Matti Henrikki Järvinen (18 February 1909 – 22 July 1985) was a Finnish

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

er. He won the Olympic gold medal at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

ahead of two other Finns, Matti Sippala and

Eino Penttilä Eino Penttilä (27 August 1906 – 24 November 1982) was a Finnish javelin thrower who won a bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics, behind teammates Matti Järvinen and Matti Sippala. Career Penttlä was a Biathlon competitor who changed ...

, with a throw of 72.71 metres. Four of his other five throws would also have been enough to take gold. The three Finns did not take off their tracksuit trousers during the event. Besides his Olympic gold, Järvinen is remembered for his numerous world records. From 1930 to 1936, he broke the javelin throw world record a record ten times in a row. He also became the

European champion A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers to a ...

in 1934, setting a new world record with 76.66 m, and defended his title successfully in 1938. In the

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 ...

, Järvinen finished fifth. Järvinen continued throwing after World War II, recording a 71.70-metre throw in 1945. Järvinen was the son of Verner Järvinen, an Olympic bronze medalist in

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. His brother

Akilles Järvinen Akilles "Aki" Eero Johannes Järvinen (19 September 1905 – 7 March 1943) was a Finnish decathlete. He competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won two silver medals, in 1928 and 1932; he served as the Finnish flag bearer at all three g ...

was a

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 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 ἄ ...

world record holder and two-time Olympic silver medalist. His other brother

Kalle Kalle is a masculine given name of North Germanic origin, a variation of Karl. In Sweden, people named Karl are commonly nicknamed Kalle. The name is also found in Finland and Estonia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Kalle A ...

was a shot putter and also an Olympian. The exact distance of his gold-winning throw, 72.71 metres, was used as the height of the

Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium (; ), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer ...

in commemoration of his achievement.

World War II and after

In 1939 Järvinen, with his fellow javelin thrower

Yrjö Nikkanen Jouko Yrjö Nikkanen (31 December 1914 – 18 November 1985) was a Finnish javelin thrower, who won a silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. His best throw of 70.77 meters was only one meter behind that of the gold medalist Gerhard Stöck, an ...

, served together on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

, where they trained soldiers in throwing hand grenades.Free Europe – Volume 1 -1939 Page 168 "The world record javelin throwers Matti Jarvinen and Nikkanen are serving together on the Karelian Isthmus. They have adapted their style to throwing hand grenades and their battalion, trained by such champions, holds all the hand grenades ..." After the War he became a noted economic councillor.

World records

References

External links

* * * * 1909 births 1985 deaths Athletes from Tampere Sportspeople from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for Finland Olympic gold medalists for Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Finnish military personnel of World War II 20th-century Finnish sportsmen {{Finland-athletics-bio-stub