Gustav Sule

Gustav Sule was an Estonian all-round track and field athlete who specialised in the javelin throw. Sule was first noticed when he set national school records in the high jump, pole vault, and the javelin in 1928. Two years later he broke the Estonian record in the javelin throw on multiple occasions, with him improving the national record to 69.62 metres. Despite his performances, however, Sule had to miss out on the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as the Estonian Olympic Committee did not have enough money to send a delegation to the Games, with only a couple of athletes already living in the United States competing. At the 1934 European Athletics Championships in Torino he won the bronze medal when he threw 69.31 metres. Two years later he finally competed at the Olympics, but finished a disappointing 11th at the Berlin Games. Sule participated at another European championships, finishing fourth at the 1938 edition in Paris. During his career he won nine national titles in the javelin from 1928 to 1940, and one title in the high jump. He also finished on the podium in the pole vault, shot put, hammer throw, and the decathlon.

Outside of athletics Sule worked in a bank in Tartu before transferring to one in Tallinn. By 1941 he was mobilised into the Red Army to fight in the war. He was later captured and sent to a Soviet prison camp where he died in April 1942 from pneumonia brought on by a combination of exhaustion and malnutrition. Since 1958 an annual commemorative competition has taken place in Tartu in his honour.

Personal Best: JT – 75.93 (1938).