Julius Skutnabb won his first Finnish all-around title in 1914 and also made his first international appearance in that year, competing in the 1914 World Championships where he finished tenth in the all-around. In 1915 Skutnabb won silver at the Finnish All-around Championships, while winning Finnish titles in 1916 and 1917. His last Finnish All-around Championships medals came in 1920 (silver) and 1921 (bronze). Skutnabb’s next international tournaments after the 1914 World All-around Championships were the 1922 and 1923 World All-around Championships, where he finished fifth and sixth respectively in the all-around. At the 1st Winter Olympic Games in 1924, Skutnabb was tenth in the 500 before winning a silver behind teammate Clas Thunberg in the 5,000. The next day Skutnabb finished fourth in the 1,500 before starting the 10K. In this race he was paired with Thunberg, who had already won two titles, and Thunberg later related that they made a deal before the race that he would let Skutnabb win this race. Skutnabb won his third Olympic medal in 1924, a bronze, in the all-around event, the only time medals were awarded in all-around at the Olympics. Later that year Skutnabb was fifth at the European All-around Championships and won a bronze at the World All-around Championships. Skutnabb competed next at the 1926 European All-around Championships, where he won the European All-around title by winning the 500, 1,500, 5,000 and placing second in the 10,000. Skutnabb also competed at the 1927 and 1928 World and European Championships, but with less success, and made his last international appearance at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games, where he won a silver in the 5,000. During and after his sporting career Skutnabb worked as a firefighter in Helsinki.
Personal Bests: 500 – 44.8 (1926); 1500 – 2:24.2 (1926); 5000 – 8:44.0 (1926); 10000 – 17:59.3 (1922).
Finland