Reijo Untamo Vähälä (born 7 March 1946) is a Finnish former

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 ...

er. He placed second in men's high jump at the

1969 European Athletics Championships The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

Career

In 1966 Vähälä won both the Finnish championship (2.04 m) and the Finnish under-21 championship (2.01 m) in men's high jump. In 1969 he only placed third at the Finnish championships and was not considered a potential medalist at the European Championships in Athens, but in the

championship final In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

he improved his Finnish record of 2.13 m twice, clearing first 2.14 m and then 2.17 m. Two other jumpers, Valentin Gavrilov of the Soviet Union and Erminio Azzaro of Italy, also cleared 2.17 m, and the medals were decided on countback with Vähälä winning a surprising silver. Vähälä won his second Finnish national outdoor title in 1970 with a jump of 2.12 m; in addition, he was Finnish

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

champion in 1968 (2.03 m) and 1969 (2.00 m). He represented Finland again at the 1970 European Indoor Championships, where he placed 10th, and the 1971 European Championships, where he failed to qualify for the final.

References

1946 births Living people People from Alajärvi Finnish male high jumpers European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from South Ostrobothnia {{Finland-athletics-bio-stub