Finland at the 1908 Summer Olympics
# Finland at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Finland competed at the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The Grand Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire at the time, but Finland had become a sovereign member of the International Olympic Committee in 1907.

## Medals

Verner Weckman became the first Finn to win an Olympic gold. He had also been the first Finn to win a gold at the 1906 Intercalated Games.

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gold | Verner Weckman | Wrestling | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight |
| Silver | Yrjö Saarela | Wrestling | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight |
| Bronze | Eino Forsström Otto Granström Johan Kemp Iivari Kyykoski Heikki Lehmusto John Lindroth Yrjö Linko Edvard Linna Matti Markkanen Kalle Mikkolainen Veli Nieminen Kalle Kustaa Paasia Arvi Pohjanpää Aarne Pohjonen Eino Railio Ale Riipinen Arno Saarinen Einar Sahlstein Aarne Salovaara Torsten Sandelin Elis Sipilä Viktor Smeds Kaarlo Soinio Kurt Stenberg Väinö Tiiri Magnus Wegelius | Gymnastics | Men's team |
| Bronze | Verner Järvinen | Athletics | Men's Greek discus throw |
| Bronze | Arvo Linden | Wrestling | Men's Greco-Roman lightweight |

## Team

Competitors from Finland per sport :

| Sport | Men |
| - | - |
| Athletics | 15 |
| Diving | 2 |
| Gymnastics | 31 |
| Shooting | 9 |
| Swimming | 3 |
| Wrestling | 4 |
| Total | 62 |

Aarne Salovaara and Johan Kemp competed in two sports, among 46 athletes in the games who competed in multiple sports.

No women competed from Finland. However, Valborg Florström performed in a diving exhibition, which made her the first Finnish woman in the Olympics.

Including non-competitors, the Finnish team had 73 athletes and 6 officials. Chef de Mission was Reinhold Felix von Willebrand. The Finnish Comité D'Honneur was Axel Fredrik Londen, Gösta Wasenius and Fred Hackman.

## Preparations

At the time, Grand Duchy of Finland was not an independent country, but an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. However, Finns were qualified to take part independently as a sporting nation, which was a category recently devised by Pierre de Coubertin, in an International Olympic Committee meeting in May 1907. Formal Finnish preparations for the 1908 Games had already began by then. In December, the Finnish Olympic Committee was established, which budgeted 48,000 Finnish markkas (equal to about 200,000 euros in 2018) for a team of 80 to be sent. Half of it was applied from the Senate of Finland, who eventually granted only 8,000 markkas (€30,000). By June 1908, a further 22,000 markkas (€90,000) had been raised by various means.

The Finnish Olympic team was mostly selected by trials arranged in the spring of 1908. A few had to be replaced, when gymnastics teachers were defined as professionals.

Most of the Finnish team departed Helsinki aboard steamer Polaris on 7 July 1908. The shooting team had departed on 1 July, and wrestler Verner Weckman travelled independently from Berlin.

## Opening ceremony controversies

Polaris arrived in Hull on 13 July, the day of the opening ceremony, late due to a machine breakdown. A train took them to London, where they went directly from the station to the stadium. The hosts penalized the Finnish tardiness by having them enter the stadium last in the Parade of Nations, instead of their alphabetical position.

A further problem was caused by their flag. There was no official flag of Finland at the time, but they had brought three options, one of which represented the coat of arms of Finland, the other two bearing the texts "Finlandia" and "Suomi-Finland". However, none of them was allowed, and the flag bearer Bruno Zilliacus carried a mere cardboard text plaque "Finland" that was borrowed from their dressing room door.

## Contemporary assessment

The popular opinion in Finland of the overall athletic success of their Olympic team was meager, considering its numbers.

Finnish sports leaders judged the Olympic participation to have been merely an expensive excursion, and pointed out two principal problems. First was an undisciplined and immoral tourist mindset among the team, which manifested as partying, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Second was a poor organization for the Games, which included a belated preparation only months in advance; minimal equipment for the team, such as bringing only one javelin; and having no professional coaching.

## Athletics

Finland's best result was Verner Järvinen's bronze medal in the Greek-style discus throw. The athletics team generally performed up to expectations. Only javelin throw was considered a let down.

Unless otherwise specified, results are lifted from:

* Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 44–100. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.

### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Kalle Nieminen | Men's marathon | — | — | — | — | 3:09:50.8 | 10 |
| Lauri Pihkala | Men's 400 metres | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Uuno Railo | Men's 100 metres | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Uuno Railo | Men's 200 metres | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Uuno Railo | Men's 400 metres | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 100 metres | unknown | 5th in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 200 metres | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 400 metres | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 800 metres | did not start | did not start | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 110 metres hurdles | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ragnar Stenberg | Men's 400 metres hurdles | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Fredrik Svanström | Men's 800 metres | did not finish | did not finish | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Fredrik Svanström | Men's 1500 metres | 4:25.2 | 3rd in heat | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| unknown | Men's medley relay | did not start | did not start | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |

Notes:

* ↑ Could not compete due to a muscle strain.
* ↑ Official records say he finished his heat, but Finnish sources say he did not finish due to muscle strain
* ↑ Official records say he did not finish, but Finnish records say he placed 5th in heat, with time 2:04.6

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Juho Halme | Men's triple jump | unknown | 18–20 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Juho Halme | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Juho Halme | Men's javelin throw | 44.96 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Juho Halme | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 39.88 | 9 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Juho Halme | Men's discus throw | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Evert Jakobsson | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 8–16 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Evert Jakobsson | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Evert Jakobsson | Men's shot put | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jarl Jakobsson | Men's standing long jump | unknown | 8–25 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jarl Jakobsson | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 8–16 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jarl Jakobsson | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jarl Jakobsson | Shot put | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Verner Järvinen | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Verner Järvinen | Men's discus throw | 39.43 | 4 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Verner Järvinen | Men's Greek discus throw | 36.49 | 3 | 36.49 | |
| Verner Järvinen | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Johan Kemp | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Elmer Niklander | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Elmer Niklander | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Elmer Niklander | Men's Greek discus throw | 32.46 | 9 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Armas Pesonen | Men's javelin throw | 45.17 | 5 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Armas Pesonen | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 46.04 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Armas Pesonen | Long jump | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Pihkala | Men's high jump | 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) | 16 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Pihkala | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Pihkala | Men's shot put | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Uuno Railo | Men's triple jump | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Aarne Salovaara | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Aarne Salovaara | Men's javelin throw | 45.89 | 4 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Aarne Salovaara | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jalmari Sauli | Men's shot put | 12.58 | 7 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jalmari Sauli | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jalmari Sauli | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 7 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jalmari Sauli | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 43.30 | 8 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jalmari Sauli | Men's Greek discus throw | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Wilskman | Men's high jump | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Wilskman | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Wilskman | Shot put | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Lauri Wilskman | Greek discus throw | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance |
| Bruno Zilliacus | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | did not advance |

Notes:

* ↑ From The Sportsman and The People. Many sources do not list him competing in this event.
* ↑ From New York Herald. His mark was not officially recorded.
* ↑ Two Finnish newspaper correspondents reported his result as 310, which would place him 8th.
* ↑ Result was circa 11 metres.
* ↑ Result was circa 36 metres.
* ↑ Could not compete due to a muscle strain.
* ↑ His qualification result was 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm). However, due to changing conditions, his qualification pool was declared void and to be re-jumped. He did not start the re-jump.

## Diving

The Finnish divers had low expectations, as they had previously competed in plain jumps only, and their scores suffered from low degrees of difficulty. Valborg Florström performed a diving exhibition with Ebba Gisico of Sweden, which was the first appearance of women in the Olympic pool.

Results are lifted from:

* Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 141–146. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.

| Athlete | Event | Round One | Round One | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Toivo Aro | Men's 10 metre platform | 69.50 | 2nd in pool | 62.70 | 3rd in pool | did not advance | did not advance |
| Waldemar Ullström | Men's 10 metre platform | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Oskar Wetzell | Men's 3 metre springboard | 70.83 | 2nd in pool | 70.10 | 6th in pool | did not advance | did not advance |
| Oskar Wetzell | Men's 10 metre platform | 69.70 | 4th in pool | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

## Gymnastics

Three groups of gymnasts travelled to the Games from Finland. The 26-man main group took part in the team event and 5 men in the individual artistic event. Viipurin Reipas also sent an exhibition team. The Finnish overall result was considered satisfactory.

| Gymnast | Event | Points | Rank |
| - | - | - | - |
| Riku Korhonen | Men's artistic individual all-around | 143.50 | 75 |
| Eetu Kosonen | Men's artistic individual all-around | 120.00 | 88 |
| Iivari Partanen | Men's artistic individual all-around | 121.00 | 85 |
| Jaska Saarivuori | Men's artistic individual all-around | 132.00 | 81 |
| David Teivonen | Men's artistic individual all-around | 117.50 | 91 |
| Eino Forsström Otto Granström Johan Kemp Iivari Kyykoski Heikki Lehmusto John Lindroth Yrjö Linko Edvard Linna Matti Markkanen Kalle Mikkolainen Veli Nieminen Kalle Kustaa Paasia Arvi Pohjanpää Aarne Pohjonen Eino Railio Ale Riipinen Arno Saarinen Einar Sahlstein Aarne Salovaara Torsten Sandelin Elis Sipilä Viktor Smeds Kaarlo Soinio Kurt Stenberg Väinö Tiiri Magnus Wegelius | Men's team | 405 | |

## Shooting

### Rifle

The Finnish shooting team performed poorly against expectations and returned in disgrace. The captain of the shooting team, Axel Fredrik Londen, explained in an article that the Finnish shooters could only afford an inferior number of practice shots and inferior gunpowder. There also was an import ban on modern bullets and rifles in Finland. Lauri Kolho blamed the fiasco on antiquated gunpowder and bullets further impaired by a strong crosswind.

Results are lifted from:

* Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 223–227. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.

| Shooter | Event | Score | Rank |
| - | - | - | - |
| Heikki Hallamaa | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 576 | 46 |
| Heikki Huttunen | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 686 | 38 |
| Lauri Kolho | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 672 | 39 |
| Voitto Kolho | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 788 | 17 |
| Gustaf Nyman | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 615 | 44 |
| Frans Nässling | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 733 | 30 |
| Emil Nässling | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 657 | 41 |
| Karl Reilin | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 584 | 45 |
| Huvi Tuiskunen | Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions | 697 | 37 |
| Heikki Huttunen Voitto Kolho Gustaf Nyman Emil Nässling Frans Nässling Huvi Tuiskunen | Men's 300 metre free rifle, team | 3,962 | 8 |

### Trap

| Shooter | Event | 1st stage | 2nd stage | 3rd stage | Total | Rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Karl Fazer | Men's trap | did not start | did not start | did not start | did not start | did not start |
| Robert Huber | Men's trap | did not start | did not start | did not start | did not start | did not start |
| Axel Fredrik Londen | Men's trap | Eliminated | did not advance | did not advance | unknown | 29–61 |

Sources differ on the Finnish participation in the trap event:

* In the Official Report of the 1908 Olympics (published in 1909), the three Finns are listed among 61 entrants to the trap event. It then details the results for 28 shooters that reached the second stage, implying the Finns were eliminated in the first stage.
* Bill Mallon and Ian Buchanan in modern research of the 1908 Olympics (2000) argue that out of the 61 entrants, only about 31 started, all of whom were allowed to advance to the second stage, and the Finns never started the event.
* In a contemporary article (1908), Londen describes himself being at the Games in team leader's form, the Finnish shooters entering rifle events only and never mentions Huber or Fazer.
* The centennial history of the Finnish Olympic Committee (2007) lists Londen as a competitor who was eliminated in the first round without Fazer and Huber.
* The centennial history of the Finnish Shooting Sport Federation (2019) considers Fazer and Huber to not have started the event and Londen eliminated in the first round.

## Swimming

The Finnish swimmers had low expectations and took the games as an excursion. They skipped the freestyle events and competed for the first time in backstroke. Also, they were used to a 25-metre track, but the Olympic pool was 100 metres long, which hindered them in their main event, the breaststroke.

Unless otherwise specified, results are lifted from:

* Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 242–253. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Herman Cederberg | Men's 100 metre backstroke | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Herman Cederberg | Men's 200 metre breaststroke | unknown | 4th–5th in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Herman Cederberg | Men's 1500 metre freestyle | did not start | did not start | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Henriksson | Men's 100 metre backstroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Henriksson | Men's 200 metre breaststroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Hugo Jonsson | Men's 100 metre backstroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Hugo Jonsson | Men's 200 metre breaststroke | did not finish | did not finish | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

## Wrestling

Results are lifted from:

* Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 284–290. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / Bronze | Rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result (best out of three) | Rank |
| Jussi Kivimäki | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | Bye | Jacob van Westrop (NED) L/p | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 9 |
| Arvo Lindén | Men's Greco-Roman lightweight | Lucien Hansen (BEL) W/f | Carl Carlsen (DEN) W/f | Anders Møller (DEN) W/f | Nikolay Orlov (RU1) L/p | Gunnar Persson (SWE) 2–0 W (W/f, W/f) | |
| Yrjö Saarela | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | Henri Nielsen (DEN) W/f | Edward Nixson (GBR) W/f | Marcel Dubois (BEL) W/f | Carl Jensen (DEN) W/f | Verner Weckman (FIN) 2–1 L (W/f, L/f, L/f) | |
| Verner Weckman | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | Bye | William West (GBR) W/f | Fritz Larsson (SWE) W/f | Hugó Payr (HUN) W/f | Yrjö Saarela (FIN) 2–1 W (L/f, W/f, W/f) | |

Ledend: W = win, L = loss, /f = by fall, /p by points

According to rumours, Weckman bribed Saarela to throw the light heavyweight final. Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.

## Sources

* Cook, Theodore Andrea (May 1909). The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report (PDF). London: British Olympic Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
