Finland at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Finland at the 1920 Summer Olympics
IOC code	FIN
NOC	Finnish Olympic Committee
Website	sport.fi/olympiakomitea (in Finnish and Swedish)
in Antwerp
Competitors	63 (62 men, 1 woman) in 9 sports
Flag bearer	Emil Hagelberg
Medals Ranked 4th	Gold 15 Silver 10 Bronze 9 Total 34
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state. It competed independently in 1908 and 1912 as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire. 63 competitors, 62 men and 1 woman, took part in 51 events in 9 sports.^[1]

• Athletics
  • Men's 10000 m: Paavo Nurmi
  • Men's cross country individual: Paavo Nurmi
  • Men's cross country team: Frederick Teudor Koskenniemi, Heikki Liimatainen, Paavo Nurmi
  • Men's discus throw: Elmer Konstantin Niklander
  • Men's javelin throw: Jonni Myyrä
  • Men's marathon: Hannes Kolehmainen
  • Men's pentathlon: Eero Reino Lehtonen
  • Men's shot put: Frans Wilhelmi Pörhölä
  • Men's triple jump: Vilho Immanuel Tuulos
• Figure skating (on ice)
  • Mixed pairs: Ludowika Jakobsson, Walter Jakobsson
• Wrestling
  • Men's freestyle 60–67.5 kg (lightweight): Kalle Anttila
  • Men's freestyle 67.5–75 kg (middleweight): Eino Aukusti Leino
  • Men's Greco-Roman +82 kg (super heavyweight): Adolf Valentin Lindfors
  • Men's Greco-Roman -60 kg (featherweight): Oskar David Friman
  • Men's Greco-Roman 60–67.5 kg (lightweight): Eemil Ernesti Väre

• Athletics
  • Men's 5000 m: Paavo Nurmi
  • Men's discus throw: Armas Rudolf Taipale
  • Men's javelin throw: Urho Pellervo Peltonen
  • Men's shot put: Elmer Konstantin Niklander
• Shooting
  • Men's team, 100 m running deer, single shot: Yrjö Kolho, Kaarlo Kustaa Lappalainen, Robert Tikkanen, Nestori Toivonen, Magnus Wegelius
• Wrestling
  • Men's freestyle 67.5–75 kg (middleweight): Väinö Penttala
  • Men's Greco-Roman -60 kg (featherweight): Heikki Kähkönen
  • Men's Greco-Roman 60–67.5 kg (lightweight): Taavi Tamminen
  • Men's Greco-Roman 67.5–75 kg (middleweight): Arthur Lindfors
  • Men's Greco-Roman 75–82 kg (light-heavyweight): Edil Rosenqvist

• Athletics
  • Men's cross country individual: Heikki Liimatainen
  • Men's javelin throw: Paavo Jaale-Johansson
  • Men's pentathlon: Hugo Jalmari Lahtinen
• Shooting
  • Men's team, 100 m running deer, double shots: Yrjö Kolho, Robert Tikkanen, Nestori Toivonen, Vilho Vauhkonen, Magnus Wegelius
  • Men's team 300 m free rifle, prone: Voitto Waldemar Kolho, Kaarlo Kustaa Lappalainen, Veli Nieminen, Vilho Vauhkonen, Magnus Wegelius
• Swimming
  • Men's 200 m breaststroke: Arvo Ossian Aaltonen
  • Men's 400 m breaststroke: Arvo Ossian Aaltonen
• Wrestling
  • Men's Greco-Roman + 82 kg (super heavyweight): Martti Nieminen
  • Men's Greco-Roman 67.5–75 kg (middleweight): Matti Perttilä

Three divers, all men, represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Valkama was the only diver to advance to a final, placing fifth in the plain high diving. This result matched Finland's best diving result to date.

Men

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Diver	Event	Semifinals			Final
		Points	Score	Rank	Points	Score	Rank
Kalle Kainuvaara	10 m platform	35	356.80	7	did not advance
	Plain high dive	15	160.0	4	did not advance
Lauri Kyöstilä	10 m platform	21	441.80	4	did not advance
Yrjö Valkama	Plain high dive	14	157.0	3 Q	23	167.5	5

A single swimmer represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. Aaltonen won bronze medals in both of his breaststroke events. They were Finland's first Olympic swimming medals; Aaltonen had been the first Finn to advance to a swimming event final.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Men

Swimmer	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Arvo Aaltonen	200 m breast	3:11.6	2 Q	3:12.4	2 Q	3:12.2
	400 m breast	6:50.0	2 Q	6:45.0	1 Q	6:48.0

26 athletes represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in athletics, a sport in which Finland had competed each time the country appeared at the Olympics. The Finnish team garnered nine gold medals, matching the United States for the most in that category. With only about a quarter of the number of athletes, however, the Finns could not match the depth of the United States and finished with 13 fewer total medals.

The Finland team's greatest successes came in long distance running events (gold medals in the 10,000 metres, marathon, individual cross country, and team cross country) and throwing events (golds in the discus throw, shot put, and javelin throw—sweeping the medals in the latter). They also took the championships in the triple jump and the pentathlon.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Hannes Kolehmainen	Marathon	N/A						2:32:35.8
Tatu Kolehmainen	Marathon	N/A						2:44:02.3	10
Teodor Koskenniemi	5000 m	N/A				15:22.0	3 Q	15:17.0	4
	Cross country	N/A						27:57.2	6
Heikki Liimatainen	10000 m	N/A				32:08.2	1 Q	32:28.0	7
	Cross country	N/A						27:37.0
Hannes Miettinen	Cross country	N/A						Unknown	23
Paavo Nurmi	5000 m	N/A				15:33.0	2 Q	15:00.0
	10000 m	N/A				33:46.3	2 Q	31:45.8
	Cross country	N/A						27:15.0
Eino Rastas	Cross country	N/A						Unknown	18
Oskari Rissanen	3000 m steeplechase	N/A				11:07.5	3 Q	did not start
Urho Tallgren	Marathon	N/A						2:42:40.0	9
Juho Tuomikoski	Marathon	N/A						2:40:18.8	5
Ilmari Vesamaa	5000 m	N/A				15:54.4	4	did not advance
	3000 m steeplechase	N/A				10:32.2	4	did not advance
	Cross country	N/A						Unknown	14
Valdemar Wickholm	400 m hurdles	N/A		57.9	3	did not advance
Erik Wilén	400 m	52.0	2 Q	51.0	4	did not advance
	400 m hurdles	N/A		58.4	2 Q	Unknown	5	did not advance
Teodor Koskenniemi Heikki Liimatainen Paavo Nurmi	Cross country	N/A						10

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Pekka Johansson	Javelin throw	63.095	2 Q	63.095
Hugo Lahtinen	Long jump	6.19	19	did not advance
Eero Lehtonen	Long jump	6.285	16	did not advance
Jonni Myyrä	Discus throw	37.00	12	did not advance
	Javelin throw	60.63	3 Q	65.78 OR
Elmer Niklander	Shot put	14.155	1 Q	14.155
	Discus throw	44.685	1 Q	44.685
	56 lb weight throw	8.865	8	did not advance
Ossian Nylund	Triple jump	13.74	7	did not advance
Urho Peltonen	Javelin throw	63.605 OR	1 Q	63.605
Johan Pettersson	Hammer throw	41.76	11	did not advance
	56 lb weight throw	9.375	6 Q	9.375	6
Ville Pörhölä	Shot put	14.035	3 Q	14.81
	Discus throw	38.19	8	did not advance
	56 lb weight throw	8.85	9	did not advance
Jussi Ruoho	Pole vault	3.60	1 Q	3.40	12
Julius Saaristo	Javelin throw	60.045	5 Q	62.395	4
Armas Taipale	Shot put	12.945	10	did not advance
	Discus throw	44.19	2 Q	44.19
Vilho Tuulos	Triple jump	14.505	1 Q	14.505

Athlete	Event	Final
		Total	Rank
Pekka Johansson	Decathlon	did not finish
Hugo Lahtinen	Pentathlon	26
	Decathlon	did not finish
Eero Lehtonen	Pentathlon	14
	Decathlon	did not finish
Jonni Myyrä	Pentathlon	did not finish
Ossian Nylund	Pentathlon	did not finish
Valdemar Wickholm	Decathlon	6405.460	6

A single equestrian represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Wilkman competed in the eventing competition, placing 17th.

Equestrian	Horse	Event	Final
			Result	Rank
Oskar Wilkman	Meno	Eventing	1282.50	17

Two pentathletes represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport.

A point-for-place system was used, with the lowest total score winning.

Pentathlete	Final
	Riding	Fencing	Shooting	Swimming	Running	Total	Rank
Emil Alfons Hagelberg	10	3	21	9	8	51	7
Kalle Kainuvaara	did not finish

Three figure skaters represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. The Jakobssons, a married couple, won the pairs competition. Ilmanen placed fifth of nine in the men's singles.

Skater	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Sakari Ilmanen	Men's singles	30.0	5
Ludowika Jakobsson Walter Jakobsson	Pairs	7.0

Nine shooters represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. The Finns were looking to improve upon the pair of bronze medals they had won in 1912, which was the country's best result to date. They were successful, taking a silver medal in the team running deer single shots competition as well as another pair of bronzes in other team competitions.

Shooter	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Voitto Kolho	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	974	7
Yrjö Kolho	100 m deer, single shots	40	4
Kalle Lappalainen	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	945	Unknown
Veli Nieminen	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	934	Unknown
	Trap	Unknown
Toivo Tikkanen	100 m deer, single shots	40	5
Vilho Vauhkonen	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	966	Unknown
	300 m military rifle, prone	59	4
Magnus Wegelius	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	849	Unknown
	300 m military rifle, standing	51	Unknown
	600 m military rifle, prone	51	Unknown
Voitto Kolho Yrjö Kolho Frans Nässling Toivo Tikkanen Nestor Toivonen	50 m team free pistol	2052	11
Voitto Kolho Kalle Lappalainen Veli Nieminen Vilho Vauhkonen Magnus Wegelius	Team free rifle	4668	4
	300 m team military rifle, prone	281
	600 m team military rifle, prone	268	8
	300 & 600 m team military rifle, prone	524	10
Voitto Kolho Kalle Lappalainen Nestor Toivonen Vilho Vauhkonen Magnus Wegelius	300 m team military rifle, standing	235	7
Yrjö Kolho Kalle Lappalainen Toivo Tikkanen Nestor Toivonen Magnus Wegelius	100 m team deer, single shots	159
Yrjö Kolho Toivo Tikkanen Nestor Toivonen Vilho Vauhkonen Magnus Wegelius	100 m team deer, double shots	285

A single weightlifter represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Ekström competed in the light heavyweight category, but did not finish the competition.

Weightlifter	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Rudolf Ekström	82.5 kg	did not finish

Eighteen wrestlers competed for Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. The Finland team was the most successful of any country, taking fully half of the gold medals as well as twice as many total medals as any other country. Twelve of the eighteen wrestlers won medals.

Nine of the ten Greco-Roman wrestlers won medals, including three gold medals. The Finns swept the top two places in two of the five events, won two medals in two other events, and took one medal in the fifth. The Finnish wrestlers won 84% of their matches, a percentage that rises to 89% when matches between two men from Finland are excluded.

The eight freestyle wrestlers were also successful, taking two of a possible five gold medals, but not to the extent of the Greco-Roman wrestlers. Only three of the eight took medals, and the winning percentage was a less-staggering though still respectable 70%.

Wrestler	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals / Bronze match	Rank
Kalle Anttila	Lightweight	N/A	Deligny (FRA) (W)	Shimmon (USA) (W)	Thys (BEL) (W)	Svensson (SWE) (W)
Johan Gallén	Light heavyweight	N/A	Roosen (BEL) (W)	Larsson (SWE) (L)	did not advance		5
Eino Leino	Middleweight	Bye	Bron (SUI) (W)	Janssens (BEL) (W)	Johnson (USA) (W)	Penttala (FIN) (W)
Kaarlo Mäkinen	Featherweight	N/A	Gerson (USA) (L)	did not advance			9
Sven Mattsson	Heavyweight	N/A		Pendleton (USA) (L)	did not advance		5
Väinö Penttala	Middleweight	Backsman (FRA) (W)	Bacon (GBR) (W)	Derkinderen (BEL) (W)	Frantz (USA) (W)	Leino (FIN) (L)
Jussi Salila	Heavyweight	N/A		Roth (SUI) (L)	did not advance		5
Emil Westerlund	Light heavyweight	N/A	Rhys (GBR) (W)	Maurer (USA) (L)	did not advance		5

Wrestler	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals	Rank
				Silver quarters	Silver semis	Silver match
				Bronze quarters	Bronze semis	Bronze match
Oskari Friman	Featherweight	Bye	Gallery (USA) (W)	Svensson (SWE) (W)	Boumans (BEL) (W)	Kähkönen (FIN) (W)
				N/A	Won gold
				Won gold
Heikki Kähkönen	Featherweight	Bye	Brian (USA) (W)	Torgensen (DEN) (W)	Pütsep (EST) (W)	Friman (FIN) (L)
				N/A	Svensson (SWE) (W)	Boumans (BEL) (W)
				Won silver
Adolf Lindfors	Heavyweight	Gasiglia (FRA) (W)	Willkie (USA) (W)	Dame (FRA) (W)	Hansen (DEN) (W)	Ahlgren (SWE) (W)
				Won gold
				Won gold
Arthur Lindfors	Middleweight	Christensen (DEN) (W)	Johnsen (NOR) (W)	Balej (TCH) (W)	Szymanski (USA) (W)	Westergren (SWE) (L)
				Bye	Eillebrecht (NED) (W)	Perttilä (FIN) (W)
				Won silver
Martin Nieminen	Heavyweight	Bye	Larsen (DEN) (W)	Hansen (DEN) (L)	did not advance
				did not advance
				Bye	Willkie (USA) (W)	Weyand (USA) (W)
Matti Perttilä	Middleweight	Cornelis (BEL) (W)	Nielsen (DEN) (W)	Fältström (SWE) (W)	Westergren (SWE) (L)	Did not advance
				Bye	Vanderleenden (BEL) (W)	Lindfors (FIN) (L)
				Bye	Eillebrecht (NED) (W)	Johnsen (NOR) (W)
Anders Rajala	Light heavyweight	Bye	Tázler (TCH) (W)	Wahlem (BEL) (L)	did not advance		7
				N/A	did not advance
				N/A
Edil Rosenqvist	Light heavyweight	Bye	Johansson (SWE) (L)	did not advance
				N/A	Tetens (DEN) (W)	Eriksen (DEN) (W)
				N/A
Taavi Tamminen	Lightweight	Bye	Kopřiva (TCH) (W)	Frydenlund (NOR) (W)	Andersen (NOR) (W)	Väre (FIN) (W)
				Bye	Janssens (BEL) (W)	Frisenfeldt (DEN) (W)
				Won silver
Emil Väre	Lightweight	Christiansen (DEN) (W)	Rohon (FRA) (W)	Janssens (BEL) (W)	Frisenfeldt (DEN) (W)	Tamminen (FIN) (W)
				Won gold
				Won gold

• International Olympic Committee results database
• Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2007.