Paavo Johannes Aaltonen was a Finnish

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...

 gymnast

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 and a three-time Olympic champion.

Aaltonen was the second most successful gymnast at the 1948 Summer Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

 taking home four medals, of which three were gold. His fellow countryman, Veikko Huhtanen

Veikko Huhtanen

Veikko Aarne Aleks Huhtanen was a Finnish gymnast and a three-time Olympic champion.Huhtanen was the most successful gymnast at the 1948 Summer Olympics by taking home five medals, of which three were golden...

, managed five medals including three golds. In the pommel horse event Aaltonen, Huhtanen and Heikki Savolainen

Heikki Savolainen (athlete)

Heikki Ilmari Savolainen was one of the most successful Finnish gymnasts and a two-time Olympic winner....

had the same score and the gold medal was shared between the three.