Yrjö Nikkanen

Jouko Yrjö Nikkanen (born December 31, 1914 in Kanneljärvi – died November 18, 1985 in Suoniemi) was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw.

Nikkanen represented Finland at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; throwing the javelin 70.77 meters to win a silver medal. So keen was the competition, that Nikkanen's mark fell only one meter behind Germany's gold medalist Gerhard Stöck - and just five centimeters ahead of fellow Finn, Kalervo Toivonen.

On August 28, 1938, Nikkanen established a World Record in the javelin throw of 77.86 meters; less than two months later, on October 10th - Yrjo Nikkanen had improved his record to 78.70. One of the most durable standards in the history of javelin throwing; Nikkanen's World Record was not bettered until August 8, 1953 - when America's Bud Held launched the spear 80.40 meters.

Sources

* [http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sut/eng/mwrfield.html#jt Javelin World Record Progression]