Heikki Ilmari Savolainen (28 September 1907 – 29 November 1997) was a Finnish artistic gymnast. He competed in five consecutive Olympics from 1928 to 1952 and won at least one medal in each of them. In 1928, he won a bronze on

pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...

, which was the first-ever medal in gymnastics for Finland. Winning his last medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, he became the oldest gymnastics medalist, at 44 years old; he delivered the Olympic Oath in the opening ceremony of those games.IOC 1952 Summer Olympics
olympic.org In 1932, Savolainen and his teammate

Einari Teräsvirta Einari Teräsvirta (7 December 1914 – 23 November 1995) was a Finnish gymnast, Olympic Champion and well-known architect (graduated 1939, Helsinki). He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Olympics He competed at the 1932 ...

had the same score on horizontal bar, but the Finnish team voted to give the silver medal to Savolainen. In 1948, he again had the same score as teammates

Veikko Huhtanen Veikko Aarne Aleks Huhtanen (5 June 1919 – 29 January 1976) was a Finnish artistic gymnast. He was the most successful gymnast at the 1948 Summer Olympics by taking home five medals, including three gold medals. In the pommel horse event Huht ...

and Paavo Aaltonen on pommel horse, and the gold medal was shared between the three. At the world championships, Savolainen won only one medal, a team silver in 1950. Domestically, he collected 20 titles between 1928 and 1950, including six individual all-around titles in 1928–37. Heikki Savolainen (gymnast)

Savolainen graduated as a physical education teacher in 1931, and a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1939, after which he started working as a doctor in his home town Kajaani, Finland. During the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

he served with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

as the head doctor in a military hospital. In parallel Savolainen worked for the Finnish sports magazine ''

Urheilulehti ''Urheilulehti'' is a popular weekly Finnish sports magazine. It is the second oldest sports journal in the World (after Italian ''La Gazzetta dello Sport''). History and profile ''Urheilulehti'' was founded by Ivar Wilskman in January 1898. T ...

'' in 1932–37. From 1946 to 1959 he served as vice-president of the Finnish Gymnastics Federation, and in 1946–56 as president of gymnastics federation of Kajaani, the town where he lived most of his later life. Savolainen is the only Finnish gymnast inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...

(2004).

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savolainen, Heikki 1907 births 1997 deaths Finnish educational theorists Finnish male artistic gymnasts Finnish military personnel of World War II Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1932 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1936 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1948 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic gold medalists for Finland Olympic gymnasts of Finland Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic silver medalists for Finland People from Joensuu People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Winter War Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Oath takers at the Olympic Games 20th-century Finnish people

See also

References

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