| Finland at the 1912 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | FIN |
| NOC | Finnish Olympic Committee |
| Website | sport |
| inStockholm | |
| Competitors | 164 (162 men, 2 women) in 10 sports |
| Flag bearer | Eino Saastamoinen[1] |
| Medals Ranked 4th |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
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| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
Finland competed at the 1912 Summer OlympicsinStockholm, Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Finland was ruled by the Russian Empire at the time, but Finland's results are kept separate from those of Russia due to Finland's special status. In the Opening Ceremony Finland's team paraded under the national insignia flag of a Swedish-speaking female gymnastics club in Helsinki.[2] 164 competitors, 162 men and 2 women, took part in 49 events in 10 sports.[3]
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
 Gold |
Hannes Kolehmainen | Athletics | Men's 10000m |
| Gold |
Hannes Kolehmainen | Athletics | Men's 5000m |
| Gold |
Hannes Kolehmainen | Athletics | Men's Individual Cross country |
| Gold |
Armas Taipale | Athletics | Men's Discus throw |
| Gold |
Armas Taipale | Athletics | Men's two handed discus throw |
| Gold |
Julius Saaristo | Athletics | Men's two handed javelin throw |
| Gold |
Yrjö Saarela | Wrestling | Greco-Roman heavyweight |
| Gold |
Kaarlo Koskelo | Wrestling | Greco-Roman featherweight |
| Gold |
Emil Väre | Wrestling | Greco-Roman lightweight |
 Silver |
Hannes Kolehmainen Jalmari Eskola Albin Stenroos |
Athletics | Cross country |
| Silver |
Elmer Niklander | Athletics | Men's two handed discus throw |
| Silver |
Julius Saaristo | Athletics | Men's Javelin throw |
| Silver |
Väinö Siikaniemi | Athletics | Men's two handed javelin throw |
| Silver |
Men's Team | Gymnastics | free system |
| Silver |
Men's Team | Sailing | 10m class |
| Silver |
Johan Olin | Wrestling | Greco-Roman heavyweight |
| Silver |
Ivar Böhling | Wrestling | Greco-Roman light heavyweight |
 Bronze |
Albin Stenroos | Athletics | Men's 10000m |
| Bronze |
Urho Peltonen | Athletics | Men's two handed javelin throw |
| Bronze |
Elmer Niklander | Athletics | Men's two handed shot put |
| Bronze |
Men's Team | Sailing | Men's 12m class |
| Bronze |
Men's Team | Sailing | Men's 8m class |
| Bronze |
Nestori Toivonen | Shooting | Men's 100m running deer, single shot |
| Bronze |
Axel Fredrik Londen Nestori Toivonen Iivar Väänänen Ernst Rosenqvist |
Shooting | Men's Team 100m running deer, single shot |
| Bronze |
Otto Lasanen | Wrestling | Greco-Roman featherweight |
| Bronze |
Alfred Asikainen | Wrestling | Greco-Roman middleweight |
| Sport | Men |
|---|---|
| Athletics | 23 |
| Cycling | 5 |
| Diving | 6 |
| Football | 15 |
| Gymnastics | 24 |
| Rowing | 6 |
| Sailing | 27 |
| Shooting | 19 |
| Swimming | 6 |
| Wrestling | 37 |
| Total | 164 |
Six divers, all men, represented Finland. It was Finland's second appearance in diving, with both of the divers who had represented the nation in 1908 returning. Toivo Aro was the only Finnish diver to advance to the finals, doing so in both of his events. His fifth-place finish in the plain high diving was Finland's best performance to date, improving upon his own sixth-place finish in the 1908 platform competition.
Rankings given are within the diver's heat.
| Diver | Events | Heats | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Toivo Aro | 10 m platform | 62.75 | 3q | 57.05 | 8 |
| Plain high dive | 39.4 | 2q | 36.3 | 5 | |
| Tauno Ilmoniemi | Plain high dive | 35 | 3 | did not advance | |
| Kalle Kainuvaara | 10 m platform | 48.1 | 7 | did not advance | |
| Plain high dive | 33.2 | 3 | did not advance | ||
| Albert Nyman | Plain high dive | 32 | 4 | did not advance | |
| Leo Suni | 10 m platform | 48.93 | 9 | did not advance | |
| Plain high dive | 32.1 | 5 | did not advance | ||
| Oscar Wetzell | 3 m board | 58.7 | 7 | did not advance | |
| 10 m platform | 50.46 | 6 | did not advance | ||
| Plain high dive | 33.8 | 2 | did not advance | ||
Six swimmers, including two women, competed for Finland at the 1912 Games. It was the second time the nation had competed in swimming, in which Finland had competed each time the nation appeared independently. Aaltonen had the best finish of the Games, finishing third in his 400-metre breaststroke final to barely miss qualification for the final.
Ranks given for each swimmer are within the heat.
| Swimmer | Events | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Arvo Aaltonen | 200 m breaststroke | N/A | 3:13.0 | 2Q | 3:17.0 | 6 | did not advance | ||
| 400 m breaststroke | N/A | 6:48.8 | 2Q | 6:56.8 | 3 | did not advance | |||
| Herman Cederberg | 200 m breaststroke | N/A | 3:18.6 | 3 | did not advance | ||||
| Vilhelm Lindgrén | 200 m breaststroke | N/A | 3:21.2 | 4 | did not advance | ||||
| 400 m breaststroke | N/A | 7:12.6 | 3 | did not advance | |||||
| Lennart Lindroos | 200 m breaststroke | N/A | 3:16.6 | 3q | 3:11.6 | 4 | did not advance | ||
| 400 m breaststroke | N/A | 7:03.0 | 2Q | 7:02.4 | 4 | did not advance | |||
| Swimmer | Events | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Tyyne Järvi | 100 m freestyle | N/A | 1:42.4 | 5 | did not advance | ||||
| Regina Kari | 100 m freestyle | N/A | Unknown | 6 | did not advance | ||||
23 athletes represented Finland. It was the second appearance of the nation in athletics, as well as at the Olympics. The Finland athletics team finished with 6 gold medals, 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes—a great improvement over the single bronze Finland won in 1908.
Hannes Kolehmainen finished with the Olympic records in the 5000 and 10000 metres, as well as gold medals in both events and the individual cross country. Armas Taipale added another gold medal and Olympic record in the discus throw, bettering the new Olympic record that Elmer Niklander set and briefly held in the preliminary round; Taipale won a second gold in the two handed version of the discus. Julius Saaristo set an Olympic record in the javelin, though it was quickly surpassed; he finished with the silver medal. The Finns swept the medals in the two handed javelin throw, with Saaristo atop the standings.
Ranks given are within that athlete's heat for running events.
| Athlete | Events | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Paavo Aho | Shot put | N/A | 12.40 | 10 | did not advance | ||
| Shot put | N/A | 23.30 | 6 | did not advance | |||
| Jalmari Eskola | Ind. cross country | N/A | 46:54.8 | 4 | |||
| Johan Halme | Triple jump | N/A | 13.79 | 11 | did not advance | ||
| Javelin throw | N/A | 54.65 | 4 | did not advance | |||
| Two hand javelin | N/A | 88.54 | 9 | did not advance | |||
| Efraim Harju | 1500 m | N/A | ? | 4 | did not advance | ||
| Ind. cross country | N/A | did not finish | |||||
| Väinö Heikkilä | Ind. cross country | N/A | 54:08.0 | 25 | |||
| Verner Järvinen | Discus throw | N/A | 38.60 | 15 | did not advance | ||
| Two hand discus | N/A | 66.69 | 12 | did not advance | |||
| Franz Johansson | 5000 m | N/A | 15:31.4 | 3 | did not start | ||
| Ind. cross country | N/A | 48:03.0 | 11 | ||||
| Arne Kallberg | Marathon | N/A | did not finish | ||||
| Hannes Kolehmainen | 5000 m | N/A | 15:38.9 | 1 | 14:36.6 OR |
| |
| 10000 m | N/A | 33:49.0 OR | 1 | 31:20.8 OR |
| ||
| Ind. cross country | N/A | 45:15.6 |
| ||||
| Tatu Kolehmainen | 10000 m | N/A | 32:47.8 | 1 | did not finish | ||
| Marathon | N/A | did not finish | |||||
| Emil Kukko | Long jump | N/A | 6.11 | 24 | did not advance | ||
| Javelin throw | N/A | 44.66 | 18 | did not advance | |||
| Pentathlon | N/A | Elim-4 35 | 12 | ||||
| Wilhelm Kyrönen | Ind. cross country | N/A | 47:32.0 | 7 | |||
| Arvo Laine | High jump | N/A | 1.75 | 13 | did not advance | ||
| Aarne Lindholm | 5000 m | N/A | did not finish | did not advance | |||
| Ind. cross country | N/A | did not finish | |||||
| Jonni Myyrä | Javelin throw | N/A | 51.33 | 8 | did not advance | ||
| Elmer Niklander | Shot put | N/A | 13.65 | 4 | did not advance | ||
| Discus throw | N/A | 42.09 OR | 4 | did not advance | |||
| Two hand shot put | N/A | 26.67 | 1 | 27.14 |
| ||
| Two hand discus | N/A | 72.05 | 3 | 77.96 |
| ||
| Urho Peltonen | Javelin throw | N/A | 49.20 | 9 | did not advance | ||
| Two hand javelin | N/A | 100.24 | 3 | Not held |
| ||
| Lauri Pihkala | 800 m | did not finish | did not advance | ||||
| Julius Saaristo | Javelin throw | N/A | 55.37 OR | 2 | 58.66 |
| |
| Two hand javelin | N/A | 109.42 | 1 | Not held |
| ||
| Väinö Siikaniemi | Javelin throw | N/A | 52.43 | 5 | did not advance | ||
| Two hand javelin | N/A | 101.13 | 2 | Not held |
| ||
| Albin Steinroos | 10000 m | N/A | 33:28.4 | 4 | 32:21.8 |
| |
| Ind. cross country | N/A | 47:23.4 | 6 | ||||
| Armas Taipale | Discus throw | N/A | 43.91 OR | 1 | 45.21 OR |
| |
| Two hand discus | N/A | 80.03 | 1 | 82.86 |
| ||
| Valdemar Wickholm | 110 m hurdles | 16.6 | 2 | 16.6 | 2 | did not advance | |
| Decathlon | N/A | 7058.795 | 7 | ||||
| Jalmari Eskola Hannes Kolehmainen Albin Stenroos |
Team cross country | N/A | 11 |
| |||
| Efraim Harju Franz Johansson Hannes Kolehmainen Aarne Lindholm Albin Stenroos |
3000 m team | N/A | 12 | 2 | did not advance | ||
Five cyclists represented Finland. It was the first appearance of the nation in cycling. Antti Raita had the best time in the time trial, the only race held, placing 6th. The four Finnish cyclists who finished had a combined time that placed them 5th of the 15 teams.
| Cyclist | Events | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | ||
| Johannes Jaakonaho | Ind. time trial | did not finish | |
| Juhani Kankkonen | Ind. time trial | 11:41:35.5 | 34 |
| Antti Raita | Ind. time trial | 11:02:20.3 | 6 |
| Wilho Tilkanen | Ind. time trial | 11:28:38.5 | 21 |
| Frans Väre | Ind. time trial | 11:21:29.2 | 66 |
| Juhani Kankkonen Antti Raita Wilho Tilkanen Frans Väre |
Team time trial | 46:34:03.5 | 5 |
First round
Italy  | 2 – 3 (a.e.t.) |  Finland |
|---|---|---|
Bontadini  10' Sardi 25' |
Öhman 2' Soinio 40' Wiberg 105' |
Attendance: 600 
Quarterfinals
| Finland | 2 – 1 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Wiberg 30' Öhman 80' |
Butusov 72' |
Attendance: 300
Semifinals
Great Britain  | 4 – 0 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Walden 7' 77' Holopainen 2' (o.g.) Woodward 82' |
Attendance: 4,000
Bronze medal match
Netherlands  | 9 – 0 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Vos 29' 43' 46' 74' 78' van der Sluis 24' 57' de Groot 28' 86' |
Attendance: 1,000
Twenty-four gymnasts represented Finland. It was the second appearance of the nation in gymnastics, in which Finland had competed at its only prior Olympic appearance. The Finnish team placed second in the team free system event; this silver medal was Finland's best gymnastics result to date, improving upon the bronze medal the team had won in 1908.
| Gymnast | Events | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | ||
| Kaarlo Ekholm | All-around | did not finish | |
| Karl Jansson | All-around | 103.00 | 31 |
| Villiam Nieminen | All-around | 105.75 | 27 |
| Anders Tamminen | All-around | 90.50 | 37 |
| Yrjö Vuolio | All-around | did not finish | |
| Finland | Team, free system | 21.85 |
|
Six rowers represented Finland. It was the nation's first appearance in rowing.
(Ranks given are within each crew's heat.)
| Rower | Event | Heats | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Axel Haglund | Single sculls | Unknown | 2 | did not advance | |||||
| Oskar Forsman Valdemar Henriksson (cox) Karl Lönnberg Johan Nyholm Emil Nylund |
Coxed four | 7:18.2 | 1Q | 7:12.5 | 2 | did not advance | |||
Twenty seven sailors represented Finland. It was the nation's first appearance in sailing. The Finns took three medals, but were unable to a win any gold medals.
(7 points for 1st in each race, 3 points for 2nd, 1 point for 3rd. Race-off to break ties in total points if necessary for medal standings.)
| Sailors | Event | Race 1 | Race 2 | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Points | Rank | Time | Points | Rank | Points | Race-off | Rank | ||
| Ernst Estlander Torsten Sandelin Gunnar Stenbäck |
6 metre class | 2:39:33 | 0 | 4 | 2:31:02 | 0 | 6 | 0 | N/A | 5 |
| Arthur Ahnger Emil Lindh Bertil Tallberg Gunnar Tallberg Georg Westling |
8 metre class | 2:21:03 | 0 | 5 | 2:14:50 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2:27:41 |
|
| Curt Andstén Jarl Andstén Carl Girsén Gustaf Estlander Bertel Juslén |
8 metre class | 2:17:28 | 1 | 3 | 2:14:54 | 1 | 3 | 2 | N/A | 4 |
| Waldemar Björkstén Jacob Björnström Bror Brenner Allan Franck Emil Lindh Adolf Pekkalainen Harry Wahl |
10 metre class | 3:59:07 | 3 | 2 | 3:50:09 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4:21:41 |
|
| Max Alfthan Erik Hartvall Jarl Hulldén Sigurd Juslén Ernst Krogius Eino Sandelin Johan Silén |
12 metre class | 3:25:45 | 1 | 3 | 3:48:55 | 1 | 3 | 2 | N/A |
|
Nineteen shooters represented Finland. It was the nation's second appearance in shooting, in which Finland had competed each time the nation appeared at the Olympics independently. The Finns won two bronze medals in the running deer competitions—an individual medal for Toivonen and a team medal.
Finland, competing independently in the Olympics for the second time, sent 37 wrestlers for its second Olympic wrestling appearance. The country was the most successful in the sport, taking seven of 15 medals. The Finns took the top spot in four of the five weight classes (three gold medals and a silver in the class in which no gold was awarded). They compiled a record of 118–64 (112-58 excluding matches pitting two Finnish wrestlers against each other) in the elimination rounds and 8-5-1 (6-3-1 against non-Finns) in the medal rounds.
Koskelo and Väre were the best performers, cruising through their respective weight classes without losses to take gold medals.
Saarela and Olin suffered losses only to other Finns in the heavyweight. Olin was beaten by Viljaama in the elimination rounds, but gave Saarela the latter's only loss of the tournament one round later. The two met again in the final, with Saarela winning the rematch to take the gold medal while Olin received silver.
Böhling made it through the elimination rounds undefeated, and won his match against Varga in the medals round to advance to the final against Ahlgren. The two wrestlers competed for nine hours without either being able to take a win; the match was declared drawn and both wrestlers received silver medals. No gold medal was given in the weight class.
Asikainen's only elimination round loss came in a double-disqualification against eventual gold medalist Johansson. In the medal round, he faced Klein in a bout that lasted 11 hours and 40 minutes. Neither wrestler was able to continue after this grueling match, so Asikainen's loss in it led to him taking the bronze medal, and Klein the silver, while the Swede Johansson walked over against first Asikainen and then Klein to take the gold.
