Arnold Viiding

Arnold Viiding took up sport at a young age and was first noticed in 1930 when he came close to breaking the Estonian record in the shot put. Four years later Viiding won gold in that event at the 1934 European Athletics Championships in Torino, where he also finished fifth in the discus. He competed in the shot put at the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he came eighth with a best throw of 15.23 metres. Between 1931 and 1938 at the Estonian national championships Viiding won six golds in the shot put and three in the discus, in addition to setting multiple national records in both disciplines. Outside of track and field he was also the Estonian champion in both volleyball and basketball in 1931. Viiding worked as a police officer in Tallinn before moving to Germany in 1944, and then to Australia in 1949 where he founded a company producing plastic products in Sydney.

Personal Best: SP – 16.065 (1936).