Eevald Äärma (until 1936 Ärman; 28 December 1911 – 13 October 2005) was an Estonian pole vaulter. He competed at the 1934 European Championships and

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

and placed 7th and 26th, respectively.

Early life and education

Äärma was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Estonia), the son of Aleksander Äärman (1875–1957) and Helene Marie Äärman (née Nerska; 1885–1978)."United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWW-8FVH : 10 February 2023), Eevald Aarma. He graduated from . He studied veterinary medicine at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

(1937–1939) and then at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

Athletics and later life

Äärma took up pole vaulting in 1927 and won the Estonian title in 1936 and 1937. He also played ice hockey with the University of Tartu Academic Sports Club. He then worked as a veterinarian in

Avinurme Avinurme () is a small borough (') in Mustvee Parish Jõgeva County northeastern Estonia. It was the administrative centre of Avinurme Parish Avinurme Parish was a rural municipality of Ida-Viru County in northern Estonia. It had a populatio ...

, where he married Nelli Kirre (1918–2002) in 1940. In 1944, when the Soviet Army invaded Estonia, he and his family fled to Sweden. He emigrated to the United States in 1954, initially to North Dakota, then to

Aplington, Iowa Aplington is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,116 at the 2020 census. History In the summer of 1857, the village of Aplington was laid out and platted by the proprietors, Thomas Nash, R. R. Parriott, Zenas Ap ...

, and finally to Baltimore in 1968, where he worked as a veterinarian. He continued to practice sports, and he won gold medals in javelin and shot put at the 1989

Senior Olympics The National Senior Games (Senior Olympics) are a sports competition for senior citizens in the United States. It is conducted by the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) once every two years. Akin to the Summer Olympics, it is a multi-sport ...

. Eevald Äärma died in Baltimore in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarma, Eevald 1911 births 2005 deaths Athletes from Tartu People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Estonia University of Tartu alumni University of Helsinki alumni Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to the United States