Urho Aaltonen

Urho Aaltonen, the son of a farmer, won seven Finnish championships in three different events: four in the pole vault (1907, 1909-1911), two in the pentathlon (1910-11) and one in the decathlon (1911). He added silver and bronze medals until 1913 in pole vault, pentathlon, and discus and javelin throw with both hands. In 1911 he won the academic Nordic championship in javelin, long jump, and pole vault. He was entered in both javelin events at the 1912 Olympic Games but could not start due to an injury.

Aaltonen set world records with the javelin (both hands) three times in 1910 and 1911. In this event, he was the first athlete to exceed 100 metres. He also broke national records in javelin (best hand) and pole vault three times each between 1908-11. He retired from active competition in 1913 after a series of injuries. He was also a keen wrestler, though he was plagued by injuries, and later wrote a textbook on the sport.

After graduating from school in Tampere in 1909, he completed his gymnastics teacher’s degree in 1912. Subsequently, he worked as a gymnastics teacher in Kuopio, Tampere and Pori. In 1916, Aaltonen was appointed deputy fire chief in Tampere and was soon promoted to fire chief. He died, however, only one year later from the Spanish flu, leaving behind his wife from 1916, Aino Saastamoinen, and two children.