Väinö Kuisma

Born on the Karelian Isthmus, Väinö Kuisma was evacuated from his home in 1939 when he was five years old, at the start of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, and never returned to his home as after World War II the area became a part of the Soviet Union. Kuisma was the top Finnish javelin thrower at the end of 1950s. His best international performance came at the 1960 Olympics, where he finished fourth, losing the bronze medal by only 17 cm to Gergely Kulcsár. Kuisma also competed at three European Championships, placing 5th in 1958, 10th in 1962 and 6th in 1966. Domestically Kuisma won Finnish javelin titles in 1958 and 1960 and won two golds at the Police Forces European Championships. During and after his athletics career, Kuisma worked as a police constable in Joensuu, Heinola, Mikkeli and Kouvola.

Personal Best\: JT – 85.04 (1965).