Martti Leo Tolamo (born Topelius; 21 February 1907 – 14 March 1940) was a Finnish

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. He competed in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

as a

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

and a

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er; his other strong event was the non-Olympic

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

, in which he broke the unofficial

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in 1930 and won two medals, including a gold, at the

International University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

Career

At the 1928 Olympics in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Tolamo competed in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

, placing 16th. The following year he exceeded the Finnish long jump record with a jump of 7.42 m, but due to

wind assistance In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport. Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the at ...

that record could not be ratified. At the 1930 Finnish Championships at

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

he won the pentathlon with 4011 points, an unofficial world record. He also triumphed at that year's

, scoring 3979 points to secure gold ahead of

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 ...

Jānis Dimza Jānis Dimza (1 November 1906, Ipiķi parish – 1942) was a Latvian decathlete. He placed fourth at the European Championships in 1934, and challenged for medals at the Olympic Games in 1932 until he injured himself in the pole vault. Career ...

. Tolamo's world record was broken the following year by

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

Matti Sippala Matti Kalervo Sippala (11 March 1908 – 22 August 1997) was a Finnish athlete. His main event was the javelin throw, in which he won the silver medal at both the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1934 European Championships, but he was also a good ...

; however, with modern scoring tables Tolamo's score would have remained the record, and it eventually re-emerged as a national pentathlon best, only broken in 2007. Tolamo legitimately broke the Finnish long jump record in 1933 in a dual meet between Finland and Norway, jumping 7.46 m. At that year's

he won silver in the long jump and bronze in the pentathlon. He broke his own national long jump record in September 1934, in another dual meet (between Finland and Germany); he jumped 7.51 m and defeated both

Wilhelm Leichum Wilhelm Leichum (12 May 1911, Neu-Isenburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse – 19 July 1941, Gorky) was a German athlete who competed mainly in the long jump and 100 metres. Leichum was born in Hesse. He competed for Germany in the 1936 Summe ...

, who had won the European championship the previous week, and future Olympic silver medalist

Luz Long Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long (27 April 1913 – 14 July 1943) was a German Olympic Games, Olympic long jumper, notable for winning the silver medal in the event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and for his association with Jesse Owens, who went on ...

. That jump remained the Finnish record until 1954, when Jorma Valkama broke it. Tolamo returned to the Olympics in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, competing in both the

and the

. He failed to make the final in the long jump and did not finish in the decathlon. He was killed in action in 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolamo, Martti 1907 births 1940 deaths People from Kangasniemi People from Mikkeli Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish decathletes Finnish male long jumpers Olympic athletes of Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from South Savo