Matti Manu Ilmari Yrjölä (born March 26, 1938, in Hämeenkyrö, Finland) is a 192 cm tall Finnish shot putter, who represented Kyröskosken Ponsi and weighed 121 kg when competing. He was the second Finn to put the shot more than 20 m in an official competition when he put it 20.04 metres in Hämeenkyrö, Finland on August 2, 1972.
His personal best outdoors is 20.84 m, which he put on July 6, 1976, in Kokemäki. His personal best indoors of 19.12 m, which he put in Turku on February 25, 1973, was enough to win him the Finnish Championships that year. Internationally, his highest rankings in the European Championships was a fourth place in Athens in 1969 and a 3rd place in the competition between Finland and Sweden in 1973.
Yrjölä came from an athletic family: both his father (Paavo Yrjölä) and his uncle (Iivari Yrjölä) competed in the decathlon.
Yrjölä was one of the first six Finns originally admitted to the 20 meter club when it was founded in April 1983.
Paavo Ilmari Yrjölä, also known as the Bear of Hämeenkyrö, was a Finnish track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He also competed in shot put and high jump at the same Games, and in decathlon in 1924 and 1932, but less successfully.
Hämeenkyrö is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and is located 36 kilometres (22 mi) from Tampere. The municipality has a population of 10,384 and covers an area of 505.10 square kilometres (195.02 sq mi) of which 41.34 km2 (15.96 sq mi) is water. The population density is 22.39 inhabitants per square kilometre (58.0/sq mi).
Arsi Ilari Harju is a Finnish former track and field athlete who competed in the shot put. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He set his personal best of 21.39 in the qualification. In the final, Harju secured the gold medal with his second round shot put of 21.29, beating silver medalist Adam Nelson by 8 cm and bronze medalist John Godina by 9 cm. In 2000, Harju was also named the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year.
Mika Kristian Halvari is a Finnish former shot putter. When competing, he represented Kemin Kunto and Helsingin Kisa-Veikot.
Arto Kalervo Bryggare is a Finnish former hurdling athlete. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1995 to 1999 and 2003 to 2007. His personal best time 13.35, made during trials in 1984 Los Angeles Games, is still the record time in Finland and in Nordic countries. Bryggare made Finnish history by becoming the first Finn to medal in a sprint event shorter than 400 metres.
Seppo Antero Simola was a Finnish shot putter, who represented Turun Riento, weighing in at 128 kg and standing 191 cm tall. He competed in the men's shot put at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Ville Johannes Tiisanoja is a 192-cm tall Finnish shot putter who weighs 119 kg (260 lbs) and competes for Kenttäurheilijat-58 in Vantaa. His personal best in the men's shot put currently stands at 21.09 m, which he put on 28 July 2002 in the Elite Games in Kuortane, Finland. He is coached by his father Kalle Tiisanoja. Tiisanoja is a construction foreman by trade.
Matti Kalervo Sippala was a Finnish athlete. His main event was the javelin throw, in which he won the silver medal at both the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1934 European Championships, but he was also a good pentathlete, breaking the unofficial world record in 1931.
Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state. It did compete at the previous Olympics, however, only as the Russian-dependent Grand Duchy of Finland. 63 competitors, 62 men and 1 woman, took part in 51 events in 9 sports.
Burger Lambrechts is a South African shot putter.
Conny Karlsson is a 195-cm tall former Finnish shot putter, who competed for Pargas IF. His personal best in the men's shot put currently stands at 20.78 m, which he put on 4 August 2001 in the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. He was coached by Robert Malmberg.
Markku Tuokko was a Finnish discus thrower, shot putter and teacher.
The men's shot put event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, August 17, 1920, and on Wednesday, August 18, 1920. Twenty shot putters from ten nations competed. No nation had more than 4 athletes, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Ville Pörhölä of Finland, the first time the men's shot put was won by someone not from the United States. Fellow Finn Elmer Niklander took silver. The Americans, who had won all five previous editions of the shot put, including three medal sweeps, settled for bronze by Harry B. Liversedge.
David Storl is a German track and field athlete who specialises in the shot put. He was successful on the youth and junior athletics circuit, winning gold medals at the World Youth Championships and World Junior Championships. Storl won his first senior medal, a silver, at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Zbigniew "Bishop" Dolegiewicz was a Canadian professional track and field athlete and coach who specialized in the shot put and the discus throw.
Ryan Keith Whiting is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 22.28 meters outdoors and 22.35 meters indoors. His biggest international senior success to date is first place at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the sixth best shot putter in history.
Tim Nedow is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. He has personal bests of 21.33 m and 61.49 m for the events, respectively. He was the bronze medallist for Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2013 Francophonie Games.
Jaroslav Brabec was a Czech track and field athlete who competed in the shot put. He twice represented Czechoslovakia at the Summer Olympics. He was a three-time participant at the European Athletics Championships and a three-time medallist at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, being the champion at the 1973 edition.
Katarina Sederholm, married Hoff is a Finnish-Norwegian shot putter and weightlifter.