Voitto Hellsten

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Voitto Valdemar Hellsten (born February 15, 1932 in Pertteli , † December 7, 1998 in Turku ) was a Finnish athlete and politician .

Career

In 1952 Voitto Hellsten competed in three disciplines at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. In the 100-meter run he was eliminated in the preliminary run, and in the 200-meter run he reached the quarter-finals. In the 4 x 100 meter relay , the competition was over for the Finnish team after the preliminary run.

As a result, Voitto Hellsten started at international championships in the 400-meter run . At the European Athletics Championships in 1954 in Bern, he ran in the final with a Finnish record of 47.0 s and won silver behind the Russian Ardalion Ignatiew , who was European champion in 46.6 s. With the Finnish 4-by-400-meter relay in occupation Ragnar Graeffe , Sven-Oswald Mildh , Rolf back and him as the final runner won Voitto Hellsten in 3: 11.4 min bronze behind the squadrons from France and the Federal Republic of Germany.

At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 , the four best in the 400-meter final were close together. It was won by the American Charles Jenkins in 46.7 s, ahead of Karl-Friedrich Haas from the Federal Republic of Germany in 46.8 s. Ignatiev and Hellsten were behind in 47.0 s. After the finish judges saw neither of the two in front, the finish photo had to decide. According to this, Haas was much closer to the other two in 47.12 s, who were tied with 47.15 s even after electronic measurements. According to the jury's decision, both received a bronze medal. The Finnish 4 x 400 meter relay was eliminated in Melbourne in the preliminary run.

In 1958 at the European Championships in Stockholm , Hellsten narrowly eliminated third in his intermediate run in 47.2 s. In the other two intermediate runs, he would have had enough time to make it to the finals. The Finnish relay just missed the finals.

At the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 , Hellsten was eliminated in both the individual and the relay in the preliminary run.

Hellsten was Finnish champion in the 100-meter run from 1952 to 1954, in the 200-meter run in 1952, as well as from 1954 to 1957 and in the 400-meter run from 1955 to 1958.

Voitto Hellsten was 1.69 m and weighed 64 kg during his active time. From 1962 to 1970 he was a member of the Finnish Parliament for the Social Democratic Party of Finland .

Top performances

  • 100 m: 10.6 s 1955
  • 200 m: 21.3 s 1956
  • 400 m: 46.1 s, 1956 (run in the semi-finals in Melbourne; this time was the Finnish record for 15 years)
  • 800 m: 1: 50.1 min, 1955

literature

  • Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 1999. Surbiton 1999, ISBN 1-899807-047
  • Ekkehard zur Megede : The Modern Olympic Century 1896–1996. Track and Field Athletics. German Society for Athletics Documentation eV, Neuss 1999.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hellsten, Voitto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hellsten, Voitto Valdemar (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish athlete and politician, member of the Reichstag
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Pertteli
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 1998
Place of death Turku