuli Petäja			1	1	78

Winter games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
1924	17th	16	1		4th	4th	3	11	2
1928	18th	17th	1	Esko Järvinen	2	1	1	4th	4th
1932	7th	7th	0	Ossi Blomqvist	1	1	1	3	5
1936	19th	19th	0	Sulo Nurmela	1	2	3	6th	4th
1948	24	24	0	Pekka vannins	1	3	2	6th	8th
1952	50	45	5	Heikki Hasu	3	4th	2	9	3
1956	31	27	4th	Antti Hyvärinen	3	3	1	7th	3
1960	48	42	6th	Paavo Korhonen	2	3	3	8th	6th
1964	51	45	6th	Veikko Hakulinen	3	4th	3	10	4th
1968	52	44	8th	Veikko Kankkonen	1	2	2	5	10
1972	50	43	7th	Juha Mieto		4th	1	5	15th
1976	47	38	9	Rauno Miettinen	2	4th	1	7th	6th
1980	52	44	8th	Heikki Ikola	1	5	3	9	7th
1984	45	40	5	Jorma Valtonen	4th	3	6th	13	4th
1988	53	46	7th	Pertti Niittylä	4th	1	2	7th	4th
1992	62	49	13	Timo Blomqvist	3	1	3	7th	8th
1994	61	47	14th	Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi		1	5	6th	16
1998	85	51	34	Janne Ahonen	2	4th	6th	12	11
2002	98	62	36	Toni Nieminen	4th	2	1	7th	8th
2006	90	59	31	Janne Lahtela		6th	3	9	19th
2010	91	58	33	Ville Peltonen		1	4th	5	24
2014	99	66	33	Enni Raukajärvi	1	3	1	5	18th
2018	100	61	39	Janne Ahonen	1	1	4th	6th	18th

Interludes

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
1906	4th	4th	0		2	1	1	4th	13

Youth Summer Games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
2010	19th	11	8th	Niki Blassar			2	2	83
2014	14th	8th	6th	Santeri Sirén

Youth Winter Games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
2012	42	32	10	Katri Lylynperä	2	2		4th	13
2016	42	31	11			1	5	6th	21st

Overview of the sports

Summer games

badminton

-	-	-

Badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992. Two Finnish athletes also took part in the first badminton tournament. Successes could not be celebrated so far.

basketball

-	-	-

The first basketball tournament with Finnish participation took place in 1952. The home team could not win any of their games and were eliminated as the last of their group. In their second participation in 1964, the first win over South Korea was achieved in the first group game with 80:72. They finished 5th in the preliminary group and went into the placement round for places 9 to 12. A defeat against Japan and a victory over Mexico meant the team came 11th.

Archery

1	1	2

In 1972 archery became an Olympic sport. The first Finnish medal was won when the competition was held for the first time. In the men's category , Kyösti Laasonen won bronze. In 1980 the first Olympic victory was achieved. For men won Tomi Poikolainen , with the women took Päivi Aaltonen bronze. Both athletes reached 5th place each in 1984.

In 1988 the men's team reached 4th place, Pentti Vikström was seventh in the individual ranking. In 1992 the men's team won silver.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tomi Poikolainen	1980 Moscow	Men's tournament singles	first Olympic victory in archery

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tomi Poikolainen Ismo Falck Jari Lipponen	1992 Barcelona	Men's tournament team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kyösti Laasons	1972 Munich	Men's tournament singles	first medal in archery
Päivi Aaltonen	1980 Moscow	Women's tournament singles

Boxing

3	7th	7th

Finnish boxers were first represented in 1928. The first boxing medal won Bruno Ahlberg with bronze in the welterweight in 1932. The first Olympic victory in 1936 was the welterweight Sten Suvio .

At the domestic summer games in 1952 five medals were won. In the bantamweight division, Pentti Hämäläinen became Olympic champion. Bronze went to Erkki Pakkanen in the lightweight, Erkki Mallenius in the light welterweight, Harry Siljander in the light heavyweight and Ilkka Koski in the heavyweight division. Hämäläinen was able to win a bronze medal in 1956, this time in featherweight.

Also bronze won in 1960 Jorma Limmonen in the featherweight, 1964 Pertti Purhonen in the welterweight and 1968 Arto Nilsson in the light welterweight. 1972 Reima Virtanen fought for a silver medal in the middleweight division. It wasn't until 12 years later, in 1984 in Los Angeles, that a Finnish boxer was able to win another medal. Joni Nyman won bronze in the welterweight division .

In 1992 the boxing team consisted of only one boxer. This, the light world weight player Jyri Kjäll , won bronze. From then on, interest in Olympic boxing in Finland gradually declined. In 1996 no Finn took part, in 2000 only a boxer took part. No Finnish boxers could qualify from 2004 to 2012. A Finnish woman was only there in 2016, who was also successful. Mira Potkonen won bronze in the lightweight.

Pentti Hämäläinen (left) in his 1952 final against Irishman John McNally

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Sten Suvio	1936 Berlin	Welterweight	first Olympic victory in boxing
Pentti Hämäläinen	1952 Helsinki	Bantamweight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Reima Virtanen	1976 Montreal	medium weight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Bruno Ahlberg	1932 Los Angeles	Welterweight	first medal win in boxing
Erkki Pakkanen	1952 Helsinki	lightweight
Erkki Mallenius	1952 Helsinki	Light welterweight
Harry Siljander	1952 Helsinki	Light heavyweight
Ilkka Koski	1952 Helsinki	Heavyweight
Pentti Hämäläinen	1956 Melbourne	Featherweight
Jorma Limmonen	1960 Rome	Featherweight
Pertti Purhonen	1964 Tokyo	Welterweight
Arto Nilsson	1968 Mexico City	Light welterweight
Joni Nyman	1984 Los Angeles	Welterweight
Jyri Kjall	1992 Barcelona	Light welterweight
Mira Potkonen	2016 Rio de Janeiro	lightweight

fencing

-	-	-

Finnish fencers first competed in 1928. The following participations were rather sporadic, the last Finnish Olympic fencer started in 1996. The epee fencer Rolf Wiik achieved the best placement in 1956 with eighth place.

Soccer

-	-	-

The first football tournament in which a Finnish selection took part was the Olympic tournament of 1912. The Finns were able to defeat Italy 3-2 after extra time in the first round, the round of 16. Kaarlo Soinio , bronze medalist in gymnastics from 1908, was used in the Finnish team . In the quarter-finals, Russia was defeated 2-1. Finland lost 4-0 to the United Kingdom in the semi-finals, and the bronze match against the Netherlands was even lost 9-0. Another medalist, Lauri Tanner, was used here. Tanner won silver with the gymnastics team in 1912.

The next tournament for which a Finnish team could qualify was the tournament of 1936. Here they met Peru in the first round and suffered a 3-7 defeat. Also at the domestic summer games in 1952, the team was eliminated in the round of 16. The team lost 3: 4 to Austria. The last time they took part in the Olympic Games was in 1980. In their preliminary group, the team was only able to win the last group game against Costa Rica (3-0) and was eliminated third.

• 

  The 1912 Olympic selection

• 

  Game scene from the semi-finals against the United Kingdom (white jerseys)

Weightlifting

1	-	2

Finland has been represented in weightlifting since 1920. It wasn't until 1948 that Finnish weightlifters were constantly involved in the following competitions. Eino Mäkinen achieved first successes , who reached fifth place in the heavyweight division in 1956 and 1960. Also fifth was Jouni Kailajärvi in ​​1960 in the light heavyweight division.

In 1968, the middle-heavyweight Kaarlo Kangasniemi achieved the first Finnish Olympic victory in weightlifting. Jaakko Kailajärvi , a younger brother of Jouni, was fifth in the same weight class. Jouko Leppä was fourth in the super heavyweight category in 1972. Arvo Ala-Pönitö was fifth in the middleweight division in 1976, as was Juhani Avellan in the light heavyweight division.

In 1984 Jouni Grönman won bronze in the lightweight and Pekka Kalevi Niemi in the first heavyweight division. Grönman reached 5th place again in 1992.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kaarlo Kangasniemi	1968 Mexico City	Middle heavyweight	first Olympic victory and medal win in weightlifting

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Jouni Grönman	1984 Los Angeles	lightweight
Pekka Kalevi Niemi	1984 Los Angeles	First heavyweight

golf

-	-	-

Golf was an Olympic sport in 1900 and 1904 and was then reintroduced into the Olympic program in 2016. Two men and two women took part in the tournament in Rio de Janeiro without success.

hockey

-	-	-

Finland's only participation in an Olympic hockey tournament was in 1952 as a host. The team lost 6-0 against Belgium in the preliminary round. In the consolation round they were eliminated after a 7-0 defeat against the German team.

Judo

-	-	-

Finnish judoka have been participating since 1972. However, despite constant participation, there were no successes.

Canoeing

5	2	3

Finnish canoeists also took part in the first Olympic canoe regatta in 1936. In the kayak single over 10,000 meters, Evert Johansson took 5th place. The first medals were won in 1948. Kurt Wires drove over 10,000 meters to Silver in a single kayak. In a two-person kayak, Ture Axelsson and Nils Björklöf won bronze over 1000 and 10,000 meters. 1952 followed four Olympic victories and one silver and one bronze medal. The first Olympic champion was Thorvald Strömberg in a single kayak over 10,000 meters, who already drove over 1000 meters to the silver medal. Kurt Wires and Yrjö Hietanen lead in two-person kayaks and won over 1000 and over 10,000 meters. The fourth gold medal was won by Sylvi Saimo in a single kayak over 500 meters, making her the first woman in Finland to become an Olympic champion. Olavi Ojanperä won bronze in the single-Canadian over 1000 meters. In 1956, Strömberg was fourth over 10,000 meters.

Success did not return until 1968, when the four-person kayak reached number 5. In 1984 Timo Grönlund drove in the single-Canadian in 5th place over 500 meters and 4th place over 1000 meters. In 1992, Mikko Kolehmainen became Olympic champion in a single kayak over 500 meters.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Thorvald Strömberg	1952 Helsinki	K 1, 10,000 meters	first Olympic victory in canoeing
Kurt Wires Yrjö Hietanen	1952 Helsinki	K 2, 1000 meters
Kurt Wires Yrjö Hietanen	1952 Helsinki	K 2, 10,000 meters
Sylvi Saimo	1952 Helsinki	K 1,500 meters
Mikko Kolehmainen	1992 Barcelona	K 1,500 meters

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kurt Wires	1948 London	K 1, 10,000 meters	first medal in canoeing
Thorvald Strömberg	1952 Helsinki	K 1, 1000 meters

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Ture Axelsson Nils Björklöf	1948 London	K 2, 1000 meters
Ture Axelsson Nils Björklöf	1948 London	K 2, 10,000 meters
Olavi Ojanperä	1952 Helsinki	C 1, 1000 meters

athletics

48	36	30th

Athletics is Finland's most successful sport at the Olympic Games. Finnish athletes were often among the medal favorites, especially in medium and long-distance running and javelin throwing. In 1908, when Finland participated for the first time, Verner Järvinen won the bronze medal with bronze in the discus throw according to the Greek style and thus the first athletics medal in Finland. Järvinen finished fourth in the classic style. The javelin throwers took 4th to 7th place in the classical style. Aarne Salovaara , bronze and silver in gymnastics in 1908 and 1912, placed ahead of Armas Pesonen , Juho Halme and Jalmari Sauli .

When it first participated in 1912, 13 medals were won, including six gold ones. Outstanding here was the three-time Olympic champion Hannes Kolehmainen , who won over 5000, 10,000 meters and cross-country runs. His 10,000 meter win meant Finland's first gold medal in athletics. Kolehmainen won silver with the cross-country team. Albin Stenroos , who won bronze over 10,000 meters , also ran in the team . Double Olympic champion was Armas Taipale in the discus throw. Like all other throwing disciplines, the discipline was carried out in the classic way and with both arms. Here the athletes had to throw the throwing device with their normal hand as well as with the other hand. Taipale won in both disciplines, Elmer Niklander won silver in the two-armed discus throw and bronze in the two-armed shot put. He came fourth in the classic discus throw. The Finns dominated the javelin throw. All two-armed medals went to Finland. Gold won Juho Saaristo , silver Väinö Siikaniemi and bronze Urho Peltonen . Saaristo won silver in the classic style.

• 

  1908 first Finnish medalist in athletics with bronze: Verner Järvinen

• 

  Hannes Kolehmainen, three-time Olympic champion in 1912

• 

  Albin Stenroos, silver and bronze 1912, Olympic victory in the marathon 1924

• 

  Elmer Niklander, silver and bronze 1912; Olympic victory in the discus throw in 1920

• 

  Armas Taipale, double Olympic champion 1912, silver 1920 in the discus throw

• 

  The three medal winners in the two-armed javelin throw in 1912 (from left to right): Urho Peltonen (bronze), Juho Saaristo (gold), Väinö Siikaniemi (silver)

In 1920 the Finnish team was even more successful. 16 medals were won and nine Olympic victories were celebrated. Hannes Kolehmainen competed in the marathon this time and was Olympic champion for the fourth time. Paavo Nurmi began his success story with victories in the individual and team competitions in cross-country running, a victory over 10,000 meters and a silver medal over 5,000 meters. The cross-country team also included Heikki Liimatainen , who won bronze in the individual competition, and Teodor Koskenniemi , fourth over 5000 meters. Vilho Tuulos won the triple jump, Ville Pörhölä the shot put ahead of Elmer Niklander. He in turn won the discus throw in front of Armas Taipale. The medals in the javelin throw went entirely to Finland. Jonni Myyrä won ahead of Urho Peltonen and Paavo Johansson. Eero Lehtonen won the pentathlon , Hugo Lahtinen won bronze.

In 1924 17 medals were won, including ten Olympic victories. Paavo Nurmi was able to win a total of five gold medals: over 1500 meters, 5000 meters, in the 3000-meter team run, in the individual classification of the cross-country run and in the team classification. Ville Ritola won silver in the individual competition. He was also a member of the 3000 meter team, just like Elias Katz , who won silver over 3000 meters behind Ritola. Ritola also won over 10,000 meters, with Eero Berg on the bronze rank, and took silver over 5000 meters behind Nurmi. Albin Stenroos won the marathon, Lauri Halonen was fourth. Erik Wilén ran over 400 meter hurdles to the silver medal. Jonni Myyrä in the javelin throw and Eero Lehtonen in the pentathlon were able to defend their Olympic victories from 1920. Yrjä Ekqvist took 4th place behind Myyrä, and Leo Leino took the same place behind Lehtonen. Vilho Tuulos achieved the bronze medal in the triple jump, Väinö Rainio was fourth. Tuulos took 4th place in the long jump. Vilho Niittymaa won a silver medal in the discus throw. Fourth place went to Hannes Torpo in the shot put, Erik Eriksson in the hammer throw and Antti Huusari in the decathlon.

1928 turned out to be a little less successful. 14 medals were won, including five gold ones. Harri Larva won the 1500 meter race, Eino Purje won bronze. Ville Ritola won the 5000 meters ahead of Paavo Nurmi, over 10,000 meters Nurmi was ahead of Ritola. Over 3000 meters of obstacle all medals fell to Finnish participants. Toivo Loukola was Olympic champion ahead of Nurmi and Ove Andersen . Paavo Yrjölä won the decathlon in front of his compatriot Akilles Järvinen . Antero Kivi won silver in the discus throw, while Vilho Tuulos won bronze in the triple jump as in 1924. Martti Marttelin also won bronze in the marathon. Paavo Liettu was fourth in the pentathlon. With his three medals, Paavo Nurmi became the most successful athlete in Olympic history. His 12 medals, nine gold and three silver medals, have not been surpassed to this day.

• 

  Paavo Nurmi, nine-time Olympic champion

• 

  Vilho Tuulos, Olympic victory in 1920, bronze in 1924 and 1928 in the triple jump

• 

  Ville Pörhölä, Olympic champion 1920 in the shot put, silver 1932 in the hammer throw

• 

  Jonni Myyrä, Olympic champion in 1920 and 1924 in the javelin throw

• 

  Eero Lehtonen, Olympic champion in 1920 and 1924 in the pentathlon

• 

  Paavo Johansson, bronze 1920 in javelin throw

• 

  Ville Ritola, five-time Olympic champion

• 

  Erik Wilén, silver in the 400 meter hurdles in 1924

• 

  Vilho Niittymaa, silver in the discus throw 1924

• 

  Harri Larva, 1928 Olympic champion over 1500 meters

• 

  Race scene from the 3,000 meter obstacle course in 1928: Ove Anderson leads the eventual winner Toivo Loukola

• 

  Paavo Yrjölä, 1928 Olympic champion in the decathlon

• 

  Antero Kivi, silver 1928 in the discus throw

• 

  Akilles Järvinen, silver in the decathlon in 1928 and 1932

• 

  Eino Purje, bronze 1928 over 1500 meters

• 

  Martti Marttelin, bronze in the marathon in 1928

The athlete won eleven medals in Los Angeles in 1932. Lauri Lehtinen was Olympic champion over 5000 meters, Lauri Virtanen took bronze. Virtanen also won bronze over 10,000 meters. His compatriot Volmari Iso-Hollo won silver. Iso-Hollo triumphed in the 3,000-meter obstacle race. Martti Matilainen came fourth here. In the marathon, Armas Toivonen took bronze. Ville Pörhölä, shot put Olympic champion in 1920, had turned to hammer throwing in 1929. In Los Angeles he won silver. Akilles Järvinen also won silver in the decathlon, just like four years earlier. In the javelin throw, all medals went to Finnish throwers. Olympic champion was Matti Järvinen , Akilles' brother. Silver went to Matti Sippala , bronze to Eino Penttilä .

Finnish athletes won ten medals in Berlin in 1936. Over 5000 meters there was a double victory by Gunnar Höckert and defending champion Lauri Lehtinen. Over 10,000 meters, all medals went to Finnish athletes. Olympic champion was Ilmari Salminen ahead of Arvo Askola and Volmari Iso-Hollo. That was the fifth Finnish victory in the sixth Olympic final of this discipline. Iso-Hollo was able to defend his Olympic victory from 1932 over 3000 meters obstacle. Kalle Tuominen won silver , Martti Matilainen came fourth. Sulo Bärlund won silver in the shot put. Yrjö Nikkanen also took silver in the javelin throw. Kalervo Toivonen took bronze, defending champion Matti Järvinen reached 5th place. The top places in the marathon went to Erkki Tamila with 4th place and Väinö Muinonen with 5th place. 4th place went to high jumper Kalevi Kotkas and hammer thrower Gustaf Alfons Koutonen.

• 

  Crossing the finish line over 5000 meters in 1932: on the left the winner Lauri Lehtinen in front of the American Ralph Hill

• 

  Lauri Virtanen, two bronze medals in 1932 over 5000 and 10,000 meters

• 

  Volmari Iso-Hollo, Olympic champion in 1932 and 1936 over 3000 meters obstacle

• 

  Award ceremony in the javelin throw 1932: in the middle Matti Järvinen (gold), right Matti Sippala (silver), left Eino Penttilä (bronze)

• 

  The later Olympic champion Gunnar Höckert wins his prerun over 5000 meters in 1936 ahead of the Briton Frank Close (576)

• 

  Ilmari Salminen, Olympic champion over 10,000 meters in 1936

• 

  Arvo Askola, silver 1936 over 10,000 meters

• 

  The medal winners in the shot put 1936 (from left to right): the German Hans Woellke (gold), Sulo Bärlund (silver), the German Gerhard Stöck (bronze)

• 

  Yrjö Nikkanen, 1936 silver in the javelin throw

After the Second World War, Finnish athletics saw a cut. In London in 1948 the Finnish athletes, who were spoiled for success, could only win three medals. In the javelin throw, Tapio Rautavaara became the seventh Finnish Olympic champion in the eighth Olympic final. His team-mate Pauli Vesterinen finished fourth. Erkki Kataja won silver in the pole vault . Kaisa Parviainen won silver in the javelin throw, becoming the first Finnish woman to win a medal at the Summer Olympics. Pentti Siltaloppi took 5th place in the 3000 meter obstacle course. The men's 400 meter relay finished fourth. Lauri Tamminen achieved 5th place in the hammer throw.

Particularly disappointing was the performance of the Finns at the domestic summer games of 1952 in Helsinki. In athletics, only one bronze medal was won by the javelin thrower Toivo Hyytiäinen . Hannu Posti was fourth over 10,000 meters, as was Olavi Rinteenpää over a 3000 meter obstacle. Veikko Karvonen achieved fifth place in the marathon, Valto Olenius in the pole vault and Jorma Valtonen in the long jump. In 1956, three bronze medals were added to the Finnish medal balance. The precious metal was won by Voitto Hellsten over 400 meters, Veikko Karvonen in the marathon and Jorma Valkama in the long jump.

In 1960 Eeles Landström won bronze in the pole vault. Jussi Rintamäki ran over 400 meter hurdles in 5th place. In the long jump, Jorma Valkama was also fifth, Väinö Kuisma fourth in the javelin throw. Javelin thrower Pauli Nevala became Olympic champion in Tokyo . It was the first Finnish gold medal in athletics in 16 years. Jorma Kinnunen finished sixth. Kinnunen won silver in 1968, while defending champion Nevala failed in qualifying.

• 

  Tapio Rautavaara, Olympic champion in the javelin throw in 1948

• 

  Kaisa Parviainen won silver in the javelin throw in 1948, becoming the first Finn to win a medal at the summer games

• 

  Toivo Hyytiäinen (r.), Bronze in the javelin throw in 1952, with his teammate Eino Leppänen

• 

  Voitto Hellsten, bronze over 400 meters 1956

• 

  Veikko Karvonen, bronze in the 1956 marathon

• 

  Jorma Valkama, bronze in the long jump 1956

• 

  Eeles Landström, bronze in the pole vault 1960

• 

  Olympic champion Pauli Nevala at the javelin throw award ceremony in 1964

• 

  Jorma Kinnunen (center), silver in the javelin throw 1968 (photo from 1965)

1972 in Munich began the Olympic winning streak of the long-distance runner Lasse Virén . He was Olympic champion both over 5000 and over 10,000 meters. Also Pekka Vasala was Olympic champion. He won the 1500 meter race. Tapio Kantanen won bronze over 3000 meters obstacle . In the javelin throw, Hannu Siitonen came fourth and Jorma Kinnunen came sixth. In 1976 in Montreal Virén repeated his performances over 5000 and 10,000 meters. He also started in the marathon and came in fifth there. Tapio Kantanen reached 4th place over 3000 meters obstacle course. Antti Kalliomäki won silver in the pole vault , as did Hannu Siitonen in the javelin throw. Pentti Kahma reached 6th place in the discus throw. Pirjo Häggman was fourth in the women over 400 meters.

Kaarlo Maaninka was the only medalist in Moscow in 1980. He won silver over 10,000 meters, with Lasse Virén in 5th place, and bronze over 5000 meters. In the 110 meter hurdles Arto Bryggare was sixth, Reijo Ståhlberg fourth in the shot put, Antero Puranen fifth and Pentti Sinersaari sixth in the javelin throw. In 1984 in Los Angeles Juha Tiainen became Olympic champion in hammer throw Arto Härkönen Olympic champion in javelin throw. Arto Bryggare ran over 110 meter hurdles to the bronze medal. Reima Salonen reached 4th place in walking over 50 kilometers, Kimmo Pallonen 5th place in the pole vault. Tiina Lillak won silver in the javelin for women , Tuula Laaksalo was fourth. Ulla Lindholm also came fourth in the discus throw.

There were two medals in the men's javelin throw in Seoul in 1988. Tapio Korjus became Olympic champion, Seppo Räty won bronze. Three Finns made it into the top six in Barcelona in 1992. Seppo Räty won silver, Kimmo Kinnunen , son of Jorma Kinnunen, was fourth, Juha Laukkanen sixth. In the pole vault, Asko Peltoniemi took 6th place. In the women's category , Sari Essayah was fourth in walking over 10 kilometers. Heli Rantanen achieved 6th place with the javelin. In 1996, Finland's only medal was won in Atlanta in Atlanta. Seppo Räty won bronze, Heli Rantanen was Olympic champion.

• 

  Lasse Virén, two-time double Olympic champion in the 5000 and 10,000 meters in 1972 and 1976

• 

  Pekka Vasala, 1972 Olympic champion over 1500 meters

• 

  Hannu Siitonen, silver 1976 in the javelin throw

• 

  Scene from the 5000 meter final in 1980: on the far right Kaarlo Maaninka, who will later become third

• 

  Arto Bryggare, bronze in the 110 meter hurdles 1984, in 2009

• 

  Tiina Lillak, silver in the javelin throw 1984

• 

  Tapio Korjus, 1988 Olympic champion in javelin throw, in 2013

• 

  The Walker Sari Essayah

In Sydney in 2000 the shot putter Arsi Harju became Olympic champion. In the javelin throw Aki Parviainen reached 5th place in 2004 in Athens the Finnish athletes went for the first time in Olympic history without a medal. In 2008 in Beijing Tero Pitkämäki won bronze in the javelin throw. His teammates Tero Järvenpää and Teemu Wirkkala finished fourth and fifth respectively. In the hammer throw, Olli-Pekka Karjalainen took 6th place.

2012 in London there was again bronze in the men's javelin, this time by Antti Ruuskanen . Tero Pitkämäki finished fifth. In 2016 the Finns remained medalless for the second time since 2004. Antti Ruuskanen was sixth in the javelin throw.

• 

  Tero Pitkämäki, bronze 2008 in the javelin throw

• 

  The javelin thrower Teemu Wirkkala

• 

  Olli-Pekka Karjalainen, hammer throw

• 

  Antti Ruuskanen, bronze 2012 in the javelin throw

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Hannes Kolehmainen	1912 Stockholm	10,000 meters	first Olympic victory in athletics
Hannes Kolehmainen	1912 Stockholm	5000 meters
Hannes Kolehmainen	1912 Stockholm	Cross-country individual evaluation
Armas Taipale	1912 Stockholm	Discus throw
Armas Taipale	1912 Stockholm	Discus throw with both arms
Juho Saaristo	1912 Stockholm	Javelin throw with both arms
Paavo Nurmi	1920 Antwerp	10,000 meters
Paavo Nurmi	1920 Antwerp	Cross-country individual evaluation
Cross-country team	1920 Antwerp	Cross-country team competition
Hannes Kolehmainen	1920 Antwerp	marathon
Vilho Tuulos	1920 Antwerp	Triple jump
Ville Pörhölä	1920 Antwerp	Shot put
Elmer Niklander	1920 Antwerp	Discus throw
Jonni Myyra	1920 Antwerp	Javelin throw
Eero Lehtonen	1920 Antwerp	Pentathlon
Paavo Nurmi	1924 Paris	1500 meters
Paavo Nurmi	1924 Paris	5000 meters
Ville Ritola	1924 Paris	10,000 meters
Ville Ritola	1924 Paris	3000 meters obstacle
Albin Stenroos	1924 Paris	marathon
Paavo Nurmi	1924 Paris	Cross-country individual evaluation
Cross-country team	1924 Paris	Cross-country team competition
Middle distance team	1924 Paris	3000 meters team
Jonni Myyra	1924 Paris	Javelin throw
Eero Lehtonen	1924 Paris	Pentathlon
Harri Larva	1928 Amsterdam	1500 meters
Ville Ritola	1928 Amsterdam	5000 meters
Paavo Nurmi	1928 Amsterdam	10,000 meters
Toivo Loukola	1928 Amsterdam	3000 meters obstacle
Paavo Yrjölä	1928 Amsterdam	Decathlon
Lauri Lehtinen	1932 Los Angeles	5000 meters
Volmari Iso-Hollo	1932 Los Angeles	3000 meters obstacle
Matti Järvinen	1932 Los Angeles	Javelin throw
Gunnar Höckert	1936 Berlin	5000 meters
Ilmari salt mines	1936 Berlin	10,000 meters
Volmari Iso-Hollo	1936 Berlin	3000 meters obstacle
Tapio Rautavaara	1948 London	Javelin throw
Pauli Nevala	1964 Tokyo	Javelin throw
Pekka Vasala	1972 Munich	1500 meters
Let Virén	1972 Munich	5000 meters
Let Virén	1972 Munich	10,000 meters
Let Virén	1976 Montreal	5000 meters
Let Virén	1976 Montreal	10,000 meters
Juha Tiainen	1984 Los Angeles	Hammer throw
Arto Härkönen	1984 Los Angeles	Javelin throw
Tapio Korjus	1988 Seoul	Javelin throw
Heli Rantanen	1996 Atlanta	Javelin throw
Arsi Harju	2000 Sydney	Shot put

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Cross-country team	1912 Stockholm	Cross-country team competition
Elmer Niklander	1912 Stockholm	Discus throw with both arms
Väinö Siikaniemi	1912 Stockholm	Javelin throw with both arms
Paavo Nurmi	1920 Antwerp	5000 meters
Elmer Niklander	1920 Antwerp	Shot put
Armas Taipale	1920 Antwerp	Discus throw
Urho Peltonen	1920 Antwerp	Javelin throw
Ville Ritola	1924 Paris	5000 meters
Erik Wilén	1924 Paris	400 meter hurdles
Elias Katz	1924 Paris	3000 meters obstacle
Ville Ritola	1924 Paris	Cross-country individual evaluation
Vilho Niittymaa	1924 Paris	Discus throw
Paavo Nurmi	1928 Amsterdam	5000 meters
Ville Ritola	1928 Amsterdam	10,000 meters
Paavo Nurmi	1928 Amsterdam	3000 meters obstacle
Antero Kivi	1928 Amsterdam	Discus throw
Akilles Jarvinen	1928 Amsterdam	Decathlon
Volmari Iso-Hollo	1932 Los Angeles	10,000 meters
Ville Pörhölä	1932 Los Angeles	Hammer throw
Matti Sippala	1932 Los Angeles	Javelin throw
Akilles Jarvinen	1932 Los Angeles	Decathlon
Lauri Lehtinen	1936 Berlin	5000 meters
Arvo Askola	1936 Berlin	10,000 meters
Kalle Tuominen	1936 Berlin	3000 meters obstacle
Sulo Bärlund	1936 Berlin	Shot put
Yrjö Nikkanen	1936 Berlin	Javelin throw
Erkki Kataja	1948 London	Pole vault
Kaisa Parviainen	1948 London	Javelin throw
Jorma Kinnunen	1968 Mexico City	Javelin throw
Antti Kalliomäki	1976 Montreal	Pole vault
Hannu Siitonen	1976 Montreal	Javelin throw
Kaarlo Maaninka	1980 Moscow	10,000 meters
Tiina Lillak	1984 Los Angeles	Javelin throw
Seppo Räty	1992 Barcelona	Javelin throw

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Verner Järvinen	1908 London	Discus throw, Greek style	first medal win in athletics
Albin Stenroos	1912 Stockholm	10,000 meters
Elmer Niklander	1912 Stockholm	Both armed shot put
Urho Peltonen	1912 Stockholm	Javelin throw with both arms
Heikki Liimatainen	1920 Antwerp	Cross-country individual evaluation
Pekka Johansson	1920 Antwerp	Javelin throw
Hugo Lahtinen	1920 Antwerp	Pentathlon
Eero mountain	1924 Paris	10,000 meters
Vilho Tuulos	1924 Paris	Triple jump
Eino Purje	1928 Amsterdam	1500 meters
Martti Marttelin	1928 Amsterdam	marathon
Ove Andersen	1928 Amsterdam	3000 meters obstacle
Vilho Tuulos	1928 Amsterdam	Triple jump
Lauri Virtanen	1932 Los Angeles	5000 meters
Lauri Virtanen	1932 Los Angeles	10,000 meters
Armas Toivonen	1932 Los Angeles	marathon
Eino Penttila	1932 Los Angeles	Javelin throw
Volmari Iso-Hollo	1936 Berlin	10,000 meters
Kalervo Toivonen	1936 Berlin	Javelin throw
Toivo Hyytiäinen	1952 Helsinki	Javelin throw
Voitto Hellsten	1956 Melbourne	400 meters
Veikko Karvonen	1956 Melbourne	marathon
Jorma Valkama	1956 Melbourne	Long jump
Eeles Landström	1960 Rome	Pole vault
Tapio cantans	1972 Munich	3000 meters obstacle
Kaarlo Maaninka	1980 Moscow	5000 meters
Arto Bryggare	1984 Los Angeles	110 meter hurdles
Seppo Räty	1988 Seoul	Javelin throw
Seppo Räty	1996 Atlanta	Javelin throw
Tero Pitkämäki	2008 Beijing	Javelin throw
Antti Ruuskanen	2012 London	Javelin throw

Modern pentathlon

-	1	4th

In 1920, Finns were represented in the modern pentathlon for the first time. Henrik Avellan finished fifth in Paris in 1924. In 1948 this result could be improved. Lauri Vilkko reached place 4, Olavi Larkas place 5. 1952 in Helsinki the first medal was won. In the team competition, the Finnish trio took third place and won bronze. In the individual ranking, Olavi Mannonen came fifth and Lauri Vilkko came seventh.

In 1956 Mannonen won silver in the individual competition. Väinö Korhonen was behind him on the bronze rank. In the team classification, the Finnish team received bronze. In 1960 the Finnish team reached 4th place, in 1968 5th place. In 1972 the team received bronze again. In 1984 Finns took part in the Olympic competition in the modern pentathlon for the last time.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Olavi Mannonen	1956 Melbourne	Individual evaluation

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Olavi Mannonen Lauri Vilkko Olavi Rokka	1952 Helsinki	Team ranking	first medal win in pentathlon
Väinö Korhonen	1956 Melbourne	Individual evaluation
Olavi Mannonen Väinö Korhonen Berndt Katter	1956 Melbourne	Team ranking
Risto Hurme Veikko Salt Mines Martti Ketelä	1972 Munich	Team ranking

• 

  Olavi Mannonen won bronze in 1952 and silver and bronze in 1956

• 

  Väinö Korhonen, two bronze medals in 1956

Cycling

-	-	-

Finland has been represented in Olympic cycling since 1912. In Stockholm, Antti Raita was sixth in the individual classification in the road race. The team took 5th place. Only in 1996 did Tea Vikstedt-Nyman again achieve a top placement with 6th place in the individual pursuit.

horse riding

-	-	-

The first Finnish rider competed in Antwerp in 1920. Eventing rider Hans Olof von Essen achieved 5th place in the individual ranking on El Kaid in 1928 . It wasn't until 1980 that there was another top ranking. In dressage, Kyra Kyrklund took 5th place in the individual ranking on Piccolo . She achieved the same placement in 1988 on Matador and 1992 on Edinburgh . In 2008, at the age of 56, she took part in her sixth Summer Olympic Games.

Wrestling

26th	28	29

Finnish wrestlers were part of the Olympic team when Finland first took part in the Olympic Games. In London, the wrestlers won a complete set of medals. In the Greco-Roman light heavyweight division, Verner Weckman became the first ever Olympic champion in Finnish Olympic history. In the final he defeated his teammate Yrjö Saarela . Arvid Lindén won bronze in the lightweight.

With 37 wrestlers, the 1912 wrestling team was the largest to date. All competed in Greco-Roman style. Kaarlo Koskelo won the featherweight tournament, Otto Lasanen won bronze. Eemeli Väre became an Olympic champion in the lightweight category . Alfred Asikainen won bronze in the middleweight division. His fight in the final round against the Estonian Martin Klein , who started for Russia, was only defeated after eleven hours and 40 minutes. Ivar Böhling won silver in the light heavyweight division. Böhling remained undefeated in the tournament. The final fight against his Swedish opponent Anders Ahlgren was canceled by the referees after nine hours and counted as a draw. Both wrestlers received a silver medal. In the heavyweight division, Yrjö Saarela became Olympic champion, in the final he defeated his teammate Johan Olin .

• 

  Verner Weckman, Finland's first Olympic champion

• 

  Yrjö Saarela, silver 1908, Olympic victory 1912

• 

  Kaarlo Koskelo, Olympic champion in 1912

• 

  Eemeli Väre, Olympic champion in 1912 and 1920

• 

  Alfred Asikainen (left) in his fight against Martin Klein in 1912

• 

  Ivar Böhling, silver 1912

From 1920 onwards, Finnish wrestlers also competed in freestyle. In Antwerp, 18 wrestlers competed in ten weight classes of both styles. Medals were won in seven weight classes. There were two double victories in the Greco-Roman style. In the featherweight division, Oskar Friman defeated his compatriot Heikki Kähkönen in the final, while Eemeli Väre defended his Olympic victory in 1912 with a victory over Taavi Tamminen in the lightweight division . In the heavyweight division, Adolf Lindfors became Olympic champion, Martti Nieminen took bronze. There were also two medals in the middleweight division. Arthur Lindfors , Adolf Lindfors' younger brother, won silver, Matti Perttilä bronze. In the light heavyweight division, Edil Rosenqvist finally won silver. In freestyle, Eino Aukusti Leino and Väinö Penttala achieved a double victory in the middleweight division . Kalle Anttila became an Olympic champion in the lightweight .

In 1924 the Finnish wrestlers were even more successful. In the Greco-Roman style there were again two double victories. Kalle Anttila had switched from freestyle and won the featherweight before Aleksanteri Toivola . In the middleweight division, Edvard Westerlund won the final against his teammate Arthur Lindfors. Oskar Friman had switched to lightweight and became Olympic champion. Edvard's brother Kalle Westerlund took bronze. Two medals also went to the Finns in bantamweight. Anselm Ahlfors won silver, Väinö Ikonen bronze. Edil Rosenqvist, who switched to the heavyweight division, won silver again, while Onni Pellinen won bronze in the light heavyweight division . As in 1920, a double victory was achieved in freestyle again. In the bantamweight division, Kustaa Pihlajamäki won ahead of Kaarlo Mäkinen . Volmar Wikström won silver in the lightweight, Arvo Haavisto bronze. Eino Aukusti Leino won silver in the welterweight division, while Vilho Pekkala won bronze in the middleweight division.

• 

  Oskar Friman, Olympic champion in 1920 and 1924

• 

  Taavi Tamminen, silver 1920 (right), his final opponent Eemeli Väre on the left

• 

  Adolf Lindfors, Olympic champion 1920

• 

  Kalle Anttila, Olympic champion in 1920 and 1924

• 

  Eino Aukusti Leino, Olympic champion 1920, silver 1924, bronze 1928 and 1932

• 

  Edvard Westerlund, Olympic champion 1924, bronze 1928

• 

  Kustaa Pihlajamäki, Olympic champion 1924 and 1936, silver 1928

From 1928, only one Finn was nominated per weight class. 13 Finnish athletes won nine medals, including three gold ones, in Amsterdam. In the Greco-Roman style, Väinö Kokkinen was Olympic middleweight champion. In the heavyweight division, Hjalmar Nyström took silver. Bronze went to Edvard Westerlund, who had switched to lightweight, and Onni Pellinen to light heavyweight again. There were two Olympic champions in freestyle. Kaarlo Mäkinen won the bantamweight, Arvo Haavisto the welterweight. Kustaa Pihlajamäki had switched to featherweight and won silver there, as did Aukusti Sihvola in the heavyweight division. Eino Aukusti Leino won a bronze medal in the lightweight.

In Los Angeles in 1932, ten Finnish wrestlers started and won eight medals. In the Greco-Roman style Väinö Kokkinen was able to repeat his Olympic victory in the middleweight division. In welterweight Väinö Kajander won as well as Onni Pellinen in light heavyweight. Lauri Koskela won bronze in the featherweight division. In the freestyle, Hermanni Pihlajamäki , a cousin of the two-time gold medalist Kustaa Pihlajamäki, became an Olympic featherweight champion. Kyösti Luukko won silver in the middleweight division. Aatos Jaskari won bronze in the bantamweight division and Eino Aukusti Leino in the welterweight division.

In 1936 in Berlin Finland was again represented with 13 wrestlers. This time the medal yield was not so high, but two Olympic victories were celebrated by Lauri Koskela in the lightweight in the Greco-Roman style and by Kustaa Pihlajamäki in the featherweight freestyle. In the Greco-Roman style, Aarne Reini won silver in featherweight and Eino Virtanen bronze in welterweight. In the freestyle, Hermanni Pihlajamäki won bronze in the lightweight and Hjalmar Nyström in the heavyweight division.

• 

  Arvo Haavisto, bronze 1924, Olympic champion 1928

• 

  Väinö Kokkinen, Olympic champion in 1928 and 1932

• 

  Hjalmar Nyström, silver 1928, bronze 1936

• 

  Kaarlo Mäkinen, silver 1924, Olympic victory 1928

• 

  Lauri Koskela, bronze 1932, Olympic victory 1936

• 

  Hermanni Pihlajamäki, Olympic champion 1932, bronze 1936

A turning point took place after the Second World War. In London in 1948, 15 wrestlers were able to win a complete set of medals. In the Greco-Roman style, Finland remained without an Olympic victory for the first time. Kelpo Grondahl won silver in the light heavyweight division and Reino Kangasmäki won bronze in the flyweight division . In freestyle, Lennart Viitala became Olympic flyweight champion

In the 1952 domestic summer games, 16 Finnish wrestlers took part. This time the freestyle wrestlers came away completely empty-handed. All four medals were won by the Greco-Roman wrestlers. In the light heavyweight division, Kelpo Grondahl was Olympic champion. Kalervo Rauhala won silver in the middleweight division. Bronze went to Leo Honkala in the flyweight division and Tauno Kovanen in the heavyweight division.

In 1956 the Greco-Roman wrestlers achieved two Olympic victories by Rauno Mäkinen in featherweight and Kyösti Lehtonen in lightweight. In the freestyle, Erkki Penttilä won featherweight and Taisto Kangasniemi each bronze. In Rome in 1960 the Finnish wrestlers went without a medal for the first time in Olympic history. 1964 also remained medalless, the unsuccessfulness continued in 1968.

After a 16-year break, a medal could be won again in 1972. The Greco-Roman wrestler Risto Björlin won bronze in the bantamweight division. Pertti Ukkola became the 1976 Greco-Roman style bantamweight Olympic champion. Mikko Huhtala won bronze in the Greterweight Greco-Roman in 1980.

A complete set of medals followed in Los Angeles in 1984. In the Greco-Roman style, Jouko Salomäki was Olympic welterweight champion. Tapio Sipilä won silver in the lightweight. In freestyle, Jukka Rauhala , a nephew of Kalervo Rauhala, won bronze in the lightweight. In 1988 in Seoul, Tapio Sipilä won bronze in the lightweight, while Harri Koskela won silver in the light heavyweight division .

In 1992 the Finnish team came away empty-handed again. In 1996 the Greco-Roman wrestler Marko Asell won silver in the welterweight division. Marko Yli-Hannuksela won bronze in the middleweight division in 2000 and silver in 2004. This was the last Finnish medal in wrestling so far.

• 

  Lennart Viitala, Olympic champion 1948

• 

  Award ceremony 1948: Kelpo Grondahl (silver) on the podium on the left; In 1952 he became an Olympic champion

• 

  Award ceremony 1948: left Reino Kangasmäki (bronze)

• 

  Leo Honkala, bronze 1952

• 

  Award ceremony 1956: Olympic champion Rauno Mäkinen in the middle

• 

  Kyösti Lehtonen, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Marko Yli-Hannuksela, bronze 2000 and silver 2004 (photo from 2013)

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Verner Weckman	1908 London	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman	Finland's first ever Olympic victory
Kaarlo Koskelo	1912 Stockholm	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Eemeli Vare	1912 Stockholm	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Yrjö Saarela	1912 Stockholm	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Oskar Friman	1920 Antwerp	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Eemeli Vare	1920 Antwerp	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Adolf Lindfors	1920 Antwerp	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Kalle Anttila	1920 Antwerp	Lightweight, freestyle
Eino Aukusti Leino	1920 Antwerp	Middleweight, freestyle
Kalle Anttila	1924 Paris	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Oskar Friman	1924 Paris	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Edvard Westerlund	1924 Paris	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Kustaa Pihlajamäki	1924 Paris	Bantamweight, freestyle
Väinö Kokkinen	1928 Amsterdam	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Kaarlo Mäkinen	1928 Amsterdam	Bantamweight, freestyle
Arvo Haavisto	1928 Amsterdam	Welterweight, freestyle
Väinö Kokkinen	1932 Los Angeles	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Hermanni Pihlajamäki	1932 Los Angeles	Featherweight, freestyle
Lauri Koskela	1936 Berlin	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Kustaa Pihlajamäki	1936 Berlin	Featherweight, freestyle
Lennart Viitala	1948 London	Flyweight, freestyle
Kelpo Grondahl	1952 Helsinki	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Rauno Mäkinen	1956 Melbourne	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Kyösti Lehtonen	1956 Melbourne	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Pertti Ukkola	1976 Montreal	Bantamweight, Greco-Roman
Jouka Salomäki	1984 Los Angeles	Greterweight, Greco-Roman

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yrjö Saarela	1908 London	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Ivar Boehling	1912 Stockholm	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Johan Olin	1912 Stockholm	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Heikki Kähkönen	1920 Antwerp	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Taavi Tamminen	1920 Antwerp	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Arthur Lindfors	1920 Antwerp	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Edil Rosenqvist	1920 Antwerp	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Väinö Penttala	1920 Antwerp	Middleweight, freestyle
Hjalmar Nyström	1928 Amsterdam	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Kustaa Pihlajamäki	1928 Amsterdam	Featherweight, freestyle
Aukusti Sihvola	1928 Amsterdam	Heavyweight, freestyle
Väinö Kajander	1932 Los Angeles	Greterweight, Greco-Roman
Onni Pellinen	1932 Los Angeles	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Kyösti Luukko	1932 Los Angeles	Middleweight, freestyle
Aarne Reini	1936 Berlin	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Kelpo Grondahl	1948 London	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Kalervo Rauhala	1952 Helsinki	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Tapio Sipilä	1984 Los Angeles	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Harri Koskela	1988 Seoul	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Marko Asell	1996 Atlanta	Greterweight, Greco-Roman
Marko Yli-Hannuksela	2004 Athens	Middleweight, Greco-Roman

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Arvid Lindén	1908 London	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Otto Lasanen	1912 Stockholm	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Alfred Asikainen	1912 Stockholm	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Matti Perttilä	1920 Antwerp	Middleweight, Greco-Roman
Martti Nieminen	1920 Antwerp	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Edvard Westerlund	1928 Amsterdam	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Onni Pellinen	1928 Amsterdam	Light heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Eino Aukusti Leino	1928 Amsterdam	Lightweight, freestyle
Lauri Koskela	1932 Los Angeles	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Aatos Jaskari	1932 Los Angeles	Bantamweight, freestyle
Eino Aukusti Leino	1932 Los Angeles	Welterweight, freestyle
Eino Virtanen	1936 Berlin	Greterweight, Greco-Roman
Hermanni Pihlajamäki	1936 Berlin	Lightweight, freestyle
Hjalmar Nyström	1936 Berlin	Heavyweight, freestyle
Leo Honkala	1952 Helsinki	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Tauno Kovanen	1952 Helsinki	Heavyweight, Greco-Roman
Reino Kangasmäki	1948 London	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Erkki Penttila	1956 Melbourne	Featherweight, freestyle
Taisto Kangasniemi	1956 Melbourne	Heavyweight, freestyle
Risto Björlin	1972 Munich	Bantamweight, Greco-Roman
Mikko Huhtala	1980 Moscow	Greterweight, Greco-Roman
Jukka Rauhala	1984 Los Angeles	Lightweight, freestyle
Tapio Sipilä	1988 Seoul	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Marko Yli-Hannuksela	2000 Sydney	Middleweight, Greco-Roman

rowing

3	1	3

The first Finnish rowers took part in the rowing regattas in Stockholm in 1912. At the domestic summer games, Finnish boats reached the finals for the first time. The two and the four with a helmsman were fifth. The four without a helmsman won Finland's first rowing medal with bronze. In 1956 the four-man with helmsman won another bronze medal. In 1960 , Veli Lehtelä and Toimi Pitkänen rowed to bronze in a pair without a helmsman . In 1964 they finished sixth.

In 1976 the time of Pertti Karppinen began , who dominated in the one. In 1976, 1980 and 1984 he was Olympic champion. In 1988 he finished 7th. The next medal was won in Beijing in 2008. The women's lightweight double scull went to the silver medal.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Pertti Karppinen	1976 Montreal	One	first Olympic victory in rowing
Pertti Karppinen	1980 Moscow	One
Pertti Karppinen	1984 Los Angeles	One

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Sanna Stén Minna Nieminen	2008 Beijing	Double scull lightweight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Veikko Lommi Kauko Wahlsten Oiva Lommi Lauri Nevalainen	1952 Helsinki	Foursome without a helmsman	first medal win in rowing
Kauko Hänninen Reino Poutanen Veli Lehtelä Toimi Pitkänen Matti Niemi	1956 Melbourne	Foursome with a helmsman
Veli Lehtelä Toimi Pitkänen	1960 Rome	Two without a helmsman

• 

  Toimi Pitkänen (l.) And Veli Lehtelä (r.): Bronze 1956 and 1960

• 

  Pertti Karppinen, Olympic champion in 1976, 1980 and 1984

shoot

4th	7th	10

Pentti Linnosvuo, Olympic champion 1956 and 1964, silver 1960

Satu Mäkelä-Nummela, 2008 Olympic champion

Finland started in shooting since its first Olympic participation in 1908. In 1912 the first medals were won. In the competition for the current target, Nestori Toivonen won bronze in the individual ranking. Another bronze medal was added to the team ranking. The team with the free rifle in the three-position fight reached 5th place, as did the team in trap shooting.

Three medals were won in 1920, two of them again in the competition on the running target. The Finnish team won silver in the single shot team and bronze in the double shot. Magnus Wegelius , who had already won bronze with the all-round gymnastics team in 1908 , competed in both teams . In the individual ranking, Yrjö Kolho took 4th place and Robert Tikkanen 5th place. In the team ranking with the free rifle in prone position, the Finnish team also won bronze. Wegelius also started here. Veli Nieminen, Wegelius' teammate in 1908, was also there. In the individual ranking, Vilho Vauhkonen reached 4th place. The team with the free rifle in the three-position fight also reached 4th place.

In 1924 Konrad Huber won silver in trap shooting. The Finnish team won bronze in the team competition. In addition to Huber, Magnus Wegelius and Robert Tikkanen were also team members. Martti Liuttula was fifth in a single shot at the target, the team was fifth. Robert Tikkanen was sixth in a double shot and the team was fourth. With the small bore rifle in prone position, Jean Theslöf reached fourth place, and the team in the three-position fight was fifth. Lennart Hannelius won bronze among the pistol shooters with the rapid fire pistol.

Finnish shooters did not participate again until 1936, but were unsuccessful. Tapio Wartiovaara reached 5th place with the free pistol. In 1948 Pauli Janhonen won silver in a three-position battle with the small-bore rifle. Kullervo Leskinen was fifth, Olavi Elo sixth. In the prone position, Albert Ravila came in 7th. With the rapid fire pistol, Leo Ravilo took 5th place, Väinö Heusala came in sixth.

At the domestic summer games in 1952, Vilho Ylönen won silver with a small-bore rifle in a three-position battle. Ylönen had taken part in the demonstration sport of military patrol with the Finnish team at the 1948 winter games and came second there. In the three-position fight with the free rifle, he was fifth. In the prone position with the small bore rifle, Kullervo Leskinen came in seventh. Tauno Mäki won bronze in shooting at the running target. Yrjö Miettinen finished sixth. At the age of 59, Konrad Huber competed again in trap shooting after a 28-year break. He finished 5th. Pentti Linnosvuo with the rapid fire pistol was also fifth . Klaus Lahti finished seventh with the free pistol.

In 1956 Vilho Ylönen won another bronze medal in the three-position fight with the free rifle. Jorma Taitto finished fourth. With the small bore rifle, Ylönen reached 5th place in the three-position battle. With the free pistol, Pentti Linnosvuo became Finland's first Olympic champion in shooting. With the rapid fire pistol he reached 4th place, Kalle Sievänen finished seventh. In 1960 Linnosvuo won silver with the rapid fire pistol. Ylönen was fourth in the three-position fight with the free rifle, in the same discipline with the small bore rifle Esa Kervinen was sixth. In 1964 he achieved the same placement with the free rifle. Two Finnish shooters became Olympic champions in Tokyo. Linnosvuo won with the rapid fire pistol, Väinö Markkanen with the free pistol.

In 1968 the Finns were unsuccessful. The only top placement came in 9th with the free pistol Matti Patteri. In 1972 Jaakko Minkkinen reached 6th place in a three-position fight with the free rifle. In Montreal 1976 no Finnish shooter could place himself in the front. In 1980, however, the shooters only narrowly failed because of the medal ranks. With the small bore rifle, Mauri Räppänen finished fourth in the three-position fight, Timo Hagman fifth in the prone position. In the competition on the running target, Jorma Lievonen came in 6th, in trap shooting Ari Westergård was eighth. Among the pistol shooters, Seppo Saarenpää reached 5th place and Paavo Palokangas 8th place with the free pistol.

A medal could only be won after 20 years, in 1984 in Los Angeles. Rauno Bies won bronze with the rapid fire pistol. Paavo Palokangas repeated 8th place with the free pistol. Jorma Lievonen finished seventh in the shooting on the running target, Timo Nieminen fourth in the trap shooting. Among the women, Sirpa Ylönen reached 8th place with the air rifle. In 1988 only Matti Nummela with 8th place in trap shooting and Pirjo Peltola with 5th place with the air rifle were able to place themselves in front.

No medals could be won in 1992 either. With the air pistol, Sakari Paasonen finished fifth. Juha Hirvi competed with the small-bore rifle and took 4th place in the three-position fight and 6th place in the prone position. In 1996, Krister Holmberg finished sixth in the shooting target. In the double trap, Riitta-Mari Murtoniemi took 5th place.

In 2000, Juha Hirvi won silver in a three-position battle with the small bore rifle. Pasi Wedman finished fourth in the shooting target. In Athens 2004, Marko Kemppainen won silver in skeet shooting. The first women's medal in shooting and at the same time the first Olympic victory in 44 years was achieved in Beijing in 2008 by Satu Mäkelä-Nummela , who won the trap shooting. Henri Häkkinen won bronze with the air rifle . Juha Hirve finished 7th in the prone position with the small bore rifle. Mira Nevansuu achieved the same ranking with the air pistol. In 2012 in London, Mäkelä-Nummela was seventh in the trap shooting, Kai Jahnsson was eighth with the air pistol.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Pentti Linnosvuo	1956 Melbourne	free gun	first Olympic victory in shooting
Pentti Linnosvuo	1964 Tokyo	Rapid fire pistol
Väinö Markkanen	1964 Tokyo	free gun
Satu Mäkelä-Nummela	2008 Beijing	Trap

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Nestori Toivonen Robert Tikkanen Magnus Wegelius Yrjö Kolho Kaarlo Lappalainen	1920 Antwerp	Running target single shot team
Konrad Huber	1924 Paris	Trap single
Pauli Janhonen	1948 London	Small bore rifle, three position combat
Vilho Ylönen	1952 Helsinki	Small bore rifle, three position combat
Pentti Linnosvuo	1960 Rome	Rapid fire pistol
Juha Hirvi	2000 Sydney	Small bore rifle, three position combat
Marko Kemppainen	2004 Athens	Skeet

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Nestori Toivonen	1912 Stockholm	Running target single	first medal in shooting
Nestori Toivonen Iivar Väänänen Axel Fredrik Londen Ernst Rosenqvist	1912 Stockholm	Running target team
Nestori Toivonen Robert Tikkanen Magnus Wegelius Yrjö Kolho Vilho Vauhkonen	1920 Antwerp	Running target, double shot team
Vilho Vauhkonen Veli Nieminen Magnus Wegelius Voitto Kolho Kaarlo Lappalainen	1920 Antwerp	Army rifle lying team
Konrad Huber Robert Huber Magnus Wegelius Werner Ekman Robert Tikkanen Georg Nordblad	1924 Paris	Trap crew
Lennart Hannelius	1924 Paris	Rapid fire pistol
Tauno Mäki	1952 Helsinki	Running disc
Vilho Ylönen	1956 Melbourne	free rifle three position fight
Rauno Bies	1984 Los Angeles	Rapid fire pistol
Henri Häkkinen	2008 Beijing	Air rifle

swim

-	1	3

Swimmers have been part of the Finnish Olympic teams since 1908. The first medals, two bronze medals, were won in Antwerp in 1920 by Arvo Aaltonen over 200 and 400 meters breasts. It was not until 1960 in Rome that there was another success. The men's 200-meter freestyle relay came in fifth. In 1964 Eila Pyrhönen swam over 100 meters butterfly in 4th place.

72 years after Arvo Aaltonen's bronze medals, Antti Kasvio won bronze in the 200 meters freestyle. Jani Sievinen failed over 200 meter medley with fourth place just because of the medal ranks. In 1996, however, he swam to the silver medal. In the 2000 final he was eighth. In 2008 Hanna-Maria Seppälä swam in 4th place over 100 meters freestyle.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Jani Sievinen	1996 Atlanta	200 meter locations

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Arvo Aaltonen	1920 Antwerp	200 meters chest
Arvo Aaltonen	1920 Antwerp	400 meters chest
Antti Kasvio	1992 Barcelona	200 meters freestyle

• 

  Arvo Aaltonen, with two bronze medals in 1920, Finland's first medalist in swimming

• 

  Jani Sievinen, silver 1996

sailing

2	2	7th

Finnish sailors have been taking part in Olympic sailing regattas since 1912. The first medal was won by Heatherbell in 1912 with bronze in the 12-meter class. However, only three boats were at the start here. The Nina won silver in the 10 meter class, Lucky Girl 1 in the 8-meter class, another bronze medal. Here, Ärn II came fourth. Hans Dittmar sailed to Bronzeplatz in 1924 in the monotype 1924. Bertel Broman also won bronze in 1928 with the 12-foot dinghy. In 1936, the Finnish 8-meter class boat, the Sheerio , came fifth.

At the domestic summer games in 1952, the boat in the 6-meter class, the Ralia , won bronze. The brothers Peter and Hendrik Tallberg reached fourth place with the star boat in 1964. In 1980 they achieved their first Olympic victory in sailing. Esko Rechardt won gold in the Finn dinghy. Georg Tallberg and Jouko Lindgren sailed for the bronze medal in the 470.

The sister duo Annika and Bettina Lemström only narrowly failed to win a medal in the 470 in 1988 with fourth place. It was the same for Mika Aarnikka and Petri Leskinen in 1992, who also finished fourth in the 470. They achieved the same result in 1996. At the sailing regatta off Sydney 2000, Jyrki Järvi and Thomas Johanson achieved Olympic victory in the 49er. In the women's Europe class, Sari Multala finished fifth. She achieved the same result in 2004. In 2012 Tuuli Petäjä won silver in the women's windsurfing class. In the Elliott 6 m class, the Finnish boat achieved bronze. In 2016 Tuula Tenkanen finished fifth in the Laser Radial.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Esko Rechardt	1980 Tallinn	Finn dinghy	first Olympic victory in shooting
Jyrki Järvi Thomas Johanson	2000 Sydney	49er

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Nina	1912 Stockholm	10 meter class
Tuuli Petäja	2012 Weymouth	Windsurfing

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Heatherbell	1912 Stockholm	12 meter class	first medal win in sailing
Lucky Girl 1	1912 Stockholm	8 meter class
Hans Dittmar	1924 Meulan	Monotype 1924
Bertel Broman	1928 Amsterdam	12-foot dinghy
Ralia	1952 Helsinki	6 meter class
Georg Tallberg Jouko Lindgren	1980 Tallinn	470s
Silja Lehtinen Silja Kanerva Mikaela Wulff	2012 Weymouth	Elliott 6m

Taekwondo

-	-	-

Finnish athletes have been participating in Taekwondo since the sport was included in the 2000 Olympic program. So far there has been no success.

tennis

-	-	-

Tennis was an Olympic sport until 1924 and only returned to the Olympic program in 1988. The first Finnish tennis players competed in 1924. In the men's singles, Esse Schybergson failed in the first round against the Swiss Maurice Ferrier. Successes remained in short supply even after the sport was resumed.

Table tennis

-	-	-

Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988. The first Finnish player did not play until 2016 and was unsuccessful.

do gymnastics

8th	5	12

The first Finnish gymnasts took part in London in 1908. Here the all-around team was able to win the country's first gymnastics medal with bronze. With Magnus Wegelius there was a gymnast on the team who was to win one silver and three bronze medals as a marksman in 1920 and 1924. Veli Nieminen also worked as a marksman for Finland in 1920 and 1924. He won a bronze medal. Aarne Salovaara was also active as a track and field athlete in discus and javelin throwing in 1908. He was fourth in the javelin throw. Kaarlo Soinio took part in the 1912 Olympic football tournament. In free gymnastics, Finland won a silver medal in the team classification in 1912. With Lauri Tanner there was also a footballer on the Finnish team.

In 1928 in Amsterdam, the team came fifth in the all-around competition. Heikki Savolainen won his first Olympic medal with bronze on the pommel horse. Mauri Nyberg finished fifth on the rings. Savolainen won one silver and three bronze medals in Los Angeles in 1932. He received the silver medal for his achievements on the horizontal bar, bronze on parallel bars and in the individual all-around as well as with the all-around team. Einari Teräsvirta won another bronze medal on the horizontal bar. Mauri Nyberg finished fourth on the parallel bars, Teräsvirta achieved this placement in the horse jump.

In 1936 Aleksanteri Saarvala became Finland's first Olympic gymnastics champion. He won on the horizontal bar, Savolainen took 5th place in front of his teammates Ilmari Pakarinen and Martti Uosikkinen. Uosikkinen was fourth on the pommel horse, fifth in the individual all-around and sixth in the horse jump. The Finnish team won the bronze medal in the team all-around competition.

In 1948 the all-around team became Olympic champions. Veikko Huhtanen won the individual all-around competition , Paavo Aaltonen took bronze. Aaltonen won the horse jump ahead of his teammate Olavi Rove . Veikko Huhtanen took silver on the bars and bronze on the horizontal bar with Aleksanteri Saarvala in 4th place. A special constellation emerged on the pommel horse. Savolainen as well as Huhtanen and Aaltonen achieved the same total number of points (38.70). All three were declared Olympic champions.

In 1948 the men's all-around team won bronze. Team member was the 44-year-old Heikki Savolainen, who won his sixth medal in his fifth Olympic Games and was the most successful gymnast in terms of the number of medals at the Olympic Games. On the horizontal bar he reached fourth place, Onni Lappalainen was fifth on the floor. The women's team took fifth place in the all-around competition. The men's team also won bronze in 1956.

In 1960 Eugen Ekman became Olympic champion on the pommel horse. Hannu Rantakari won bronze in the horse jump in 1964. In 1968, Onni Eino Laiho won a silver medal on the pommel horse. In 1972 the last Finnish gymnast took part for 20 years. The other participations from 1992 onwards were unsuccessful.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Aleksanteri Saarvala	1936 Berlin	Horizontal bar	first Olympic victory in gymnastics
Veikko Huhtanen	1948 London	All-around single
Paavo Aaltonen	1948 London	Horse jump
Paavo Aaltonen	1948 London	Pommel horse
Veikko Huhtanen	1948 London	Pommel horse
Heikki Savolainen	1948 London	Pommel horse
National gymnastics team	1948 London	All-around team
Eugen Ekman	1960 Rome	Pommel horse

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National gymnastics team	1912 Stockholm	All-around free system
Heikki Savolainen	1932 Los Angeles	Horizontal bar
Veikko Huhtanen	1948 London	Ingots
Olavi Rove	1948 London	Horse jump
Olli Eino Laiho	1968 Mexico City	Pommel horse

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National gymnastics team	1908 London	All-around team	first medal win in sailing
Heikki Savolainen	1928 Amsterdam	Pommel horse
National gymnastics team	1932 Los Angeles	All-around team
Heikki Savolainen	1932 Los Angeles	All-around single
Heikki Savolainen	1932 Los Angeles	Ingots
Einari Teräsvirta	1932 Los Angeles	Horizontal bar
National gymnastics team	1936 Berlin	All-around team
Paavo Aaltonen	1948 London	All-around single
Veikko Huhtanen	1948 London	Horizontal bar
National gymnastics team	1952 Helsinki	All-around team
National gymnastics team	1956 Melbourne	All-around team
Hannu Rantakari	1964 Tokyo	Horse jump

• 

  Heikki Savolainen, double Olympic champion in 1948, silver in 1932, four bronze medals in 1932 and one each in 1936 and 1952

• 

  Veikko Huhtanen, three-time Olympic champion in 1948

• 

  Eugen Ekman, 1960 Olympic champion, with his wife

• 

  Hannu Rantakari, bronze 1964

Diving

-	-	-

The first Finnish diver competed in 1908. Toivo Aro finished fifth in high diving in 1912. Yrjö Valkama achieved the same placement in 1920. Ada Onnela was also fifth from the tower in 1928. All other participations were unsuccessful in the following period.

Winter games

biathlon

-	5	2

Kaisa Mäkäräinen

Finland has been represented in the Olympic biathlon since 1960. At the very first participation Antti Tyrväinen won the first Finnish medal in biathlon with silver over 20 kilometers. In 1968 Arvo Kinnari was fifth over 20 kilometers. The season also reached number 5. In 1972, the season could then advance to silver. In the individual over 20 kilometers, Yrjö Salpakari reached 5th place and Esko Saira 6th place. In 1976, the relay repeated their silver win. In the individual over 20 kilometers, Heikki Ikola also won silver, Esko Saira came in sixth.

In 1980, Erkki Antila reached the finish line in fifth place after 20 kilometers. It was not until 1992 in Albertville that a medal could be celebrated. Harri Eloranta won bronze in the sprint . Over 20 kilometers he was fifth, Vesa Hietalahti sixth. The women's relay was fifth. In 1994, the men's relay was fifth. In 1998, Ville Raikkonen took bronze in the sprint. In 2006 Paavo Puurunen ran fourth in the mass start. Kaisa Mäkäräinen in 2014 sixth in the mass start. The mixed season reached 6th place in 2018.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yrjö Salpakari Esko Saira Mauri Röppänen Juhani Suutarinen	1960 Squaw Valley	20 kilometers	first medal win in biathlon
Antti Tyrväinen	1960 Squaw Valley	20 kilometers
Esko Saira Juhani Suutarinen Heikki Ikola Mauri Röppänen	1972 Sapporo	Season
Heikki Ikola	1976 Innsbruck	20 kilometers
Henrik Flöjt Esko Saira Juhani Suutarinen Heikki Ikola	1976 Innsbruck	Season

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Harri Eloranta	1992 Albertville	sprint
Ville Raikkonen	1998 Nagano	sprint

Curling

-	1	-

Skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi, silver 2006

Finnish teams have been participating in Olympic curling since 1998. In the preliminary round there were five wins and four losses for the men's team from Oulunkylä CC around Skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi in nine games. Against the German team they lost 6: 7, Switzerland was beaten 6: 5. Rank 5 in the preliminary group meant the tournament.

Participation in 2006 was more successful. Again, a team from Oulunkylä CC led by Skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi competed . The team finished the preliminary round in first place after seven wins in nine games. Against Switzerland they conceded the first defeat on the first day of the match with 2: 7. The second defeat in the preliminary round was on the fifth matchday with 2: 5 against Germany. In the semifinals, the United Kingdom was beaten 4-3. In the final, the team then lost to Canada 4:10.

Finnish curlers only took part in a tournament again in 2018. In the mixed doubles that have been added to the Olympic program, the Finnish duo managed only one win in seven games. They lost against Switzerland 6: 7. As the bottom of the group, you were eliminated early.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Markku Uusipaavalniemi will Mäkelä Kalle Kiiskinen Teemu Salo	2006 Turin	Men's tournament	first medal win in curling

ice Hockey

-	2	7th

Finland has been participating in Olympic ice hockey tournaments since 1952. In Oslo in 1952 the team could only win two of their eight group games, including 5-1 against the team from the Federal Republic of Germany. They suffered a 0:12 defeat against Switzerland. In the final table, the Finnish team was in 7th place. In 1960 they lost both group games, including 1: 4 against the Federal Republic. Three wins and a draw in the placement round meant 7th place again.

In the elimination round of the 1964 tournament, Finland beat Austria 8-2. In the final round, two of the seven group games were won. Switzerland was beaten 4-0, against the Federal Republic of Germany they lost 2-1. The team took 6th place in the final table.

With three wins, one draw and one defeat, the team came in 5th place in 1968. In Grenoble, both German teams met. They won 3-2 against the GDR and 4-1 against the Federal Republic. 1972 get only two wins in five games, in addition to one win in the elimination round. The team took 5th place.

In 1976 a similar picture emerged. Again only two wins in five games get in the final round. They had won 5: 3 against the team from the Federal Republic of Germany. Together with the Federal Republic of Germany and the USA team, they were tied on third place. Since the goal difference was not used to determine the placement, in this case the bronze medalist, but the goal quotient of the three teams among each other, Finland occupied despite better Goal difference rank 4 behind the Federal Republic.

In 1980, too, they narrowly failed to win a medal. The preliminary round ended in second place after three wins in five games. The Finnish team was thus qualified for the final round. However, a draw was only enough for fourth place. In 1984, the preliminary round ended in third place. Two wins, including a 4-3 over Austria, and a draw was only enough for the game for fifth place. Here they met the Federal Republic of Germany. After a 4-2 lead after two thirds, the game was lost 4-7.

In 1988 a medal could be won for the first time. The preliminary round was completed after three wins and one draw in first place. The only defeat they conceded on the first day of play with a 1: 2 against Switzerland. In the final round they won 8-0 against the Federal Republic of Germany. A defeat and a victory followed, which meant second place and thus the silver medal.

In 1992 Finland got three wins and one draw in the preliminary round. They won against Germany 5-1. This time, however, it was only enough to place 3 in the preliminary round. The quarter-finals were lost against the United Team with 1: 6. In the placement games they initially lost to Sweden, but secured 7th place with a 4-1 over France.

In 1994 the team won all five preliminary round games, so u. a. 6-2 against Austria and 7-1 against Germany. In the quarter-finals they beat the USA 6-1. Canada was superior in the semi-finals, defeating Finland 5-3. The Finnish team won the bronze match against Russia 4-0.

In 1998 a women's team took part for the first time. The men started in the second round and achieved only one win in three games. In the quarterfinals it was against Sweden, Finland won 2-1. The semi-final against Russia was lost 4-7. In the game for bronze you could win 3-2 against Canada. The women achieved three wins in five preliminary round matches. This qualified you for the bronze match against China. The game was won 4-1.

In 2002 the men won two of their three preliminary round matches. In the quarter-finals they lost to Canada 1: 2. The women also won two of their three games in the preliminary round, u. a. 3-1 against Germany. They lost the semi-finals 3: 7 against Canada, and the bronze match against Sweden was lost (1: 2). In 2006 the men won all five preliminary round matches. Germany was beaten 2-0, Switzerland 5-0. The quarter-finals against the USA and the semi-finals against Russia were won, in the final they were defeated by Sweden 2-3. As in 2002, the women won two of their three preliminary round matches. Germany was beaten 3-0, Switzerland 4-0. In the semifinals they lost 6-0 to Canada, the bronze game was lost 4-0 to the USA.

Two wins, including a 5-0 win over Germany, in three games meant the men's second place in the preliminary round. In the quarter-finals there was a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic. The semi-final against the USA was lost 6-1. In the game for bronze they defeated Slovakia 5: 3. A similar picture presented itself in the women's tournament. Here, too, the team won twice in three games. In the semifinals they lost to Canada with 0: 5, the game for bronze against Sweden was then won 3: 2.

In 2014 in Sochi, the men's team achieved two wins in the preliminary round. Austria was defeated 8: 4. In the quarter-finals they defeated hosts Russia 3-1 and then lost the semi-finals against Sweden 2-1. The bronze game was won 5-0 against the USA. After two defeats in the preliminary round, the women were only able to beat Switzerland 4-3 in extra time. In the quarter-finals they lost to Sweden 2: 4.

Two wins in the group stage, including a 5-2 win over Germany, brought the men's team to second place in the preliminary round. In the playoffs for the quarter-finals, they won 5-2 against hosts South Korea. The quarter-finals against Canada were lost 0-1. The women got off to a weaker start with a win in three games. However, they were able to win the quarter-finals against Sweden 7-2. In the semifinals, the USA lost 5-0, and the bronze medal match against the Olympic athletes from Russia was won 3-2.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of men	1988 Calgary	Men's tournament	first medal win in ice hockey
National team of men	2006 Turin	Men's tournament

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of men	1994 Lillehammer	Men's tournament
National team of men	1998 Nagano	Men's tournament
National team of women	1998 Nagano	Women's tournament
National team of men	2010 Vancouver	Men's tournament
National team of women	2010 Vancouver	Women's tournament
National team of men	2014 Sochi	Men's tournament
National team of women	2018 Pyeongchang	Women's tournament

• 

  Center player Aarne Honkavaara took part in 1952

• 

  Jari Kurri, bronze 1998

• 

  Face off in the preliminary round match against the USA (red jersey) in 2002

• 

  Quarter-finals against Canada 2002: goalkeeper Jani Hurme in front, Antti Aalto in back

• 

  Semi-final 2006 against Russia, Finland in white - Teemu Selänne in the front , Saku Koivu in the middle , Jere Lehtinen in the back

• 

  Joni Pitkänen attacking Germany in the 2010 preliminary round

• 

  The Finns celebrate their bronze medal in 2010

figure skating

1	1	-

Figure skating was on the program at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp as early as 1920. The couple Walter and Ludowika Jakobsson became Olympic champions in pair skating and thus won the first Finnish medal in a winter sport. Ludowika Jakobsson was the first woman in Finland to win an Olympic medal. In the men's singles, Sakari Ilmanen came fifth. The Jakobsson couple won silver at the first official winter games in Chamonix. In 1928 they finished 5th. In 1932, Marcus Nikkanen was fourth in the men's singles.

It was not until 1992 that Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko were able to achieve a top placement again with 6th place in ice dancing. In 1994 they only narrowly failed with a medal in fourth place. In 2010 Laura Lepistö took 6th place in the women's singles.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Walter Jakobsson Ludowika Jakobsson	1920 Antwerp	Pair skating	first medal and Olympic victory in figure skating and in a winter sport

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Walter Jakobsson Ludowika Jakobsson	1924 Chamonix	Pair skating

• 

  The Jakobsson couple, Olympic champions in 1920, won silver in 1924

• 

  Laura Lepistö

Speed ​​skating

7th	8th	9

Clas Thunberg and Julius Skutnabb dominated the speed skating competitions at the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924. Thunberg was three times Olympic champion. He won over 1500 meters, Skutnabb was fourth, over 5000 meters Skutnabb won silver behind Thunberg, Thunberg won the all-around event, Skutnabb took bronze. Skutnabb won over 10,000 meters ahead of Thunberg, who also won bronze over 500 meters. Here Asser Wallenius was fifth.

In 1928 Thunberg added two more gold medals to his collection of medals. He won the 500 and 1500 meters. Over 500 meters, Jaakko Friman took bronze. Julius Skutnabb won silver over 5000 meters. In 1936 Birger Wasenius won silver over 5000 and 10,000 meters and bronze over 1500 meters. Antero Ojala won bronze over 5000 meters. Ossi Blomqvist took 6th place over 5000 meters and 5th over 10,000 meters.

In 1948 there were two medals in the 10,000 meter race. Lassi Parkkinen here silver, after 4th place over 1500 meters. Pentti Lammio took bronze. In 1952 the Finnish speed skaters got nothing. Pentti Lammio reached place 4 over 10,000 meters, Lassi Parkkinen place 6 over 1,500 meters. In 1956 Toivo Salonen won bronze over 1500 meters. Juhani Järvinen was behind him in fourth place . Over 500 meters, Salonen took 5th place.

In 1960 Finnish women took part for the first time. Eevi Huttunen won the first medal for women with bronze over 3000 meters. In the men's race, Jouko Jokinen came fourth over 1500 meters, Juhani Järvinen came fifth. In 1964, Kaija Mustonen won silver over 1500 meters and bronze over 1000 meters. Over 3000 meters she was ranked 5. In the men's category, Jouko Launonen was fourth over 1500 meters. In 1968 Mustonen was even more successful. She competed in all disciplines and became Olympic champion over 1500 meters. She won bronze over 3000 meters, fourth over 1000 meters and sixth over 500 meters.

Participation in 1972 remained without medals. Seppo Hänninen was fifth over 500 meters, Leo Linkovesi sixth. In 1976 and 1980 no runners could place themselves in front. In 1984 Pertti Niittylä reached 6th place over 5000 meters. It wasn't until 26 years later, in 2010 in Vancouver, that Mika Poutala came back close to the medal in 5th place over 500 meters. In 2018 it improved to fourth place.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Clas Thunberg	1924 Chamonix	1500 meters	first medal and Olympic victory in speed skating
Clas Thunberg	1924 Chamonix	5000 meters
Clas Thunberg	1924 Chamonix	All-around
Julius Skutnabb	1924 Chamonix	10,000 meters
Clas Thunberg	1928 St. Moritz	500 meters
Clas Thunberg	1928 St. Moritz	1500 meters
Kaija Mustonen	1968 Grenoble	1500 meters

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Julius Skutnabb	1924 Chamonix	5000 meters
Clas Thunberg	1924 Chamonix	10,000 meters
Julius Skutnabb	1928 St. Moritz	5000 meters
Birger Wasenius	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	5000 meters
Birger Wasenius	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	10,000 meters
Lassi Parkkinen	1948 St. Moritz	5000 meters
Kaija Mustonen	1964 Innsbruck	1500 meters
Kaija Mustonen	1968 Grenoble	3000 meters

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Clas Thunberg	1924 Chamonix	500 meters
Julius Skutnabb	1924 Chamonix	All-around
Jaakko Friman	1928 St. Moritz	500 meters
Birger Wasenius	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	1500 meters
Antero Ojala	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	5000 meters
Pentti Lammio	1948 St. Moritz	10,000 meters
Toivo saloons	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	1500 meters
Eevi Huttunen	1960 Squaw Valley	3000 meters
Kaija Mustonen	1964 Innsbruck	1000 meters

• 

  The two Olympic champions from Chamonix in 1924: Julius Skutnabb on the left, Clas Thunberg on the right

• 

  Birger Wasenius, silver and bronze 1936

• 

  Lassi Parkkinen, silver 1948

• 

  Kaija Mustonen at the 1968 award ceremony

Freestyle ski

1	2	1

Janne Lahtela, silver 1998, gold 2002, as trainer of the Japanese freestylers 2010

Freestyle skiing became an Olympic sport in 1992. Finnish freestylers also competed in Albertville. The first medals followed in 1998. Janne Lahtela won the silver medal on the moguls, his cousin Sami Mustonen won bronze, the third Finn, Lauri Lassila, came fifth. In the women's category , Minna Karhu took 6th place. In 2002, Lahtela won her first Olympic gold medal in freestyle, Tapio Luusua finished fifth. In 2006, Mikko Ronkainen won silver.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Janne Lahtela	2002 Salt Lake City	Mogul slope	first Olympic victory in freestyle skiing

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Janne Lahtela	1998 Nagano	Mogul slope	first medal win in freestyle skiing
Mikko Ronkainen	2006 Turin	Mogul slope

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Sami Mustons	1998 Nagano	Mogul slope

Military patrol

-	1	-

The military patrol race was the first and only time an Olympic sport in 1924. Today this competition is viewed by the IOC as a demonstration competition, but the IOC statistics list the 1924 medal winners.

The Finnish quartet won the silver medal in Chamonix. Of the four teams that crossed the finish line, the Finns were the most accurate.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
August Eskelinen Heikki Hirvonen Ville Mattila Väinö Bremer	1924 Chamonix	team

Nordic combination

4th	8th	2

Finland has been participating in Nordic Combined since the first Winter Games in 1924. In 1928 Paavo Nuotio reached 4th place and Esko Järvinen 5th place. Lauri Valonen also took 4th place in 1936.

Four Finns were among the top seven athletes in 1948. Heikki Hasu became the first Finnish Olympic champion in Nordic combined in St. Moritz. Martti Huhtala won silver, Olavi Sihvonen was fifth and Pauli Salonen was seventh. A similar picture emerged in 1952. Four Finns were among the top eight participants. Hasu took silver this time, Paavo Korhonen was fourth, Aulis Sipponen seventh and Eeti Nieminen eighth. In 1956 Korhonen reached the finish again in fourth place, Pekka Ristola achieved this place in 1960.

In 1964 and 1968 the Finns were unsuccessful. In 1972 Rauno Miettinen won silver. Erkki Kilpinen finished fourth. In 1976 Miettinen reached fourth place. The next medalist was Jouko Karjalainen in 1980 , who won silver in Lake Placid and also in 1984 in Sarajevo. Here won Jukka Ylipulli bronze, Miettinen was ranked fourth

In 1998 the Finns got back on the road to success. After silver in the singles from Samppa Lajunen , the relay team also took silver. In 2002, Finnish athletes won all three disciplines. Samppa Lajunen won both the team and the individual competition and the sprint. Jaakko Tallus took silver in the individual and was fourth in the sprint.

2006 the team reached the bronze rank. Tallus was fifth in the sprint and also in the individual. In 2010 the Finnish team remained medalless. Hannu Manninen was fourth in the competition with jumping on the large hill. In 2018 Eero Hirvonen was sixth in both the normal hill and the large hill competition. The relay was also ranked 6th.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Heikki Hasu	1948 St. Moritz	singles	first Olympic victory and medal win in Nordic combined
Samppa Lajunen	2002 Salt Lake City	singles
Samppa Lajunen	2002 Salt Lake City	sprint
Samppa Lajunen Jaakko Tallus Hannu Manninen Mikko Keskinarkaus	2002 Salt Lake City	team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Martti Huhtala	1948 St. Moritz	singles
Heikki Hasu	1952 Oslo	singles
Rauno Miettinen	1972 Sapporo	singles
Jouko Karjalainen	1980 Lake Placid	singles
Jouko Karjalainen	1984 Sarajevo	singles
Samppa Lajunen	1998 Nagano	singles
Samppa Lajunen Hannu Manninen Tapio Nurmela Jari Mantila	1998 Nagano	team
Jaakko Tallus	2002 Salt Lake City	singles

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Jukka Ylipulli	1984 Sarajevo	singles
Anssi Koivuranta Antti Kuisma Hannu Manninen Jaakko Tallus	2006 Turin	team

• 

  Lauri Valonen, participant in 1936

• 

  Heikki Hasu, Olympic champion 1948, silver 1952

• 

  Anssi Koivuranta, team bronze 2006

• 

  Eero Hirvonen

Alpine skiing

-	1	-

Finnish athletes have been taking part in alpine ski racing since 1948. It was not until 1998 that Kalle Palander achieved a top 10 position with 9th place in the slalom. Henna Raita was eighth in slalom in 2002. In 2006 Tanja Poutiainen won silver in the giant slalom. In the slalom she was sixth. In 2010 she was again sixth in the slalom.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tanja Poutiainen	2006 Turin	Giant slalom	first medal win in alpine skiing

• 

  Kalle Palander, three-time Olympian

• 

  Tanja Poutiainen, silver 2006

• 

  Anssi Koivuranta, team bronze 2006

• 

  Eero Hirvonen

Cross-country skiing

21st	24	34

Cross-country skiing is Finland's most successful winter sport. Finnish cross-country skiers have been taking part in the Winter Olympics since 1924. In Chamonix, Tapani Niku became the first Finnish medalist in cross-country skiing with a bronze over 18 kilometers. In 1928 Veli Saarinen ran over 18 kilometers in 4th place, Martti Lappalainen in 7th place. His brother Tauno was sixth over 50 kilometers.

In 1932 Veli Saarinen became Finland's first Olympic champion in cross-country skiing. He won 50 kilometers, Väinö Liikkanen won silver. Martti Lappalainen took seventh place over 18 kilometers, Saarinen took bronze, Martti Lappalainen came fourth, Valmari Toikka seventh. In 1936 the relay won the Olympic Games. Over 18 kilometers, Pekka Niemi won bronze, Sulo Nurmela came in seventh. Over 50 kilometers, Klaes Karppinen took 5th place, Frans Heikkinen 7th place and Pekka Niemi 8th place.

• 

  Four of the five cross-country skiers from 1932 (from left to right): Valmari Toikka, Veli Saarinen, Väinö Liikkanen and Martti Lappalainen

• 

  Kalle Jalkanen, 1936 relay Olympic champion

• 

  Sulo Nurmela, 1936 relay Olympic champion

• 

  Pekka Niemi, bronze 1936

In 1948 the relay reached the silver medal. Benjamin Vanninen won bronze over 50 kilometers. His brother Pekka was fourth, Pekka Kuvaja seventh. Four Finns were in the top eight over 18 kilometers. Heikki Hasu , Olympic Champion in Nordic Combined, was fourth, Sauli Rytky sixth, August Kiuru seventh and Teuvo Laukkanen eighth.

In 1952 women from Finland first went on the trail. All medals went to Finnish athletes over 10 kilometers. Olympic champion was Lydia Wideman , silver went to Mirja Hietamies and bronze to Siiri Rantanen . The men's relay won gold. Over 50 kilometers of the men there was a double victory with Veikko Hakulinen as Olympic champion and Eero Kolehmainen with silver. Kalevi Mononen took 5th place. Over 18 kilometers, Tapio Mäkelä won silver ahead of Paavo Lonkila with bronze. Heikki Hasu was fourth, Tauno Sipilä eighth.

• 

  Benjam Vanninen, bronze 1948

• 

  Benjamin's brother, Pekka Vanninen

• 

  Veikko Hakulinen, Olympic champion in 1952, 1956 and 1960

• 

  Eero Kolehmainen, silver 1952

• 

  The winning season of 1952: Paavo Lonkila on the left, Tapio Mäkelä behind him, Heikki Hasu on the far right, Urpo Korhonen behind him. In her arms the trainer Veli Saarinen

• 

  Scene from the relay race of 1952: Change from Lonkila (left) to Korhonen

• 

  Lydia Wideman, Olympic champion 1952

• 

  Mirja Hietamies, silver 1952, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Siiri Rantanen, bronze in 1952 and 1960, Olympic champion in 1956

In 1956 Hakulinen won gold over 30 kilometers and silver over 50 kilometers, over 15 kilometers he came fourth. Eero Kolehmainen was fourth over 50 kilometers. The men's relay won silver. The women's relay was Olympic champion. In the individual race over 10 kilometers, Siiri Rantanen crossed the finish line in fifth, Mirja Hietamies in sixth.

In 1960 the men's relay won. Over 50 kilometers there was a double victory with Kalevi Hämäläinen as the winner and Veikko Hakulinen with silver. Pentti Pelkonen finished sixth. Hakulinen won bronze over 15 kilometers, Eero Mäntyranta came in sixth. Hakulinen took 6th place over 30 kilometers, Toimi Alatalo came in seventh. The women's relay won bronze. Toini Pöysti took 6th place over 10 kilometers .

In 1964 Eero Mäntyranta managed a double victory. He became Olympic champion over 15 and over 30 kilometers. On the shorter route, Väinö Huhtala took 4th place, over 30 kilometers Kalevi Laurila took 6th place . Arto Tiainen won bronze over 50 kilometers . The men's relay won silver, the women's bronze. Over 5 kilometers, Mirja Lehtonen won silver, Toini Pöysti was fifth, as he did over 10 kilometers. Here Senja Pusula took 6th place.

In 1968 Eero Mäntyranta won silver over 15 kilometers with Kalevi Laurila in 4th place and bronze over 30 kilometers. Laurila finished sixth here. The men's relay won bronze. The women came away empty-handed this time. Marjatta Kajosmaa finished 5th over 5 and 10 kilometers. The relay came fourth.

In Sapporo 1972 the men were without medals. Juha Mieto was fourth over 15 kilometers, the relay finished 5th. Marjatta Kajosmaa won silver over 5 kilometers. Hilkka Riihivuori finished fifth. Kajosmaa also won bronze over 10 kilometers, here Helena Takalo came fifth. The women's relay won silver.

After 12 years, back in Innsbruck, there was a Finnish Olympic victory in cross-country skiing. Helena Takalo won the 5km race, Hilkka Riihivuori came fourth. Takalo also won silver over 10 kilometers. The women's relay also won silver. The men's relay achieved the Olympic victory. Arto Koivisto won bronze over 15 kilometers. Over 30 kilometers, Juha Mieto was fourth.

In Lake Placid 1980 Juha Mieto won silver over 15 and over 50 kilometers, the relay won bronze. The race over 15 kilometers went down in the history of cross-country skiing. Mieto was defeated by the Swede Thomas Wassberg by just a hundredth of a second. There has never been a closer decision in cross-country skiing. It was calculated that after 1.5 million centimeters Wassberg had a lead of 3.3 centimeters. The International Ski Federation (FIS) decided after the Winter Games to only measure up to a tenth of a second in future. Wassberg made the proposal to split the gold medal, but the IOC rejected the proposal. In the race over 30 kilometers, Matti Pitkänen finished 6th, Mieto came seventh here. There were also medals for women. Hilkka Riihivuori took silver over 5 and 10 kilometers. Helena Takalo won bronze over 10 kilometers. The women's relay was fifth.

In 1984 Aki Karvonen ran over 15 kilometers to the silver medal. Harri Kirvesniemi won bronze, Juha Mieto came fourth. Korvonen finished 5th over 30 kilometers, Kirvesniemi 7th and Mieto 8th. Korvonen won bronze over 50 kilometers, Kirvesniemi was fourth. The men's relay won bronze. In the women's category , Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi , Harri Kirvesniemi's wife, was a three-time Olympic champion. She won all individual disciplines over 5, 10 and 20 kilometers. The women's relay won bronze.

In 1988 the men received nothing. For women, Marjo Matikainen was Olympic champion over 5 kilometers in classic style. Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi finished fifth. Over 10 kilometers, also in the classic style, Matikainen won bronze, Pirkko Määttä took 7th place. The women's relay won bronze.

• 

  The winners of the 1956 relay race (from left to right): Sirkka Polkunen, Mirja Hietamies, Siiri Rantanen

• 

  Siiri Rantenen (left), substitute runner Eva Hög (right) and Mirja Hietamies (2nd from right) are visited by the Finnish ambassador Asko Ivalo

• 

  Eero Mäntyranta, Olympic champion in 1960 and 1964

• 

  Marjo Matikainen, Olympic champion in 1988, in 2011

In 1992, Harri Kirvesniemi took 6th place in the classic 10 km. The men's relay won bronze. In the women's category , Marjut Lukkarinen was Olympic champion over 5 kilometers classic, over 15 kilometers classic she took silver. Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi finished in 6th place. Lukkarinen took fourth place in the pursuit, and the women's relay came fourth.

In 1994 the men's relay won bronze. Mika Myllylä won silver over 50 kilometers in classic style, over 30 kilometers in free style he won bronze, Jari Isometsä came in sixth. Myllylä took 6th place in the classic over 10 kilometers and 4th place in the pursuit, here Jari Räsänen finished sixth. In the women’s category, Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi won two bronze medals. She was third over 5 and 30 kilometers, both run in classic style. The women's relay finished fourth.

In 1998 Harri Kirvesniemi took part in his sixth Winter Games. With the season he won his sixth bronze medal. Mika Myllylä became classic over 30 kilometers. Jari Isometsä was fourth, Harri Kirvesniemi sixth. Over 10 kilometers, Myllylä took bronze. In the pursuit race he finished sixth and Isometsä eighth. The women got nothing in Nagano, there was no top 10 placement except for 7th place of the season.

In Salt Lake City in 2002, Finnish cross-country skiers went without medals for the first time since 1928. Only Kaisa Varis came close to the medal in 4th place in the mass start. Over 10 kilometers, Satu Salonen ran in 7th place. In the men's group, the team Olympic champion in Nordic combined, Hannu Manninen, competed in the classic sprint over 1.5 kilometers and came in eighth.

In 2006 in Turin, Keijo Kurttila and Lauri Pyykönen reached 5th place in the team sprint in classic style. In the women's category, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen and Virpi Kuitunen also won bronze , also in the classic style . In the individual sprint in free style, Kuitunen took 5th place, Saarinen ran over 10 kilometers in a classic 7th place.

Saarinen won bronze in the 2010 mass start in Vancouver, which was run in the classic style. With the relay she won another bronze medal. In the skiathlon, she finished 5th. Riitta-Liisa Roponen was sixth over 10 kilometers in free style. For the men, the relay reached 5th place. In Sochi 2014, for the first time since 1998, men were able to win medals again. These were immediately made of gold, because Iivo Niskanen and Sami Jauhojärvi became Olympic champions in the classic style team sprint . Over 15 kilometers, Niskanen came fourth, the men's relay was sixth. In the women's relay there was silver and in the classic team sprint for Aino-Kaisa Saarinen and Kerttu Niskanen , the sister of the Olympic champion. Over 10 kilometers classic Saarinen came fourth and Niskanen eighth. Niskanen finished fourth in the free style mass start. In the skiathlon, Saarinen took 5th place and Niskanen 7th place.

In Pyeongchang 2018, Iivo Niskanen was again Olympic champion, this time over 50 kilometers classic. The men's season finished fourth. In the classic sprint, Ristomatti Hakola finished sixth. In the women's category, Krista Pärmäkoski, who competed under her maiden name Krista Lähteenmäki in 2014, won three medals. She won silver over 30 kilometers in classic style, and bronze in skiathlon and over 10 kilometers in free style. Together with Mari Eder , she finished fifth in the free style team sprint. Kerttu Niskanen was sixth over 30 kilometers classic. Just like the men's relay, the women's relay took fourth place.

• 

  Mika Myllylä, silver and bronze 1994

• 

  Six bronze medals from six participations: Harri Kirvesniemi (photo from 2017)

• 

  Bronze in the team sprint 2006: Virpi Kuitunen (left) and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen

• 

  Flower ceremony 2010 for the winners over 30 kilometers: right with bronze Aino-Kaisa Saarinen

• 

  Award ceremony in the team sprint 2014: In the middle with gold Iivo Niskanen (left) and Sami Jauhojärvi

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Veli Saarinen	1932 Lake Placid	50 kilometers	first Olympic victory in cross-country skiing
Sulo Nurmela Klaes Karppinen Matti Lähde Kalle Jalkanen	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Season
Veikko Hakulinen	1952 Oslo	50 kilometers
Heikki Hasu Paavo Lonkila Urpo Korhonen Tapio Mäkelä	1952 Oslo	Season
Lydia Wideman	1952 Oslo	10 kilometer
Veikko Hakulinen	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	30 kilometers
Sirkka Polkunen Mirja Hietamies Siiri Rantanen	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Season
Kalevi Hämäläinen	1960 Squaw Valley	50 kilometers
Toimi Alatalo Eero Mäntyranta Väinö Huhtala Veikko Hakulinen	1960 Squaw Valley	Season
Eero Mäntyranta	1964 Innsbruck	15 kilometers
Eero Mäntyranta	1964 Innsbruck	30 kilometers
Matti Pitkänen Juha Mieto Pertti Teurajärvi Arto Koivisto	1976 Innsbruck	Season
Helena Takalo	1976 Innsbruck	5 kilometers
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1984 Sarajevo	5 kilometers
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1984 Sarajevo	10 kilometer
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1984 Sarajevo	20 kilometers
Marjo Matikainen	1988 Calgary	5 kilometers classic
Marjut Lukkarinen	1992 Albertville	5 kilometers classic
Mika Myllyl	1998 Nagano	10 kilometers classic
Iivo Niskanen Sami Jauhojärvi	2014 Sochi	Classic team sprint
Iivo Niskanen	2018 Pyeongchang	50 kilometers classic

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Lauri Silvennoinen Teuvo Laukkanen Sauli Rytky August Kiuru	1948 St. Moritz	Season
Tapio Mäkelä	1952 Oslo	18 kilometers
Eero Kolehmainen	1952 Oslo	50 kilometers
Mirja Hietamies	1952 Oslo	10 kilometer
Veikko Hakulinen	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	50 kilometers
August Kiuru Jorma Kortelainen Arvo Viitanen Veikko Hakulinen	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Season
Veikko Hakulinen	1960 Squaw Valley	50 kilometers
Väinö Huhtala Arto Tiainen Kalevi Laurila Eero Mäntyranta	1964 Innsbruck	Season
Mirja Lehtonen	1964 Innsbruck	5 kilometers
Eero Mäntyranta	1968 Grenoble	15 kilometers
Marjatta Kajosmaa	1972 Sapporo	5 kilometers
Helena Takalo Hilkka Riihivuori Marjatta Kajosmaa	1972 Sapporo	Season
Helena Takalo	1976 Innsbruck	10 kilometer
Liisa Suihkonen Marjatta Kajosmaa Hilkka Riihivuori Helena Takalo	1976 Innsbruck	Season
Juha Mieto	1980 Lake Placid	15 kilometers
Juha Mieto	1980 Lake Placid	50 kilometers
Hilkka Riihivuori	1980 Lake Placid	5 kilometers
Hilkka Riihivuori	1980 Lake Placid	10 kilometer
Aki corvons	1984 Sarajevo	15 kilometers
Marjut Lukkarinen	1992 Albertville	15 kilometers classic
Mika Myllyl	1994 Lillehammer	50 kilometers classic
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Kerttu Niskanen	2014 Sochi	Classic team sprint
Anne Kyllönen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Kerttu Niskanen Krista Lähteenmäki	2014 Sochi	Season
Krista Pärmäkoski	2018 Pyeongchang	30 kilometers classic

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tapani Niku	1924 Chamonix	18 kilometers
Veli Saarinen	1932 Lake Placid	18 kilometers
Pekka Niemi	1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	18 kilometers
Benjamin Vanninen	1948 St. Moritz	50 kilometers
Paavo Lonkila	1952 Oslo	18 kilometers
Siiri Rantanen	1952 Oslo	10 kilometer
Veikko Hakulinen	1960 Squaw Valley	15 kilometers
Siiri Rantanen Eeva Ruoppa Toini Pöysti	1960 Squaw Valley	Season
Arto Tiainen	1964 Innsbruck	50 kilometers
Senja Pusula Toini Pöysti Mirja Lehtonen	1964 Innsbruck	Season
Eero Mäntyranta	1968 Grenoble	30 kilometers
Kalevi Oikarainen Hannu Taipale Eero Mäntyranta Pauli Siitonen	1968 Grenoble	Season
Marjatta Kajosmaa	1972 Sapporo	10 kilometer
Arto Koivisto	1976 Innsbruck	15 kilometers
Harri Kirvesniemi Pertti Teurajärvi Matti Pitkänen Juha Mieto	1980 Lake Placid	Season
Helena Takalo	1980 Lake Placid	10 kilometer
Harri Kirvesniemi	1984 Sarajevo	15 kilometers
Aki corvons	1984 Sarajevo	50 kilometers
Kari Ristanen Juha Mieto Harri Kirvesniemi Aki Karvonen	1984 Sarajevo	Season
PIrkko Määttä Eija Hyytiäinen Marjo Matikainen Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1984 Sarajevo	Season
Marjo Matikainen	1988 Calgary	10 kilometers classic
PIrkko Määttä Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Marjo Matikainen Jaana Savolainen	1988 Calgary	Season
Mika Kuusisto Harri Kirvesniemi Jari Räsänen Jari Isometsä	1992 Albertville	Season
Mika Myllyl	1994 Lillehammer	30 kilometers of free style
Mika Myllylä Harri Kirvesniemi Jari Räsänen Jari Isometsä	1994 Lillehammer	Season
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1994 Lillehammer	5 kilometers classic
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi	1994 Lillehammer	30 kilometers classic
Mika Myllyl	1998 Nagano	30 kilometers classic
Mika Myllyl Harri Kirvesniemi Sami Repo Jari Isometsä	1998 Nagano	Season
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Virpi Kuitunen	2006 Turin	Classic team sprint
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen	2010 Vancouver	Mass start classic
Pirjo Muranen Virpi Kuitunen Riitta-Liisa Roponen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen	2010 Vancouver	Season
Krista Pärmäkoski	2018 Pyeongchang	10 kilometers freestyle
Krista Pärmäkoski	2018 Pyeongchang	Skiathlon

Ski jumping

10	9	3

Finland has been represented in ski jumping since it first took part in the Winter Games. In 1936 Lauri Valonen , who also competed as a Nordic combined, came sixth. In 1948 three Finns were among the top eight jumpers. Matti Pietikäinen was fourth, Leo Laakso sixth and Matti's brother Aatto eighth. In 1952 Antti Hyvärinen was seventh, and in 1956 he was Finland's first Olympic champion in ski jumping. With his silver medal, Aulis Kallakorpi ensured a Finnish double victory. Eino Kirjonen finished 7th. 1960 in Squaw Valley Niilo Halonen won silver, Juhani Kärkinen finished eighth.

In 1964 in Innsbruck, a large hill was jumped for the first time. Veikko Kankkonen won silver on the large hill and was Olympic champion on the normal hill. In Grenoble 1968 Topi Mattila jumped 5th on the normal hill. On the large hill Tauno Käyhkö took 4th place in 1972.

Medals could only be won again in Lake Placid in 1980. On the large hill Jouko Törmänen became Olympic champion, Jari Puikkonen won bronze. On the normal hill, Pentti Kokkonen jumped on place 5, Törmänen on place 8. In Sarajewo 1984 Matti Nykänen appeared for the first time . He became Olympic champion on the large hill and won silver on the normal hill ahead of Jari Puikkonen with bronze. Puikkonen was fifth on the large hill.

In 1988 in Calgary Nykänen was a three-time Olympic champion. He won gold on both the large and the normal hill. In addition, he won gold in the team competition, which was held for the first time. The Finnish team was able to defend its Olympic victory in 1992. Moreover, it was Toni Nieminen Olympic champion on the large hill. He won bronze on the normal hill, Mika Laitinen took 5th place.

In 1994 the team reached 5th place. Jani Soininen was fifth on the large hill and sixth on the normal hill. Also in 1998 the team came in 5th place. Soininen became Olympic champion on the normal hill and won silver on the large hill. Janne Ahonen took 4th place on the normal hill.

In 2002 the team won silver. Matti Hautamäki took bronze on the large hill . Three Finns finished in the top six on the normal hill. Janne Ahonen reached fourth place, Veli-Matti Lindström fifth and Matti Hautamäki sixth. In 2006 the team won silver again. Hautamäki also took silver on the normal hill. Janne Ahonen came in sixth. Hautamäki took 5th place on the large hill.

In 2010 the Finnish ski jumpers received no medals. Janne Ahonen finished fourth on the normal hill, and the team also came in fourth. In 2014 in Sochi, no Finnish ski jumper was able to place in the top ten, the team came eighth. The same picture was presented in Pyeongchang in 2018. Here Janne Ahonen competed at the Winter Games for the seventh time. After the Japanese Noriaki Kasai, he is the ski jumper with the second most participations.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Antti Hyvärinen	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Special jumping
Veikko Kankkonen	1964 Innsbruck	Normal hill
Jouko Törmänen	1980 Lake Placid	Large hill
Matti Nykänen	1984 Sarajevo	Large hill
Matti Nykänen	1988 Calgary	Normal hill
Matti Nykänen	1988 Calgary	Large hill
Matti Nykänen Ari-Pekka Nikkola Tuomo Ylipulli Jari Puikkonen	1988 Calgary	team
Toni Nieminen	1992 Albertville	Large hill
Toni Nieminen Ari-Pekka Nikkola Risto Laakkonen Mika Laitinen	1992 Albertville	team
Jani Soininen	1998 Nagano	Normal hill

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Aulis Kallakorpi	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Special jumping
Niilo halons	1960 Squaw Valley	Special jumping
Veikko Kankkonen	1964 Innsbruck	Large hill
Jari Puikkonen	1980 Lake Placid	Large hill
Matti Nykänen	1984 Sarajevo	Normal hill
Jani Soininen	1998 Nagano	Large hill
Matti Hautamäki Veli-Matti Lindström Risto Jussilainen Janne Ahonen	2002 Salt Lake City	team
Matti Hautamäki	2006 Turin	Normal hill
Matti Hautamäki Janne Ahonen Tami Kiuru Risto Jussilainen	2006 Turin	team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Jari Puikkonen	1984 Sarajevo	Normal hill
Toni Nieminen	1992 Albertville	Normal hill
Matti Hautamäki	2002 Salt Lake City	Large hill

• 

  Antti Hyvärinen, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Veikko Kankkonen (47), Olympic victory and silver in 1964

• 

  Four-time Olympic champion Matti Nykänen in 2014

• 

  Jani Soininen, Olympic champion in 1998, in 2015

• 

  Matti Hautamäki, silver 2006, silver and bronze 2002

• 

  Seven-time Olympic participant: Janne Ahonen

Snowboard

-	2	2

Finland has been participating in snowboarding since 1998, when the sport became Olympic. In the halfpipe, Minna Hesso was sixth, Sebu Kuhlberg seventh. Heikki Sorsa reached number 7 in the halfpipe in 2002. In 2006 the first medal was won in this sport. Markku Koski won bronze in the halfpipe, Antti Autti was fifth. In 2010 Peetu Piiroinen won silver, Koski took 6th place.

In 2010, Enni Rukajärvi added a silver medal in women's slopestyle . In the men's category, Piiroinen was seventh in slopestyle. In 2018 Rukajärvi won another bronze medal.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Peetu Piiroinen	2010 Vancouver	halfpipe
Enni Rukajärvi	2014 Sochi	Slopestyle

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Markku Koski	2006 Turin	halfpipe
Enni Rukajärvi	2018 Pyeongchang	Slopestyle

Interludes

Three athletes and a wrestler traveled to Athens for the 1906 interludes. Verner Weckman won gold in the middleweight division of Greco-Roman wrestling and silver in the open class. The athlete Verner Järvinen won gold in the Greek style discus throw and bronze in the modern discus throw. In the javelin throw he was fifth ahead of Heikki Åhlman sixth. In the ancient pentathlon, Uno Häggman was fourth.

Youth games

Youth Summer Games

At the first edition of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore , the Finnish participants won two medals.

The athlete Jussi Kanervo won bronze in the 110-meter hurdles. Arttu Kangas finished fifth in the shot put, while Junia Koivu achieved the same place in a hammer throw. The wrestler Petra Olli won bronze in the flyweight freestyle. In sailing Kaarle Tapper was fourth in boat class Byte CII.

Four years later, the Youth Summer Games were held in Nanjing . This time the Finnish team remained without medals. The archer Mirjam Tuokkola won a bronze medal in a mixed international doubles. This medal is not included in the Finnish medal balance.

Youth Winter Games

The Nordic combined athlete Ilkka Herola won silver in 2012

The first Winter Youth Games took place in Innsbruck in 2012 . The Finnish team was able to provide two Olympic champions and also won two silver medals. The youth Olympic winners were the boys' ice hockey team and the freestyler Niki Lehikoinen in ski cross. The Finnish ice hockey team could u. a. Beat Austria 3-0. She won the final against Russia 2-1 after a shootout. In freestyle, Lauri Kivari won silver in the halfpipe. Ilkka Herola won another silver medal in Nordic combined. In cross-country skiing, Joonas Sarkkinen was fifth over 10 kilometers classic. Katri Lylynperä achieved the same placement in the sprint. In ski jumping Miika Ylipulli was fifth, Jenny Rautionaho seventh. In snowboarding, Tuomas Pohjonen achieved 7th place in slopestyle. The figure skater Eveliina Viljanen won bronze in a mixed team. This medal is also not taken into account in the Finnish medal balance.

In 2016 the second Winter Youth Games were held in Lillehammer . One silver and five bronze medals were the result of the Finnish team. The silver medal was won by snowboarder Elli Pukkujamsa in slopestyle. Bronze went to Lauri Mannila in cross-country skiing and Rebecca Immonen over 5 kilometers, snowboarders Henna Ikola and Rene Rinnekangas in slopestyle and ski racers Riikka Honkanen and Sampo Kankkunen in parallel slalom. Kankkunen also finished fourth in the Super-G, fifth in the combined and sixth in the giant slalom. The biathlete Tuomas Harjula finished seventh in the pursuit. In cross-country skiing, Lauri Mannila reached 5th place in the sprint, Remi Lindholm was seventh in cross and over 10 kilometers freestyle. Rebecca Immonen also took 7th place in the Cross. The freestyler Anni Karava came fifth in the slopestyle. The boys' ice hockey team reached the semi-finals and lost against Canada 3: 4 after a shootout. The bronze match against Russia was also lost, with the Finns losing 6-2. Aleks Haatanen finished fifth in the Skill Challenge. In ski jumping, Andreas Alamommo reached 6th place. Samuli Suomalainen was fourth in speed skating over 500 meters.

Art competitions

3	1	1

The author Klaus Suomela was the first Finnish artist to take part in an Olympic art competition in 1924. He submitted his work to Milon , but was unable to place himself. In 1936 the writer Urho Karhumäki was awarded the gold medal for his novel In the open water (original title: Avoveteen ).

Two gold, one silver, one bronze medal and two honorable mentions were the result of the last art competitions in 1948. The architect Yrjö Lindegren won gold in the urban planning category for his model of an athletics stadium in Varkaus. The model of an athletics stadium in Kemi by his colleague Ilmari Nieveläinen was awarded bronze. The poet Aale Tynni received a gold medal for the poem Hellas Ruhm (original title: Hellaan laakeri ). Heikki Assunta received an Honorable Mention for his work Endure and Win . The composer Kalervo Tuukkanen was honored with silver for his work Karhunpyynti . Einar Englund received an Honorable Mention for Epinikia .

• 

  The writer Urho Karhumäki, gold 1936

• 

  The poet Aale Tynni, Gold 1948

• 

  Yrjö Lindegren, gold 1948

• 

  Ilmari Niemeläinen, bronze 1948

• 

  Kalervo Tuukkanen, silver 1948

• 

  Heikki Asunta

• 

  Einar Englund

Participants by sport

Summer games

sport	year
	1908	1912	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016
badminton																			2	2	2	3	2	2	1
basketball									11			12
Archery														3	2	4th	5	6th	3	3	3	1	1		2
Boxing					3	2	6th	6th	10	3	7th	5	5	4th	5	5	5	3	1		1				1
fencing					3			6th	11	2	6th			1	4th	5		1		1
Soccer			13					11		11							16
Weightlifting			1					4th	7th	1	2	4th	5	9	5	7th	5	4th	4th	2	1		1	1	2
golf																									4th
hockey									11
Judo														1	2	3	3	2	7th	1	1	1	2	3	1
Canoeing							3	5	10	6th	9	3	5	4th	7th	4th	5	3	2	1	1	2	4th	2
athletics	15th	23	26th	52	35	22nd	37	36	69	19th	26th	17th	10	32	31	26th	22nd	18th	26th	26th	23	23	19th	17th
Modern pentathlon			2	3	3		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Cycling		5		4th	1		2	5	11	1	4th		4th	6th	1	5	5	4th	2	5	2			2	1
horse riding			1	1	1		1	5	5	7th					2	1	4th	1	1	2			1	2	1
Wrestling	4th	37	18th	24	13	10	13	15th	16	10	14th	10	9	10	7th	8th	11	12	7th	5	4th	2	1	2	3
rowing		6th						5	26th	5	12	7th	2	3	7th	1	3	5	3	2			2
shoot	9	19th	9	15th			8th	12	11	4th	8th	8th	9	10	4th	9	10	9	8th	6th	7th	6th	8th	4th	2
swim	3	6th	1	2	1	1	2	1	13	1	5	6th	3	1	1	1	2	1	13	12	7th	7th	5	7th	8th
sailing		27		1	1		12	12	14th	3	9	5	3	7th	8th	7th	5	5	8th	8th	10	4th	9	11	8th
Taekwondo																					2	1		1	1
tennis				4th																		1	1	1
Table tennis																									1
do gymnastics	31	24		8th	8th	5	8th	8th	16	6th	12	8th	6th	1					1	1	1			1	2
Diving	2	6th	3	6th	2		1	1	3	1	1	1	2	2			1	1			2	2	1

Winter games

sport	year
	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018
biathlon									4th	4th	6th	5	4th	6th	5	5	9	9	7th	9	1	4th	4th	8th
Curling																			5	4th				2
ice Hockey							17th		17th	16	17th	19th	18th	20th	20th	22nd	22nd	22nd	42	41	43	41	43	48
figure skating	3	2	3	1	7th		2	1					1	2			3	3	1	1	2	3		1
Speed ​​skating		3	6th	1	5	5	6th	6th	7th	10	8th	6th	4th	4th	3	2	2		1	3	4th	4th	3	1
Freestyle ski																	4th	3	4th	5	4th	4th	10	3
Military patrol		4th
Nordic combination		2	2		4th	4th	4th	3	4th	4th	3	3	4th	4th	3	4th	4th	4th	4th	5	5	4th	4th	5
Alpine skiing						2	4th	2		2	2		1			1		2	5	4th	4th	4th	4th	2
Cross-country skiing		5	7th	5	7th	13	17th	15th	12	11	11	14th	12	12	10	13	14th	13	11	14th	13	17th	16	15th
Ski jumping		2	2		4th	4th	4th	4th	4th	4th	5	4th	4th	4th	4th	6th	4th	5	4th	5	5	5	5	6th
Snowboard																			6th	7th	5	5	11	8th

Medals by sport

Summer games

sport	gold	silver	bronze	total
athletics	48	36	30th	114
Wrestling	26th	28	29	83
do gymnastics	8th	5	12	25th
Canoeing	5	2	3	10
shoot	4th	7th	10	21st
rowing	3	1	3	7th
sailing	2	2	7th	11
Boxing	2	1	12	15th
Archery	1	1	2	4th
Weightlifting	1	0	2	3
Modern pentathlon	0	1	4th	5
swim	0	1	3	4th
total	100	85	117	302

Winter games

sport	gold	silver	bronze	total
Cross-country skiing	21st	24	34	79
Ski jumping	10	9	3	22nd
Speed ​​skating	7th	8th	9	24
Nordic combination	4th	8th	2	14th
Freestyle ski	1	2	1	4th
figure skating	1	1	0	2
biathlon	0	5	2	7th
ice Hockey	0	2	7th	9
Snowboard	0	2	2	4th
Curling	0	1	0	1
Military patrol	0	1	0	1
Alpine skiing	0	1	0	1
total	44	64	60	168

Note: The gold medal in figure skating was won during the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Medal table

Olympic games

				total	rank
Olympic Summer Games	101	85	117	303	12
winter Olympics	43	64	60	167	10
total	144	149	177	470	13

Youth Olympic Games

				total	rank
Youth Olympic Summer Games	0	0	2	2	96
Youth Olympic Winter Games	2	3	5	10	17th
total	2	3	7th	12	49

literature

• Sadan vuoden olympiadi. Suomalaisen olympialiikkeen historia. Suomen Olympic Committee yes WSOY. 2007, ISBN 978-951-0-32429-5 .

Web links

• Official website of the Finnish Olympic Committee (Finnish, English)
• Finland in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Finland on Olympic.org  - The Official website of the Olympic movement (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} la84foundation.org: 1952 Helsinki (PDF; 29.7 MB)
2. ^ History of the Olympic Stadium
3. ↑ la84foundation.org: 1940 Tokyo Report of the Organizing Committee (PDF; 11.5 MB)
4. ↑ olympic.org: HELSINKI 1952: Games of the XV Olympiad
5. ↑ including seven athletes at the Equestrian Games in Stockholm had participated
6. ↑ Result on the IOC website
7. ↑ Article in the Tagesspiegel from February 15, 2010
8. ↑ Figure skating was carried out in 1920 as part of the Antwerp Summer Olympics