Evald Äärma

After a decade of competing in the pole vault Evald Äärma left his native Estonia to become a veterinary doctor in the United States. Äärma started to compete in athletics in 1927 where he soon mastered the pole vault, becoming the national champion in 1936 and 1937. Two years before his first Estonian title he finished seventh in the event at the 1934 European Championships. He competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics but he finished a disappointing 26th, tying with two other athletes who all cleared 3.70 metres. From 1934 to 1938 he improved the Estonian pole vault record on six occasions, raising it from 3.75 metres to 4.02 metres.

From 1937 to 1939 Äärma studied veterinary medicine at the University of Tartu before attending the University of Helsinki. By 1955 he had emigrated to the United States where he worked as a veterinary doctor in Aplington, Iowa. In 1968 he had moved to Baltimore where he continued to work until his retirement in 1981. Äärma died in Baltimore in October 2005 at the age of 93.

Personal Best: PV – 4.02 (1938).