Onni Niskanen

Copyviocore
url=http://www.ethiopians.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1127
month = October
day = 9
year = 2008
time = 06:21
timestamp = 20081009062122

Onni Herman Niskanen was born in the small fishing village of Pihtipudas Finland on October 31, 1910. As a 17 year old he worked on the Helsinki docks during late 1928 and early 1929. Some time between 1929 and 1936 he emigrated to Sweden, becoming a Swedish citizen and taking up residence in Stockholm.

The years between 1929 and 1936 were Niskanen’s athletics years. During this period, he became associated with the Swedish Workers Sport Association (AIF), headed by chairman Folke Tiderman.

He was slated to compete for Sweden in the Olimpiada Popular (“People’s Olympic Games”) in Barcelona in 1936 (under the team sponsorship Typografernas IK), games created as an alternative and a show of opposition to Hitler’s Berlin Olympics.

These “People’s Olympic Games” were cancelled the day before they were slated to begin due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War – Niskanen and his Swedish troop made it as far as Paris on their train ride to Barcelona, and when they got word of the outbreak of the war, they headed back home.

Sometime between July 18, 1936 and September 17, 1941, Niskanen received military training, ultimately joining the Svenska Frivilligbataljonen (Swedish Volunteer Battalion, a.k.a “SFB”).

The SFB was formed in July 1941 and fought against the Soviet base in Hangö (Hanko) in southern Finland. Niskanen began his SFB service on September 17, 1941, fighting with “Tunga” company at Hangö. During battle in the early morning hours of November 5, 1941 Niskanen was injured by a 7cm grenade explosion. Hangö was ultimately recaptured in December of 1941.

After recovering from his injuries, he returned to military service, this time as part of the Svenska Frivilligkåren (a.k.a “SFK”). He saw action at the battle of Salla (known as “Märkäjärvi“ at the time). He was promoted to ensign second lieutenant on October 1, 1943 and to ensign first lieutenant on November 1, 1946.

Niskanen’s Swedish military service ended in 1947. He traveled to Ethiopia that same year. How he came to arrive in Ethiopia, though, is somewhat unknown.

Niskanen, a Finn by birth, may have in some way benefited from the political clout held at the time by Finland in international political circles. The general view was that Finland had defended the ground of their native homeland, fending off a much larger adversary in the Russian army. Additionally, Scandanavians held prominent positions in the international political arena. In 1946, Trygve Halvdan Lie, a Norweigen, was chosen to head the newly formed United Nations. It also didn’t hurt to have another Niskanen, Ville Niskanen, as Consul General of Finland in New York.During the late 1940’s, Ethiopia was seeking to establish a more comprehensive national sports program. The Ethiopians began to put out feelers to identify and locate suitable international coaches and trainers to become part of their new sports programs.

To the Ethiopians, Niskanen must have seemed a perfect fit. As those in his native Finland had, the Ethiopians too had thwarted an invading army, finally expelling Mussolini’s fascists in 1943. Niskanen brought with him battle-tested military experience, undeniable leadership qualities, and experience in international athletics competition. The Finns also had a rich tradition and body of running experience that Niskanen could draw from, with Finland being the homeland of the internationally famous and legendary Paavo Nurmi, Olympic gold medalist in Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, and Amsterdam 1928.

Niskanen’s Swedish citizenship also tied him to a long tradition of Swedish and Ethiopian relations. The Swedish Evangelical Mission had arrived in 1866, followed by a second group, Bibeltonga Vanner, in 1911.Niskanan was clearly aware of the raw talent that awaited him in Ethiopia; generations of Ethiopians had been born and had lived in its oxygen-depleted altitudes. If Niskanen could mix together this pool of natural talent, where the lungs of young Ethiopian athletes were built from the ground up to withstand continuous 8000-foot oxygen starvation, together with the rigors of military-grade training, vitamin supplementation, Fartlek training practices, saunas, and his trusty glucose/rose hip replenishment, the end result would be a veritable running monopoly.

Niskanen was thus hired by the Ethiopian government in 1947 to help organize its athletics program, and remained, eventually becoming head of the national board of physical education. His time between 1947 and 1956 was spent working with the prominent Ethiopian sports official Yidnekatchew Tessema (1921-1987).

Niskanen later became secretary general of the local Red Cross in Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EFA) has named one of its First Division Athletics Clubs in Niskanen’s honor.