Yrjö Nikkanen

Olympic athlete

1914 – 1985

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Who was Yrjö Nikkanen?

Jouko Yrjö Nikkanen was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw.

Nikkanen represented Finland at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; throwing the javelin 70.77 meters to win a silver medal. So keen was the competition, that Nikkanen's mark fell only one meter behind Germany's gold medalist Gerhard Stöck - and just five centimeters ahead of fellow Finn, Kalervo Toivonen.

On August 28, 1938, Nikkanen established a world record in the javelin throw of 77.86 meters; less than two months later, on October 10th - Yrjö Nikkanen had improved his record to 78.70. One of the most durable standards in the history of javelin throwing; Nikkanen's World Record was not bettered until August 8, 1953 - when America's Bud Held launched the spear 80.40 meters.

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Born
Dec 31, 1914
Also known as
  • Yrjo Nikkanen
  • Yrjo Jouko Nikkanen
Nationality
  • Finland
Died
Nov 18, 1985

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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