| Noc: | FIN |
| Nocname: | Finnish Olympic Committee |
| Games: | Summer Olympics |
| Flagcaption: | The Grand Duchy of Finland had no official flag, the Russian flag was used for both countries in the Olympics. |
| Website: | |
| Location: | London |
| Competitors: | 62 |
| Competitors Men: | 62 |
| Competitors Women: | 0 |
| Sports: | 6 |
| Events: | 23 |
| Flagbearer: | Bruno Zilliacus |
| Rank: | 13 |
| Gold: | 1 |
| Silver: | 1 |
| Bronze: | 3 |
| Appearances: | auto |
| App Begin Year: | 1908 |
| See also: | 1906 Intercalated Games |
| Year: | 1908 |
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 a semi independent state ruled by the Russian Emperors at the time, this allowed Finland to become a sovereign member of the International Olympic Committee in 1907.
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.[1]
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | ||||
| Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | ||||
| Men's team | ||||
| Men's Greek discus throw | ||||
| Men's Greco-Roman lightweight |
| 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.[2]
No women competed from Finland. However, Valborg Florström performed in a diving exhibition, which made her the first Finnish woman in the Olympics.[3]
Including non-competitors, the Finnish team had 73 athletes and 6 officials. Chef de Mission was Reinhold Felix von Willebrand.[4] The Finnish Comité D'Honneur was Axel Fredrik Londen, Gösta Wasenius and Fred Hackman.[5]
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[6]) 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.[7]
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.[8]
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.
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.[9]
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.
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.[10]
See main article: Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics. 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.[11]
Unless otherwise specified, results are lifted from:
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Kalle Nieminen | style=text-align:left | Men's marathon | 3:09:50.8 | 10 | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Lauri Pihkala | style=text-align:left | Men's 400 metres | did not start[12] | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Uuno Railo | style=text-align:left | Men's 100 metres | did not start[13] | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 200 metres | did not start[14] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 400 metres | did not start[15] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=6 | Ragnar Stenberg | style=text-align:left | Men's 100 metres | unknown | 5th in heat | did not advance | |||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 200 metres | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 400 metres | did not start[16] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 800 metres | did not start[17] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 110 metres hurdles | did not start[18] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 400 metres hurdles | did not start[19] | did not advance | ||||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=2 | Fredrik Svanström | style=text-align:left | Men's 800 metres | did not finish | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's 1500 metres | 4:25.2 | 3rd in heat | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left | unknown | style=text-align:left | Men's medley relay | did not start[20] | did not advance | ||||
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=5 | Juho Halme | style=text-align:left | Men's triple jump | unknown | 18–20 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | 44.96 | 6 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 39.88 | 9 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | did not start[21] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Evert Jakobsson | style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 8–16 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | did not start[22] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=4 | Jarl Jakobsson | style=text-align:left | Men's standing long jump | unknown | 8–25 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 8–16 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Shot put | did not start[23] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=4 | Verner Järvinen | style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | 39.43 | 4 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's Greek discus throw | 36.49 | 3 | 36.49 | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Johan Kemp | style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Elmer Niklander | style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's Greek discus throw | 32.46 | 9 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Armas Pesonen | style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | 45.17 | 5 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 46.04 | 6 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Long jump | did not start[24] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Lauri Pihkala | style=text-align:left | Men's high jump | 5inchesft6inchesin (ftin) | 16 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | did not start[25] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left | Uuno Railo | style=text-align:left | Men's triple jump | did not start[26] | did not advance | |||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=3 | Aarne Salovaara | style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | 45.89 | 4 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | unknown | 10–33 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=5 | Jalmari Sauli | style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | 12.58 | 7 | did not advance | ||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's javelin throw | unknown | 7 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's freestyle javelin throw | 43.30 | 8 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Men's Greek discus throw | did not start[27] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left rowspan=4 | Lauri Wilskman | style=text-align:left | Men's high jump | did not start | did not advance | |||
| style=text-align:left | Men's discus throw | unknown | 12–42 | did not advance | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Shot put | did not start[28] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left | Greek discus throw | did not start[29] | did not advance | |||||
| style=text-align:left | Bruno Zilliacus | style=text-align:left | Men's shot put | unknown | 9–25 | did not advance | ||
See main article: Diving at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The Finnish divers had low expectations, as they had previously competed in plain jumps only, and their scores suffered from low degrees of difficulty.[30] Valborg Florström performed a diving exhibition with Ebba Gisico of Sweden, which was the first appearance of women in the Olympic pool.[31]
Results are lifted from:
| Athlete | Event | Round One | Semi-finals | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Waldemar Ullström | Men's 10 metre platform | did not start[32] | did not advance | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Oskar Wetzell | Men's 3 metre springboard | 70.83 | 2nd in pool | 70.10 | 6th in pool | did not advance | |
| Men's 10 metre platform | 69.70 | 4th in pool | did not advance | |||||
See main article: Gymnastics at the 1908 Summer Olympics. 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.[33]
See main article: Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
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.[36] Lauri Kolho blamed the fiasco on antiquated gunpowder and bullets further impaired by a strong crosswind.[37]
Results are lifted from:
| Shooter | Event | 1st stage | 2nd stage | 3rd stage | Total | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Fazer | Men's trap | did not start | |||||
| Robert Huber | Men's trap | did not start | |||||
| Axel Fredrik Londen | Men's trap | Eliminated | did not advance | unknown | 29–61 | ||
See main article: Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics. 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.[43]
Unless otherwise specified, results are lifted from:
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=3 | Herman Cederberg | Men's 100 metre backstroke | did not start[44] | did not advance | ||||
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke | unknown | 4th–5th in heat | did not advance | |||||
| Men's 1500 metre freestyle | did not start[45] | did not advance | ||||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | John Henriksson | Men's 100 metre backstroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | |||
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Hugo Jonsson | Men's 100 metre backstroke | unknown | 3rd in heat | did not advance | |||
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke | did not finish | did not advance | ||||||
See main article: Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Results are lifted from:
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / Bronze | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result (best out of three) | ||||
| Jussi Kivimäki | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | Bye | L/p | did not advance | 9 | |||
| Arvo Lindén | Men's Greco-Roman lightweight | W/f | W/f | W/f | L/p | 2–0 W (W/f, W/f) | ||
| Yrjö Saarela | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | W/f | W/f | W/f | W/f | 2–1 L (W/f, L/f, L/f) | ||
| Verner Weckman | Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight | Bye | W/f | W/f | W/f | 2–1 W (L/f, W/f, W/f) | ||
According to rumours, Weckman bribed Saarela to throw the light heavyweight final.[46] Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.[47]