Väinö Siikaniemi

After a brief career as an athlete Väinö Siikaniemi became a mathematics teacher and a celebrated poet. In 1907 Siikaniemi set a Finnish record in the javelin throw with 49.77 metres, with the record standing until the following year when Urho Aaltonen bettered it. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics Siikaniemi won the silver medal in the javelin throw with both hands and finished in fifth place in the standard javelin throw event.

Siikaniemi was very academically inclined, majoring in chemistry at the University of Helsinki, before gaining degrees in philosophy in 1914 and 1919 at Tampere Technical College, and finally taking a job as a mathematics teacher. He also started to write poetry, publishing his first poem in 1923, followed by collection of poems six years later. Siikaniemi’s wife Oili Siikaniemi was a famous Finnish singer, with him writing lyrics for some of her songs.

Oili Siikaniemi died from a sudden illness in August 1932. Väinö tried to cope with the depression of losing his wife by taking long swimming trips. Sadly during one of his swims, he contracted pneumonia and died only a couple of weeks after the death of his wife.

Personal Best: JT – 54.09 (1912).