Armas Rudolf Taipale (27 July 1890 – 9 November 1976) was a Finnish athlete,[1] who competed at three Olympic Games in 1912, 1920 and 1924 and won two gold medals and a silver medal.

Armas Taipale
Taipale at the 1912 Olympics
Personal information
Born27 July 1890
Helsinki, Finland
Died9 November 1976
(aged 86)
Turku, Finland
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight90–95 kg (198–209 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Discus throw, shot put
ClubHKV, Helsinki
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)DT – 48.90 m (1914)
SP – 13.855 m (1919);
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1912 Stockholm Discus throw
Gold medal – first place 1912 Stockholm Two-handed discus throw
Silver medal – second place 1920 Antwerp Discus throw

Career

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Taipale started competing in 1908 and won three Finnish titles in the discus throw and two in the shot put.

At the 1912 Olympic Games he won gold medals in two discus throw events, conventional and two-handed,[2][3] where the total was counted as a sum of best throws with a left hand and with a right hand.

In 1914, he won the British AAA Championships title in both shot put and discus throw at the 1914 AAA Championships.[4][5][6].

After World War I, he won a silver medal in the conventional discus throw at the 1920 Summer Olympics and finished tenth in the shot put. At the 1924 Summer Olympics, he competed only in the discus throw and finished in 12th place.

Taipale set two unofficial world records in the discus.[7]

Besides athletics, he competed in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Nordic Games and played association football. In 1923, he immigrated to the United States but returned to Finland in 1974. He was a businessman and lawyer by occupation.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Armas Taipale". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  2. ^ Rocene, Ray T. (27 June 1950). "Sport Jabs: The Finns ..." The Missoulian. Missoula, MT. p. 9. Retrieved 16 September 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Now You Know". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, CA. 10 December 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Amateur Athletics". Lancashire Evening Post. 4 July 1914. Retrieved 17 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Applegarth's Feats". Manchester Courier. 6 July 1914. Retrieved 17 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Armas Taipale". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
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