Armas Wahlstedt

Finnish track and field athlete Armas Wahlstedt won ten national titles before becoming a successful coach, sports administrator, and radio broadcaster. Wahlstedt won several titles in jumping and throwing events whilst at school before winning his first national title in 1925, with victory in the high jump. He won another three high jump titles (1926–27, 1929), along with six consecutive titles in the shot put (1927–32). During this time he also set two Finnish records in the high jump and one in the shot put. Wahlstedt competed in the shot put at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics where he finished fifth with a best throw of 14.69 metres. At the Amsterdam Games he also competed in the high jump, where he failed to record a height, and the decathlon, where he dropped out after just two events.

After retiring from active competition in the early 1930s Wahlstedt turned to coaching and worked as the head coach of the Finnish athletics team from 1935 to 1960. During this time he was the coaching director for five editions of the Summer Olympics and five editions of the European Athletics Championships. For the 1971 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki Wahlstedt worked as the secretary general for the event, and he also worked as a board member of the European Athletics Association until 1980. For recognition of his work Wahlstedt was honoured with the Order of the White Rose of Finland (1964) and the IAAF Veteran Pin (1976).

Outside of sports Wahlstedt was a radio engineer for most of his life, including operating an amateur radio station. In the late 1920s he worked as a professional broadcaster and was both an honorary member and honorary chair of the Finnish Amateur Radio League.

Personal Bests: HJ – 1.90 (1925); SP – 15.66 (1929); Dec – unknown.