Lauri Pihkala
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Personal information | |
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Born | 5 January 1888 Pihtipudas, Finland |
Died | 20 May 1981 (aged 93) Helsinki, Finland |
Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 800 m, high jump, discus throw |
Club | HKV, Helsinki |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:58.1 (1911) HJ – 1.75 m (1909) DT – 31.40 m (1906)[1] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Tahko-Pihkala-1988.jpg/220px-Tahko-Pihkala-1988.jpg)
Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala (born Gummerus, 5 January 1888 – 20 May 1981) was the inventor of pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball.[2] In 1969 he became one of the first persons to receive an honorary doctorate in Sport Sciences from the University of Jyväskylä, together with president Urho Kekkonen and Professor .[3]
Athletics[]
Games | Event | Rank | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1908 Summer Olympics | High jump | 16th | 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) | Height was measured in inches. Source: [4] |
Discus throw | 12th–42nd | unknown | Source: [5] | |
Shot put | Did not start | Source: [6] | ||
1912 Summer Olympics | 800 metres, heats | Did not finish |
In the 1910s he became the first Finnish professional coach in athletics, and also worked as a physical education instructor with the Finnish Army.[2]
Pihkala was known for being an avid sports fan, and he developed several outdoor games.
Other[]
During the Finnish Civil War he was responsible for propaganda in the White Guard flying unit "Devils of Kuhmoinen" of major Hans Kalm.
Pihkala was also a right-wing political activist. He supported eugenics as a means to improve the military prowess of the Finnish people.
In March 1918 Pihkala led a massacre in Harmoinen village in Finland. Patients and nurses in a field hospital for red fighters were murdered.[7][circular reference]
Memorial of Pihkala by sculptor Nina Sailo was unveiled in 1988 on the south-east side of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.[8]
References[]
- ^ Lauri Pihkala. sports-reference.com
- ^ Jump up to: a b Lauri Pihkala (1888-1981). Suomen urheilun Hall of Fame
- ^ "Lauri Pihkala". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. p. 112, endnote 238. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
- ^ Harmoinen massacre (1918)
- ^ "Lauri Tahko Pihkala". HAM. Helsinki Art Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lauri Pihkala. |
- 1888 births
- 1981 deaths
- People from Pihtipudas
- People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
- Finnish baseball players
- Finnish male high jumpers
- Finnish male discus throwers
- Finnish male middle-distance runners
- Olympic athletes of Finland
- People of the Finnish Civil War (White side)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Olympic male high jumpers
- Finnish officers