Paavo Ilmari Yrjölä (18 June 1902 in

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

– 11 February 1980 in Vilppula), also known as the ''Bear of Hämeenkyrö'' (''Hämeenkyrön karhu''), was a Finnish track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the

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 ...

at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. 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 organizatio ...

) 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 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 ...

, 0.14 seconds for 400 metres and nothing for 1500 metres), 7995 points in 1927 (6586) and 8053 in the

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

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

. 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, competed in the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics, and his son, Matti Yrjölä, was a successful shotputter.

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 (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

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

Records

100 m 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 contested at ...

: 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: 51.9 * 110 m hurdles: 15.5 *

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 ...

: 43.26 * pole vault: 330 *

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

: 62.15 * 1500 m: 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 language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

: 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 Athletes from Pirkanmaa