Gustav Kalkun (22 March 1898 – 24 April 1972) was an Estonian discus thrower. He competed at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and placed 15th and 10th, respectively. He was selected as the Olympic flag bearer for Estonia in 1928. Kalkun graduated from school in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

(1916), and then studied physical education in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, Estonia (1927), and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Switzerland (1930). He fought as a volunteer in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...

. He later worked as a physical education teacher in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

and Tartu and acted as a referee and journalist covering athletics and basketball. In 1944, when Soviet troops arrived in Estonia, he emigrated to the United States. He was physical director of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

until 1950, when he took the same position at the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He was married to Waralda Ilmatara Kalkun, who died in 1967. Kalkun died at a hospital in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, in 1972. Kalkun's nephew was actor

Karl Kalkun Karl Kustav Kalkun (9 April 1927 Tartu – 21 February 1990 Tallinn) was an Estonian actor. Early life and acreer Karl Kalkun was born in Tartu as one of three children to. Karl Kalkun Sr., a stage manager of the Vanemuine theatre, and Emma Hele ...

, whose son is the sports journalist .

References

1898 births 1972 deaths Sportspeople from Tartu People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian male discus throwers Olympic athletes of Estonia Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Estonian emigrants to the United States Estonian World War II refugees {{Estonia-athletics-bio-stub