| Finland at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| WA code | FIN |
| in Helsinki, Finland August 7–14, 1983 | |
| Competitors | 3 (3 men) in 3 events |
| World Championships in Athletics appearances | |
Finland competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, from August 7 to 14, 1983.
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Jouko Hassi | 100 metres | 10.58 | 30 | Did not advance | |||||
| Matti Rusanen | 400 metres | 47.37 | 31 q | 47.69 | 28 | Did not advance | |||
| Jorma Härkönen | 800 metres | 1:46.39 | 5 Q | — | 1:49.39 | 21 | Did not advance | ||
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi) with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns; Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Helsinki is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 658,864. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, located 179 kilometres (111 mi) to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.
Suomenlinna, or Sveaborg, is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Suomenlinna is popular with tourists and locals who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg, or Viapori as referred to by Finnish-speaking Finns, it was renamed in Finnish to Suomenlinna in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still known by its original name in Sweden and by Swedish-speaking Finns.
The Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743 was instigated by the Hats, a Swedish political party that aspired to regain the territories lost to Russia during the Great Northern War, and by French diplomacy, which sought to divert Russia's attention from supporting its long-standing ally the Habsburg monarchy in the War of the Austrian Succession. The war was a disaster for Sweden, which lost more territory to Russia.
The Finnish War was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire. Other notable effects were the Swedish parliament's adoption of a new constitution and the establishment of the House of Bernadotte, the new Swedish royal house, in 1818.
Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä at the mouth of the Pielinen River (Pielisjoki). It was founded in 1848. The population of Joensuu is 77,266, and the economic region of Joensuu has a population of 115,000. It is the 12th largest city in Finland. The nearest major city, Kuopio in North Savonia, is located 136 kilometres (85 mi) to the west. From Joensuu, the distance to Lappeenranta, the capital of South Karelia, is 233 kilometres (145 mi) along Highway 6.
The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983.
Alberto Cova is a retired Italian long-distance track athlete, winner of the 10,000 m at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1983 World Championships.
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, nickname Leijonat / Lejonen, as it is called in Finland, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, United States, the Czech Republic, Russia and Sweden.
The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, located in the Töölö district about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. During those games, it hosted athletics, equestrian show jumping, and the football finals.
The Football Association of Finland is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907.
The World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC) is an annual competition in the solving of chess problems organized by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), previously by FIDE via the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC).
The Great Wrath was a period of Finnish history dominated by the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, from 1714 until the treaty of Nystad (1721), which ended the Great Northern War.
Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri is a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004.
Douglas Padilla is a former middle and long distance runner from the United States, who won the overall Grand Prix 1985 and the World Cup 5000m race in 1985. He finished fifth in the 5000m final at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, and seventh in the 5000m final at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In the 1983 World Championships 5,000-metre final, Padilla was among the favourites, but he succumbed to the radically accelerating pace of top runners, such as Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan, East Germany's Werner Schildhauer and Finland's Martti Vainio, during the last lap. He lost to the winner, Coghlan, by 3.55 seconds, but managed to defeat another unlucky favourite, West Germany's Thomas Wessinghage, by 0.38 seconds. By contrast, the fast 1984 Olympic 5,000-metre final was tough for Padilla already after 3,000 metres, and he painstakingly defeated New Zealand's John Walker who finished eighth. He was ranked number 1 in the world in 1983 for the 3000-meter distance.
Tampere Stadium, also known as Ratina Stadium, designed by architect Timo Penttilä and completed in 1965, is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampere, Finland, with a seating capacity of 16,800 people, and up to 32,000 people for concerts. In 2018, the stadium hosted the IAAF World U20 Championships.
"Främling", written by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg and arranged by Lennart Sjöholm, was the song performed by the 16-year-old Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist which won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1983. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 in Munich, in the former West Germany, the song finished third. It was performed fourth on the night, after the United Kingdom's song "I'm Never Giving Up" by Sweet Dreams, and before Italy's entry "Per Lucia" by Riccardo Fogli. "Främling" became a huge hit in Scandinavia, charting in Finland, Norway and Sweden, peaking at number six, one and five.
Tampereen Ilves is a Finnish football club, based in Tampere. They currently play in the Veikkausliiga, the highest level of professional football in Finland.
Ami Aspelund is a Finnish singer. She is the younger sister of singer Monica Aspelund.
Finland was represented by Ami Aspelund, with the song "Fantasiaa", at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 23 April in Munich. "Fantasiaa" was chosen as the Finnish entry at the national final organised by broadcaster Yle and held on 28 January.