Arvo Kalle Olavi Oyanperä ( Fin. Arvo Kalle Olavi Ojanperä ; October 27, 1921 , Tõrväya - May 8, 2016 , Helsinki ) is a Finnish canoe rower who played for the Finnish national team throughout the 1950s. Participant of two summer Olympic Games, bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in Helsinki, multiple winner and medalist of regattas of national importance.
| Olavi Oyanper | |
|---|---|
| personal information | |
| Floor | |
| A country |  Finland |
| Specialization | canoe sprint |
| Date of Birth | October 27, 1921 |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | May 8, 2016 (94 years old) |
| Place of death | |
| Growth | 184 cm |
| Weight | 71 kg |
Biography
Born in the village of Tyrväya in the Satakunta region in a farmer's family. In childhood, he was fond of skiing and baseball, but in the end he made the choice in favor of kayaking and canoeing. In 1947 he graduated from the University of Helsinki , where he studied at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry.
The first serious success at the adult international level was achieved in the 1952 season, when he joined the Finnish national team and thanks to a series of successful performances he was awarded the right to defend the honor of the country at the Helsinki Home Summer Olympics . In the standings of single canoes at a distance of 1000 meters from the second place, he qualified from the preliminary stage, after which in the decisive final race he took third place and thereby won the bronze Olympic medal - only Czechoslovak rower Josef Golecek and Hungarian Janos Parti passed him at the finish.
Having become a bronze Olympic medalist, Oyanperya remained in the main composition of the rowing team of Finland and continued to take part in major international regattas. In particular, in 1960, he passed the selection for the Olympic Games in Rome , again competed in the kilometer discipline of single canoes, but this time he did not get into the number of winners and could not get into the final stage at all - after fourth place in the preliminary stage and third place in the consolation race in the semi-finals finished fourth. Soon after the end of these competitions, he decided to end the career of a professional athlete, giving way to young Finnish rowers in the national team. Subsequently, he worked as a kayaking and canoeing coach, was a sports official in several sports organizations.
He died on May 8, 2016 in Helsinki at the age of 94 years [1] .
Notes
- ↑ Obituary, Helsingin Sanomat , June 12, 2016, p.C28
Links
- Olavi Oyanperia - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Olavi Oyanper - medals at major international competitions
- Lists of kayaking and canoeing champions and prize winners (1936-2007 )