Paavo Ilmari Yrjölä (18 June 1902 in

Hämeenkyrö Hämeenkyrö (; sv, Tavastkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and is located from Tampere. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ne ...

– 11 February 1980 in

Vilppula Vilppula was a former municipality of Finland. Neighbouring Mänttä was merged into it on 1 January 2009 to form the municipality of Mänttä-Vilppula. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. It was located in the province of Western Finlan ...

), also known as the ''Bear of Hämeenkyrö'' (''Hämeenkyrön karhu''), was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

track and field athlete who won the gold medal 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 ...

at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. He also competed in shot put and high jump at the same Games, and in decathlon in 1924 and 1932, but less successfully. In the 1928 Olympics, he had to rerun the 100 m hurdles as the fourth hurdle was placed incorrectly in the first run. Finland took the top two spots in the decathlon that year with Yrjölä taking the gold (with a

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 ...

) and Akilles Järvinen the silver. In his years of competing, Yrjölä set three officially ratified

s: 7820 points in 1926 (6460 according to the current scoring tables and with standard manual timing corrections of 0.24 seconds for

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

110 metre hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

, 0.14 seconds for

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

and nothing for

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

), 7995 points in 1927 (6586) and 8053 in the

(6587). Yrjölä was the first decathlete to score higher than

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. Thorpe's performance wasn't officially recognized as a record due to his semi-professional status. Yrjölä set one more record in 1930 of 8117 points (6700), but this wasn't officially ratified. Athletics was a family affair as his brother,

Iivari Yrjölä Iivari Yrjölä (10 September 1899 – 11 November 1985) was a Finnish athlete. He competed in the men's decathlon at the 1924 Summer Olympics. References External links * 1899 births 1985 deaths Athletes (track and field) at t ...

, competed in the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics, and his son,

Matti Yrjölä Matti Manu Ilmari Yrjölä (born March 26, 1938, in Hämeenkyrö, Finland) is a 192 cm tall Finnish shot putter, who represented Kyröskosken Ponsi and weighed 121 kg when competing. He was the second Finn to put the shot more than 20&nb ...

, was a successful

shotputter The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

Major achievements

* Ninth in the

at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris (5,547 points) * A gold medal in the

at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam (6,587 points) * Sixth in the

at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (6,385 points) * Ninth in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam * Finnish Champion in 1925, 1926 and 1927

Records

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: 11.6 s *

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 ...

: 676 *

: 14.72 m (1930) *

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

: 187 cm (1924) *

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

: 51.9 *

110 m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

: 15.5 *

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

: 43.26 *

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

: 330 *

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

: 62.15 *

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

: 4.26:8 *

: 6700 points (8117 with then current scoring tables) in 1930 *

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 ...

: 3532 points (4067)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yrjola, Paavo 1902 births 1980 deaths People from Hämeenkyrö People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Finland Olympic gold medalists for Finland Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic decathletes Sportspeople from Pirkanmaa