Venne "Verner" Järvinen (3 April 1870 – 31 January 1941) was a Finnish track and field athlete, who competed mostly in throwing events. He won the gold medal in the Greek-style discus in the 1906 Intercalated Games, and the bronze in the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Finnish Olympic medalist in athletics.[3] He won the Finnish championship in Greek style discus three times in 1909–1911 and held the national record in discus and hammer throw.[4]
Career
Originally one of Finland's leading wrestlers, Järvinen switched to athletics with that sport's rising popularity in early 20th century Finland.[5] Järvinen established national records in both discus throw and hammer throw,[6] yet the latter would be the one throwing event in which he never competed at an Olympics.[1]
Intercalated Games
At his first Olympics in Athens 1906 (now no longer officially recognized by the IOC), Järvinen was a solid medal candidate in multiple events. In the shot put he reportedly had the longest efforts (albeit in the absence of defending champion Ralph Rose), but was disqualified for throwing the shot.[5][7] In the javelin he finished fifth behind four Swedes, less than a meter behind silver medalistKnut Lindberg.[8] In the discus he finished third, with defending champion Martin Sheridan taking the top spot. Finally, on 1 May, Järvinen won the gold medal in the Greek-style discus competition.[5][9]
Järvinen appeared at the Olympics for one more time in 1912, this time competing only in the discus. At age 42, he finished 15th in the regular discus and 12th in the both hands competition.[1]
In discus throw, he is credited with the following Finnish records:[18]
44.00 metres, in 1901
44.30 metres, in Saint Petersburg, on 12 August 1906. Not ratified, because at the time only marks made in Finland counted towards the Finnish record.
39.68 metres, Helsinki, 1 September 1907
44.84 metres, Helsinki, 1 August 1909
In hammer throw, he is credited with the following Finnish record:[19]
34.83 metres, Helsinki, 2 August 1909
Family
Three of his four sons – Kalle, Aki and Matti – would become noted Olympians in their own right.[5][1] Kalle Järvinen broke the European record in shot put with a 1927 mark of 15.17 m,[20] and competed in that event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[21][5] Aki Järvinen was a two-time Olympic silver medalist and a world record holder in the decathlon,[5][22] while Matti was even more successful in the javelin, winning the Olympic gold in 1932 and breaking the world record no less than ten times.[5][22] All of the sons were originally coached by their father.[5]
^Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000. Suuri olympiateos (in Finnish). Vol. 12. Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 103. ISBN951-98673-1-7.
^Hannus, Matti; Laitinen, Esa; Martiskainen, Seppo (2002). Kalevan kisat, Kalevan malja — vuosisata yleisurheilun Suomen mestaruuksia (in Finnish). Lahti: Suomen urheiluliiton julkaisut. p. 231. ISBN951-96491-5-8.
^ abcHannus, Matti; Laitinen, Esa; Martiskainen, Seppo (2002). Kalevan kisat, Kalevan malja — vuosisata yleisurheilun Suomen mestaruuksia (in Finnish). Lahti: Suomen urheiluliiton julkaisut. p. 235. ISBN951-96491-5-8.
^ abcdLaitinen, Esa (1987). Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Amateur Athletic Association. p. 331.
^ abHannus, Matti; Laitinen, Esa; Martiskainen, Seppo (2002). Kalevan kisat, Kalevan malja — vuosisata yleisurheilun Suomen mestaruuksia (in Finnish). Lahti: Suomen urheiluliiton julkaisut. p. 240. ISBN951-96491-5-8.
^ abcLaitinen, Esa (1987). Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Amateur Athletic Association. p. 333.
^ abHannus, Matti; Laitinen, Esa; Martiskainen, Seppo (2002). Kalevan kisat, Kalevan malja — vuosisata yleisurheilun Suomen mestaruuksia (in Finnish). Lahti: Suomen urheiluliiton julkaisut. p. 236. ISBN951-96491-5-8.
^ abLaitinen, Esa (1987). Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Amateur Athletic Association. p. 334.
^Laitinen, Esa (1987). Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 584.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Laitinen, Esa (1987). Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa (in Finnish). Helsinki. p. 585.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)