Yrjö Nikkanen
Jouko Yrjö Nikkanen (born December 31, 1914 in Kanneljärvi , South Karelia , today Pobeda; † November 18, 1985 in Suoniemi near Nokia ) was a Finnish athlete who was one of the world's top javelin throwers in the 1930s and 1940s. He set two world records and won a total of three silver medals at the Olympic Games and European Championships.
successes
- XIII. 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin : SILVER with 70.77 m behind the German Gerhard Stöck with 71.84 m and in front of his compatriot Kalervo Toivonen with 70.72 m
- European Championships 1938 in Paris : SILVER with 75.00 m behind his compatriot Matti Järvinen with 76.87 m and in front of the Hungarian József Várszegi with 72.78 m
- European Championships 1946 in Oslo : SILVER with 67.50 m behind the Swede Lennart Atterwall with 68.74 m and in front of his compatriot Tapio Rautavaara with 66.40 m
- World records
- 77.87 m on August 25, 1938 in Karhula (improvement of Matti Järvinen's 2-year-old record by 64 cm)
- 78.70 m on October 16, 1938 in Kotka . This world record was to become one of the longest-lasting in the history of athletics: it was only 15 years later that the American Bud Held screwed it to 80.41 m.
Performance development
year | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1946 |
Width (m) | 57.78 | 66.44 | 66.44 | 72.15 | 74.78 | 78.70 | 72.59 |
Web links
- Yrjö Nikkanen in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
- Men's javelin in major championships ( Memento from August 5, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Nikkanen, Yrjö |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nikkanen, Jouko Yrjö (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish athlete |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 31, 1914 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Kanneljärvi |
DATE OF DEATH | November 18, 1985 |
Place of death | Suoniemi |