Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

. 96 competitors, 89 men and 7 women, took part in 75 events in 16 sports.

Medalists

Finland finished in 14th position in the final medal rankings, with three gold medals and eight medals overall.

Gold

• Pekka Vasala
  Pekka Vasala
  Pekka Antero Vasala was a middle-distance athlete who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich....
  
   — Athletics, Men's 1,500m
• Lasse Virén
  Lasse Virén
  Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...
  
   — Athletics, Men's 5,000m
• Lasse Virén
  Lasse Virén
  Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...
  
   — Athletics, Men's 10,000m

Bronze

• Tapio Kantanen
  Tapio Kantanen
  Tapio Kantanen was a Finnish athlete, who mainly competed in the 3,000 metre steeple chase.He competed for Finland at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany where he won the bronze medal in the 3,000 metres steeplechase event. He also competed in the 5,000 metres at Munich, but did not...
  
   — Athletics, Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
• Kyösti Laasonen
  Kyösti Laasonen
  Kyösti Laasonen is an archer from Finland, who was born in Kitee, Finland.He competed for Finland in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the individual event where he finished in third place behind American John Williams and Sweden's Gunnar Jervill...
  
   — Archery, Men's Individual Competition
• Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme is a Finnish modern pentathlete and fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...
  
  , Veikko Salminen
  Veikko Salminen
  Veikko Salminen is a Finnish modern pentathlete and fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.- References :...
  
  , and Martti Ketelä — Modern Pentathlon, Men's Team Competition
• Risto Björlin — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Bantamweight

Archery

In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, Finland entered three men. They won a bronze medal.

Men's Individual Competition:

• Kyösti Laasonen
  Kyösti Laasonen
  Kyösti Laasonen is an archer from Finland, who was born in Kitee, Finland.He competed for Finland in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the individual event where he finished in third place behind American John Williams and Sweden's Gunnar Jervill...
  
   — 2467 points (→ Bronze Medal)
• Olavi Laurila — 2372 points (→ 20th place)
• Jorma Sandelin — 2278 points (→ 40th place)

Athletics

Men's 100 metres

• Antti Rajamäki
• First Heat — 10.52s (→ did not advance)

• Raimo Vilen
• First Heat — 11.00s (→ did not advance)

Men's 1500 metres

• Pekka Vasala
  Pekka Vasala
  Pekka Antero Vasala was a middle-distance athlete who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich....
  
  
• Heat — 3:40.9
• Semifinals — 3:37.9
• Final — 3:36.3 (→ Gold Medal)

• Pekka Päivärinta
  Pekka Päivärinta
  Pekka Johannes Päivärinta is a former Finnish long-distance runner. He won men's senior race in the first World Championships of cross-country running in 1973. He competed in 1972 Olympics at 3000-meter steeplechase finishing 8th. In 1976 Olympics he competed in 5000 meters and finished 13th...
  
  
• Heat — 3:40.9
• Semifinals — 3:45.1 (→ did not advance)

Men's 5000 metres

• Tapio Kantanen
  Tapio Kantanen
  Tapio Kantanen was a Finnish athlete, who mainly competed in the 3,000 metre steeple chase.He competed for Finland at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany where he won the bronze medal in the 3,000 metres steeplechase event. He also competed in the 5,000 metres at Munich, but did not...
  
  
• Heat — 13:42.0 (→ did not advance)

Men's 4x100m Relay

• Antti Rajamäki, Raimo Vilen, Erik Gustafsson, and Markku Juhola
• Heat — 39.54s
• Semifinals — 39.30s (NR) (→ did not advance)

Boxing

Men's Light Middleweight (– 71 kg)

• Mikko Saarinen
• First Round — Bye
• Second Round — Defeated David Attan (KEN), TKO-2
• Third Round — Lost to Peter Tiepold
  Peter Tiepold
  Peter Tiepold is a former light-middleweight boxer from East Germany, who won the bronze medals of international competitions. He competended for the SC Dynamo Berlin/ Sportvereinigung Dynamo.- References :*...
  
   (GDR), 0:5

Cycling

Men's Individual Road Race (200 km)

• Harry Hannus — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Mauno Uusivirta — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Tapani Vuorenhela — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Ole Wackström — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Diving

Men's 3m Springboard:

• Pentti Koskinen — 336.99 points (15th place)

Women's 3m Springboard:

• Laura Kivelä — 236.25 points (24th place)

Women's 10m Platform:

• Laura Kivelä — 172.65 points (22nd place)

Fencing

One fencer, represented Finland in 1972.

Men's épée

Fencing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's épée

The men's épée was one of eight fencing events on the fencing at the 1972 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixteenth appearance of the event. The competition was held from September 4 to 6 1972. 71 fencers from 28 nations competed.-Results:...

• Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme is a Finnish modern pentathlete and fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...
  
  

Modern pentathlon

Men's Individual Competition:

• Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme
  Risto Hurme is a Finnish modern pentathlete and fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.-References:...
  
   — 5094 points (→ 8th place)
• Veikko Salminen
  Veikko Salminen
  Veikko Salminen is a Finnish modern pentathlete and fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.- References :...
  
   — 4852 points (→ 17th place)
• Martti Ketelä — 4849 points (→ 19th place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Hurme, Salminen, and Ketelä — 14812 points (→ Bronze Medal)

Rowing

Men's Coxed Pairs

• Leo Ahonen, Leif Anderson and Antero Yli-lkkelä
• Heat — 8:06.56
• Repechage — 8:11.89 (→ did not advance)