Finland at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Finland competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 69 competitors (67 men and 2 women) took part in 48 events in 11 sports.[2]

Finland at the
1928 Summer Olympics
IOC codeFIN
NOCFinnish Olympic Committee
Websitesport.fi/olympiakomitea (in Finnish and Swedish)
in Amsterdam
Competitors69 (67 men, 2 women) in 11 sports
Flag bearer Akilles Järvinen[1]
Medals
Ranked 3rd
Gold
8
Silver
8
Bronze
9
Total
25
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Medalists

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Team of Finland at the opening ceremony.
Medal Name Sport Event Date
  Gold Harri Larva Athletics Men's 1500 m 2 August
  Gold Ville Ritola Athletics Men's 5000 m 3 August
  Gold Paavo Nurmi Athletics Men's 10,000 m 29 July
  Gold Toivo Loukola Athletics Men's 3000 m steeplechase 4 August
  Gold Paavo Yrjölä Athletics Men's decathlon 5 August
  Gold Kaarlo Mäkinen Wrestling Men's freestyle bantamweight 1 August
  Gold Arvo Haavisto Wrestling Men's freestyle welterweight 1 August
  Gold Väinö Kokkinen Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman middleweight 5 August
  Silver Paavo Nurmi Athletics Men's 5000 m 3 August
Men's 3000 m steeplechase 4 August
  Silver Ville Ritola Athletics Men's 10,000 m 29 July
  Silver Antero Kivi Athletics Men's discus throw 1 August
  Silver Akilles Järvinen Athletics Men's decathlon 5 August
  Silver Kustaa Pihlajamäki Wrestling Men's freestyle featherweight August 1
  Silver Aukusti Sihvola Wrestling Men's freestyle heavyweight 1 August
  Silver Hjalmar Nyström Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman heavyweight 5 August
  Bronze Eino Purje Athletics Men's 1500 m 2 August
  Bronze Ove Andersen Athletics Men's 3000 m steeplechase 4 August
  Bronze Martti Marttelin Athletics Men's marathon 5 August
  Bronze Vilho Tuulos Athletics Men's triple jump 2 August
  Bronze Heikki Savolainen Gymnastics Men's pommel horse 8 August
  Bronze Bertel Broman Sailing 12 foot dinghy 9 August
  Bronze Eino Leino Wrestling Men's freestyle lightweight 1 August
  Bronze Edvard Westerlund Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman lightweight 5 August
  Bronze Onni Pellinen Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight 5 August

Aquatics

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Diving

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Two divers, a man and a woman, represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport as well as the Games. Both divers competed in the platform events. Onnela advanced to the final, finishing 5th; this matched the best result for a Finnish diver to date. Lampila came in 4th in his preliminary group, just outside the top 3 required to advance.

Diver Event Semifinals Final
Points Score Rank Points Score Rank
Yrjö Lampila Men's 10 metre platform 21 72.34 4 did not advance
Greta Onnela Women's 10 metre platform 21 28.00 3 Q 25 26.00 5

Swimming

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One swimmer, Disa Lindberg, represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's 5th appearance in swimming as well as the Games, and the first time since 1912 Finland had sent a female swimmer. Lindberg competed in the 400 metre freestyle, placing 4th in her heat and not advancing to the semifinals.

Swimmer Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Disa Lindberg Women's 400 m freestyle Unknown 4 did not advance

Athletics

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Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi
Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • Q = Qualified for the next round
  • q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
  • NR = National record
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
  • Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
Men
Track & road events
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Risto Mattila 100 metres 11.3 4 Did Not Advance
Armas Kinnunen 1500 metres 4:01.5 3 Did Not Advance
5000 metres 15:10.8 2 15:02.0 6
Eino Purje 1500 metres 4:00.8 1 3:56.4  
5000 metres 15:03.6 3 DNF
Harri Larva 1500 metres 4:02.0 2 3:53.2    
Leo Helgas 4:06.0 4 Did Not Advance
Paavo Nurmi 5000 metres 15:08.0 4 14:40.0  
10,000 metres 30:18.8    
3000 metres steeplechase 9:58.8 1 9:31.2  
Ville Ritola 10,000 metres 30:19.4  
5000 metres 15:10.8 2 14:38.0  
3000 metres steeplechase 9:46.6 1 DNF
Kalle Matilainen 10,000 metres 31:45.0 8
Toivo Loukola 31:39.0 7
3000 metres steeplechase 9:37.6 1 9:21.8    
Ove Andersen 2 9:35.6  
Bengt Sjöstedt 110 metres hurdles 15.0 2 15.1 4 Did Not Advance
Juka Matilainen 400 metres hurdles 56.7 3 Did Not Advance
Errka Wilén 56.5 2 54.5 5 Did Not Advance
Martti Marttelin marathon 2:35:02  
Yrjö Korholin-Koski 2:36:40 7
Verner Laaksonen 2:41:35 12
Eino Rastas 2:43:08 14
Väinö Sipilä 2:43:08 14
Ilmari Kuokka 2:46:34 24
Field events
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Distance Position Distance Position
Toimi Tulikoura long jump 6.91 18 Did Not Advance
Ville Tuulos long jump 7.11 11 Did Not Advance
Ville Tuulos triple jump 14.73 4 15.11  
Toimi Tulikoura triple jump 14.70 5 14.70 5
Erkki Järvinen triple jump 14.65 6 14.65 6
Väinö Rainio triple jump 14.41 8 Did Not Advance
Paavo Yrjölä high jump 1.77 19 Did Not Advance
Armas Wahlstedt high jump No height - Did Not Advance
Armas Wahlstedt shot put 14.69 5 14.69 5
Paavo Yrjölä shot put 14.01 9 Did Not Advance
Antero Kivi discus throw 45.79 3 47.23  
Eino Kenttä discus throw 44.17 6 44.17 6
Heikki Taskinen discus throw 43.00 11 Did Not Advance
Vilho Rinne javelin throw 58.04 15 Did Not Advance
Albert Lamppu javelin throw 61.45 9 Did Not Advance
Paavo Liettu javelin throw 63.86 4 63.86 4
Eino Penttilä javelin throw 63.20 6 63.20 6
Erik Eriksson hammer throw 46.22 9 Did Not Advance
Combined events – Decathlon
Athlete Event 100 m LJ SP HJ 400 m 110H DT PV JT 1500 m Final Rank
Akilles Järvinen Result 11.2 6.87 13.64 1.75 51.4 15.6 36.95 3.30 55.58 4:52.4 -  
Points 857.2 821.15 830 748 879.68 943 686.12 649 850.95 666.4 7,931.500
Adjusted Points 765 783 706 585 745 751 604 431 672 604 6645
Paavo Yrjölä Result 11.8 6.72 14.11 1.87 53.2 16.6 42.09 3.30 55.70 4:44.0 -    
Points 714.4 784.40 877 916 812 848 881.44 649 854.25 716.8 8,053.290
Adjusted Points 643 748 735 687 667 641 707 431 673 655 6587
Armas Wahlstedt Result 11.8 5.86 DNF
Points 714.4 573.70
Adjusted Points 643 556
Martti Tolamo Result 12.0 6.69 11.31 1.70 52.4 18.0 32.88 3.10 45.79 4:44.8 - 16
Points 666.8 777.05 597 678 842.08 715 531.46 541 581.725 712.0 6,642.115
Adjusted Points 605 741 565 544 701 501 521 381 527 650 5736

Boxing

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Three boxers represented Finland in 1928. The sport was open to men only. It was the nation's first time competing in Olympic boxing. Two boxers, Hellström and Väkevä, advanced to the quarterfinals before being defeated; each had a first-round bye and won his second-round match. The third, Resko, did not have a bye and lost his first-round bout.

Boxer Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / Bronze match
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Kaarlo Väkevä Men's featherweight Bye   Raúl Talán (MEX)
W points
  Harold Devine (USA)
L points
did not advance 5
Valle Resko Men's lightweight   Pascual Bonfiglio (ARG)
L points
did not advance 17
Johan Hellström Men's welterweight Bye   Fred Ellis (RSA)
W points
  Robert Galataud (FRA)
L points
did not advance 5

Cycling

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One male cyclist represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Hellberg finished 10th place in the road race.

Road cycling

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Cyclist Event Time Rank
Raul Hellberg Men's road race 5:09:14 10

Equestrian

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A single equestrian represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's 3rd appearance in the sport. Von Essen placed 5th in the individual eventing, improving on Finland's best equestrian result.

Eventing

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Equestrian Horse Event Final
Score Rank
Hans Olof von Essen El Kaid Eventing 1924.64 5

Fencing

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Two fencers, both men, represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's debut appearance in the sport.

Fencer Event Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Torvald Appelroth Men's épée 2 wins 9 did not advance
Lauri Kettunen 2 wins 8 did not advance
Torvald Appelroth Men's foil 1 win 6 did not advance

Gymnastics

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Eight gymnasts, all men, represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's 4th appearance in the sport. Nyberg-Noroma and Savolainen tied for 6th in the all-around, Finland's best individual all-around results to that point. Savolainen won a bronze medal in the pommel horse apparatus. Finland finished 5th in the team all-around.

Artistic gymnastics

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Gymnast Event Score Rank
Kalervo Kinos Men's all-around 185.375 62
Urho Korhonen 209.875 46
Jaakko Kunnas 217.500 38
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 243.750 6
Heikki Savolainen 243.750 6
Birger Stenman 179.750 66
Martti Uosikkinen 231.875 23
Rafael Ylönen 188.750 61
Kalervo Kinos Men's team all-around 1609.250 5
Urho Korhonen
Jaakko Kunnas
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma
Heikki Savolainen
Birger Stenman
Martti Uosikkinen
Rafael Ylönen
Kalervo Kinos Men's horizontal bar 45.25 55
Urho Korhonen 51.25 33
Jaakko Kunnas 51.25 33
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 54.00 16
Heikki Savolainen 54.50 13
Birger Stenman 47.25 48
Martti Uosikkinen 54.00 16
Rafael Ylönen 49.50 39
Kalervo Kinos Men's parallel bars 43.75 49
Urho Korhonen 46.75 40
Jaakko Kunnas 49.50 32
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 53.50 7
Heikki Savolainen 51.75 17
Birger Stenman 43.75 49
Martti Uosikkinen 51.00 21
Rafael Ylönen 34.00 74
Kalervo Kinos Men's pommel horse 27.00 85
Urho Korhonen 36.75 71
Jaakko Kunnas 42.25 57
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 54.50 7
Heikki Savolainen 56.50  
Birger Stenman 20.25 87
Martti Uosikkinen 49.50 31
Rafael Ylönen 35.00 72
Kalervo Kinos Men's rings 42.50 62
Urho Korhonen 49.75 33
Jaakko Kunnas 50.00 32
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 55.00 5
Heikki Savolainen 53.75 12
Birger Stenman 43.00 60
Martti Uosikkinen 52.50 18
Rafael Ylönen 45.00 56
Kalervo Kinos Men's vault 26.875 24
Urho Korhonen 25.375 43
Jaakko Kunnas 24.500 54
Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 26.750 26
Heikki Savolainen 27.250 16
Birger Stenman 25.125 46
Martti Uosikkinen 26.875 24
Rafael Ylönen 25.250 45

Modern pentathlon

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Three pentathletes, all men, represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's 3rd appearance in the sport.

Pentathlete Event Shooting Swimming Fencing Running Equestrian Total
Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Score Rank
Henrik Avellan Men's individual 31 17 16 15 4 83 15
Lauri Kettunen 20 22 18 10 11 81 13
Tauno Lampola 35 3 31 2 18 89 21

Sailing

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One sailor represented Finland in 1928. It was the nation's 3rd appearance in the sport. Broman won the bronze medal in the 12' dinghy class, finishing 1st in two of the first four races to tie Sweden's Sven Thorell and Norway's Henrik Robert for the lead after the preliminary round (using the final round scoring system, rather than the preliminary round's point-for-place system). The other two men each won at least one of the final four races, however, and Broman did not; his two 2nd-place finishes kept him ahead of Willem de Vries Lentsch of the Netherlands.

Dinghy
Sailor Event Preliminary series Net points Prelim rank Final series Results Rank
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Bertil Broman 12' Dinghy 1 2 10 1 14 4 3 9 2 6 2 x 1st
2 x 2nd
 

Wrestling

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In the first year that wrestling was limited to 1 competitor per NOC per event, Finland sent 13 wrestlers—one in each event. The sport was open to men only. It was the nation's 5th appearance in the sport as well as the Games. Finland continued its strong performance in wrestling, topping the medal table for the 4th straight Olympics. Finland matched Sweden for most gold medals at 3 and more than doubled Sweden and Germany in total medals, 9 to 4.

Freestyle wrestling

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The Finnish freestyle wrestling team had numerous Olympic veterans. Haavisto, who had taken bronze in lightweight in 1924, won gold at welterweight this time. Mäkinen, a third-time Olympian, also improved upon his 1924 medal (silver) with a gold medal in 1928. Pihlajamäki was unable to defend his 1924 gold, moving up in weight class from bantam to featherweight and moving down in medal from gold to silver. Leino received his third medal: gold in 1920, silver in 1924, and now bronze in 1928. The 1924 middleweight bronze medalist Pekkala reached the semifinals, but ultimately finished 7th because the man he lost to did not medal.

The wrestlers in the two heaviest weight classes were new Olympians. Rosenqvist lost in the first round and placed 6th in the light heavyweight. Sihvola also lost in the first round, but because his opponent went on to win the gold medal, Sihvola wrestled in—and won—the silver medal tournament.

Wrestler Event Gold medal rounds Silver medal rounds Bronze medal rounds Rank
Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Semifinals Final Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Arvo Haavisto Men's welterweight Bye   Morris (AUS)
W
  Jourlin (FRA)
W
  Appleton (USA)
W
Already ranked Already ranked  
Eino Leino Men's lightweight   MacKenzie (GBR)
W
  Pacôme (FRA)
L
did not advance Not qualified   Nilsen (NOR)
W
 
Kaarlo Mäkinen Men's bantamweight   Sansum (GBR)
W
  Spapen (BEL)
W
  Hewitt (USA)
W
Already ranked Already ranked  
Vilho Pekkala Men's middleweight Bye   Deniel (FRA)
W
  Hammonds (USA)
L
Did not advance Not qualified Not qualified 7
Kustaa Pihlajamäki Men's featherweight Bye   Rottenfluc (FRA)
W
  Morrison (USA)
L
Did not advance Bye   Minder (SUI)
W
Already ranked  
Edil Rosenqvist Men's light heavyweight   Edwards (USA)
L
did not advance Not qualified Not qualified 6
Aukusti Sihvola Men's heavyweight   Richthoff (SWE)
L
did not advance   George (USA)
W
  Dame (FRA)
W
Already ranked  

Greco-Roman wrestling

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Kokkinen completed the rare feat of earning zero bad points throughout the competition, winning all 5 of his bouts by fall to earn the gold medal. Nyström took a silver medal, falling to the eventual gold medalist in the first round but managing to keep his bad points under 5 until the last round. Two veterans, Pellinen (bronze in 1924) and Westerlund (gold in 1924) earned bronze medals. Two others, Ahlfors and Toivola (each silver medalists in 1924) were unable to earn medals.

Athlete Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Rank
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Anselm Ahlfors Men's bantamweight   Gozzi (ITA)
L Decision 3pts
  Mollin (BEL)
W Fall 3pts
  Aria (FRA)
W Decision 4pts
  Zombori (HUN)
L Decision 7pts
did not advance 8
Väinö Kokkinen Men's middleweight Bye   Johansson (SWE)
W Fall 0pts
  Walzer (ARG)
W Fall 0pts
  Hala (TCH)
W Fall 0pts
  Papp (HUN)
W Fall 0pts
  Jacobsen (DEN)
W Fall 0pts
 
Hjalmar Nyström Men's heavyweight   Svensson (SWE)
L Decision 3pts
  Badó (HUN)
W Fall 3pts
  Wiesberger (AUT)
W Decision 4pts
  Çoban (TUR)
W Fall 4pts
Bye   Gehring (GER)
W Decision 5pts
 
Onni Pellinen Men's light heavyweight   Westergren (SWE)
W Decision 1pt
  Pohla (EST)
W Decision 2pts
  Pētersons (LAT)
W Fall 2pts
  Szalay (HUN)
W Fall 2pts
  Moustafa (EGY)
L Decision 5pts
Did not advance  
Aleksanteri Toivola Men's featherweight   Nolten (NED)
W Fall 0pts
  Mollet (FRA)
W Fall 0pts
  Malmberg (SWE)
L Decision 3pts
  Steinig (GER)
L Decision 6pts
did not advance 6
Edvard Westerlund Men's lightweight   Barbieri (ARG)
W Fall 0pts
Bye   Pedersen (NOR)
W Fall 0pts
  Keresztes (HUN)
L Decision 3pts
  Massop (NED)
W Decision 4pts
  Sperling (GER)
L Decision 7pts
  Yalaz (TUR)
W Decision 8pts
 

References

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  1. ^ "Flagbearers for Finland". olympedia.org. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Finland at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
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