| Noc: | FIN |
| Nocname: | Finnish Olympic Committee |
| Games: | Summer Olympics |
| Year: | 1920 |
| Website: | |
| Location: | Antwerp |
| Competitors: | 63 (62 men, 1 woman) |
| Sports: | 9 |
| Flagbearer: | Emil Hagelberg |
| Rank: | 4 |
| Gold: | 15 |
| Silver: | 10 |
| Bronze: | 9 |
| Appearances: | auto |
| App Begin Year: | 1908 |
| See also: | 1906 Intercalated Games |
Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state. It did compete at the previous Olympics, however, only as the Russian-dependent Grand Duchy of Finland. 63 competitors, 62 men and 1 woman, took part in 51 events in 9 sports.[1]
See main article: Diving at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Three divers, all men, represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Valkama was the only diver to advance to a final, placing fifth in the plain high diving. This result matched Finland's best diving result to date.
Ranks given are within the semifinal group.
| Diver | Event | Semifinals | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Score | Rank | Points | Score | Rank | |||
| Kalle Kainuvaara | 10 m platform | 35 | 356.80 | 7 | align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | ||
| Plain high dive | 15 | 160.0 | 4 | align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | |||
| Lauri Kyöstilä | 10 m platform | 21 | 441.80 | 4 | align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | ||
| Yrjö Valkama | Plain high dive | 14 | 157.0 | 3 Q | 23 | 167.5 | 5 | |
See main article: Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
A single swimmer represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. Aaltonen won bronze medals in both of his breaststroke events. They were Finland's first Olympic swimming medals; Aaltonen had been the first Finn to advance to a swimming event final.
Ranks given are within the heat.
| Swimmer | Event | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Arvo Aaltonen | 200 m breast | 3:11.6 | 2 Q | 3:12.4 | 2 Q | 3:12.2 | |
| 400 m breast | 6:50.0 | 2 Q | 6:45.0 | 1 Q | 6:48.0 | ||
See main article: Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
26 athletes represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in athletics, a sport in which Finland had competed each time the country appeared at the Olympics. The Finnish team garnered nine gold medals, matching the United States for the most in that category. With only about a quarter of the number of athletes, however, the Finns could not match the depth of the United States and finished with 13 fewer total medals.
The Finland team's greatest successes came in long distance running events (gold medals in the 10,000 metres, marathon, individual cross country, and team cross country) and throwing events (golds in the discus throw, shot put, and javelin throw—sweeping the medals in the latter). They also took the championships in the triple jump and the pentathlon.
Ranks given are within the heat.
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Hannes Kolehmainen | Marathon | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 2:32:35.8 | |||||
| Tatu Kolehmainen | Marathon | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 2:44:02.3 | 10 | ||||
| Teodor Koskenniemi | 5000 m | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 15:22.0 | 3 Q | 15:17.0 | 4 | ||
| Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 27:57.2 | 6 | |||||
| Heikki Liimatainen | 10000 m | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 32:08.2 | 1 Q | 32:28.0 | 7 | ||
| Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 27:37.0 | ||||||
| Hannes Miettinen | Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | Unknown | 23 | ||||
| Paavo Nurmi | 5000 m | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 15:33.0 | 2 Q | 15:00.0 | |||
| 10000 m | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 33:46.3 | 2 Q | 31:45.8 | ||||
| Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 27:15.0 | ||||||
| Eino Rastas | Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | Unknown | 18 | ||||
| Oskari Rissanen | 3000 m steeplechase | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 11:07.5 | 3 Q | align=center colspan=2 | did not start | ||
| Urho Tallgren | Marathon | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 2:42:40.0 | 9 | ||||
| Juho Tuomikoski | Marathon | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 2:40:18.8 | 5 | ||||
| Ilmari Vesamaa | 5000 m | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 15:54.4 | 4 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase | align=center colspan=4 | N/A | 10:32.2 | 4 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |||
| Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | Unknown | 14 | |||||
| Valdemar Wickholm | 400 m hurdles | align=center colspan=2 | N/A | 57.9 | 3 | align=center colspan=4 | did not advance | ||
| Erik Wilén | 400 m | 52.0 | 2 Q | 51.0 | 4 | align=center colspan=4 | did not advance | ||
| 400 m hurdles | align=center colspan=2 | N/A | 58.4 | 2 Q | Unknown | 5 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Teodor Koskenniemi Heikki Liimatainen Paavo Nurmi | Cross country | align=center colspan=6 | N/A | 10 | |||||
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | |||
| Pekka Johansson | Javelin throw | 63.095 | 2 Q | 63.095 | ||
| Hugo Lahtinen | Long jump | 6.19 | 19 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Eero Lehtonen | Long jump | 6.285 | 16 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Jonni Myyrä | Discus throw | 37.00 | 12 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Javelin throw | 60.63 | 3 Q | 65.78 OR | |||
| Elmer Niklander | Shot put | 14.155 | 1 Q | 14.155 | ||
| Discus throw | 44.685 | 1 Q | 44.685 | |||
| 56 lb weight throw | 8.865 | 8 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | ||
| Ossian Nylund | Triple jump | 13.74 | 7 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Urho Peltonen | Javelin throw | 63.605 OR | 1 Q | 63.605 | ||
| Johan Pettersson | Hammer throw | 41.76 | 11 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| 56 lb weight throw | 9.375 | 6 Q | 9.375 | 6 | ||
| Ville Pörhölä | Shot put | 14.035 | 3 Q | 14.81 | ||
| Discus throw | 38.19 | 8 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | ||
| 56 lb weight throw | 8.85 | 9 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | ||
| Jussi Ruoho | Pole vault | 3.60 | 1 Q | 3.40 | 12 | |
| Julius Saaristo | Javelin throw | 60.045 | 5 Q | 62.395 | 4 | |
| Armas Taipale | Shot put | 12.945 | 10 | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | |
| Discus throw | 44.19 | 2 Q | 44.19 | |||
| Vilho Tuulos | Triple jump | 14.505 | 1 Q | 14.505 | ||
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | |||
| Pekka Johansson | Decathlon | align=center colspan=2 | did not finish | |
| Hugo Lahtinen | Pentathlon | 26 | ||
| Decathlon | align=center colspan=2 | did not finish | ||
| Eero Lehtonen | Pentathlon | 14 | ||
| Decathlon | align=center colspan=2 | did not finish | ||
| Jonni Myyrä | Pentathlon | align=center colspan=2 | did not finish | |
| Ossian Nylund | Pentathlon | align=center colspan=2 | did not finish | |
| Valdemar Wickholm | Decathlon | 6405.460 | 6 | |
See main article: Equestrian at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
A single equestrian represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Wilkman competed in the eventing competition, placing 17th.
See main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Two pentathletes represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport.
A point-for-place system was used, with the lowest total score winning.
| Pentathlete | Final | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riding | Fencing | Shooting | Swimming | Running | Total | Rank | |
| Emil Alfons Hagelberg | 10 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 51 | 7 |
| Kalle Kainuvaara | align=center colspan=7 | did not finish | |||||
See main article: Figure skating at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Three figure skaters represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. The Jakobssons, a married couple, won the pairs competition. Ilmanen placed fifth of nine in the men's singles.
| Skater | Event | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | |||
| Sakari Ilmanen | Men's singles | 30.0 | 5 | |
| Ludowika Jakobsson Walter Jakobsson | Pairs | 7.0 | ||
See main article: Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Nine shooters represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. The Finns were looking to improve upon the pair of bronze medals they had won in 1912, which was the country's best result to date. They were successful, taking a silver medal in the team running deer single shots competition as well as another pair of bronzes in other team competitions.
See main article: Weightlifting at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
A single weightlifter represented Finland in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Ekström competed in the light heavyweight category, but did not finish the competition.
See main article: Wrestling at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Eighteen wrestlers competed for Finland in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. The Finland team was the most successful of any country, taking fully half of the gold medals as well as twice as many total medals as any other country. Twelve of the eighteen wrestlers won medals.
Nine of the ten Greco-Roman wrestlers won medals, including three gold medals. The Finns swept the top two places in two of the five events, won two medals in two other events, and took one medal in the fifth. The Finnish wrestlers won 84% of their matches, a percentage that rises to 89% when matches between two men from Finland are excluded.
The eight freestyle wrestlers were also successful, taking two of a possible five gold medals, but not to the extent of the Greco-Roman wrestlers. Only three of the eight took medals, and the winning percentage was a less-staggering though still respectable 70%.
| Wrestler | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals / Bronze match | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalle Anttila | Lightweight | N/A | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | ||
| Johan Gallén | Light heavyweight | N/A | (W) | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | 5 | |
| Eino Leino | Middleweight | Bye | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | ||
| Kaarlo Mäkinen | Featherweight | N/A | (L) | align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | 9 | ||
| Sven Mattsson | Heavyweight | align=center colspan=2 | N/A | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | 5 | |
| Väinö Penttala | Middleweight | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | (L) | ||
| Jussi Salila | Heavyweight | align=center colspan=2 | N/A | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | 5 | |
| Emil Westerlund | Light heavyweight | N/A | (W) | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | 5 |
| Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| 3 | 3 | .500 | ||
| Total international | 13 | 5 | .722 | |
| 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| Total | 14 | 6 | .700 |
| Round | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 32 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Round of 16 | 5 | 1 | .857 | |
| Quarterfinals | 3 | 4 | .429 | |
| Semifinals | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Final | 2 | 1 | .667 | |
| Bronze match | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Total | 14 | 6 | .700 |
| Wrestler | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver quarters | Silver semis | Silver match | ||||||||
| Bronze quarters | Bronze semis | Bronze match | ||||||||
| Oskari Friman | Featherweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| N/A | align=center colspan=2 | Won gold | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won gold | |||||||||
| Heikki Kähkönen | Featherweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (L) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| N/A | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won silver | |||||||||
| Adolf Lindfors | Heavyweight | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| align=center colspan=3 | Won gold | |||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won gold | |||||||||
| Arthur Lindfors | Middleweight | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (L) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| Bye | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won silver | |||||||||
| Martin Nieminen | Heavyweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | |||||||||
| Bye | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| Matti Perttilä | Middleweight | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (L) | Did not advance | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| Bye | (W) | (L) | ||||||||
| Bye | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| Anders Rajala | Light heavyweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (L) | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | align=center rowspan=3 | 7 |
| N/A | align=center colspan=2 | did not advance | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | N/A | |||||||||
| Edil Rosenqvist | Light heavyweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (L) | align=center colspan=3 | did not advance | align=center rowspan=3 | ||
| N/A | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | N/A | |||||||||
| Taavi Tamminen | Lightweight | align=center rowspan=3 | Bye | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| Bye | (W) | (W) | ||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won silver | |||||||||
| Emil Väre | Lightweight | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | (W) | (W) | (W) | (W) | align=center rowspan=3 | |
| align=center colspan=3 | Won gold | |||||||||
| align=center colspan=3 | Won gold |
| Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | .857 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 10 | 1 | .909 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 4 | 3 | .571 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| Total international | 39 | 5 | .886 | |
| 3 | 3 | .500 | ||
| Total | 42 | 8 | .840 |
| Round | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 32 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Round of 16 | 9 | 1 | .900 | |
| Quarterfinals | 7 | 2 | .778 | |
| Semifinals | 6 | 1 | .857 | |
| Final | 3 | 3 | .500 | |
| Silver quarterfinals | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Silver semifinals | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Silver match | 4 | 1 | .800 | |
| Bronze quarterfinals | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Bronze semifinals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Bronze match | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Total | 42 | 8 | .840 |