Elmar Reimann

Elmar Reimann was an Estonian athlete and a solider who later worked for insurance companies in Estonia and Sweden. Reimann competed at two Olympic Games either side of World War I.

Reimann began playing sports in 1909, taking up long-distance running the following year. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics he represented the Russian Empire in the marathon, but he did not finish the race. In 1913 and 1914 the Russian Empire hosted its own version of the Olympics, with Reimann finishing in fourth place in the marathon at the 1914 edition, which were held in Rīga. After World War I he represented Estonia at the 1924 Paris Olympics where he finished in 30th place in the marathon. Reimann was the last runner to finish the race, almost an hour behind the time set by the winner Albin Stenroos. Three years later Reimann became the Estonian marathon champion.

During World War I Reimann was wounded on five occasions and was awarded with the Cross of St. George three times, along with four other medals. Between November 1918 and February 1920 he was a volunteer during the Estonian War of Independence.

For most of the 1930s Reimann studied at the Tartu University Faculty of Law and worked as clerk at an insurance company. In 1944 he moved to Sweden where he worked for another insurance company for 14 years.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-56:00 (1914).