From 1936 to 1946 Finland’s Yrjö Nikkanen was one of the best javelin throwers in the world. Nikkanen won six national titles in the event (1936–39, 1943, 1946), along with finishing as the runner-up on three occasions (1940, 1942, 1945). At the 1936 Berlin Olympics he won silver with a best effort of 70.77 metres, just over a metre behind the winning throw from Gerhard Stöck. Two years later Nikkanen once again won silver at a major competition when he finished second to compatriot Matti Järvinen at the 1938 European Athletics Championships in Paris. Gold seemed to elude him when he won yet another silver, this time at the 1946 European Athletics Championships in Oslo, coming second to Lennart Atterwall. In August 1938 Nikkanen set a world record when he threw 77.87 metres, before he improved it to 78.70 metres just two months later. The latter mark stood as the world record until August 1953 when Bud Held threw 80.42 metres.
Personal Best: JT – 78.70 (1938).
Finland