Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland | ||||
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 6th | 62.44 m |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 4th | 66.40 m |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 13th | 60.64 m |
Tuula Kaarina Laaksalo (born April 21, 1953 in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland) is a retired javelin thrower from Finland, who was among the best female javelin throwers in the world in the 1980s. She twice competed for her native country at the Summer Olympics: 1984 and 1988.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland | ||||
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 6th | 62.44 m |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 4th | 66.40 m |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 13th | 60.64 m |
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon.
Miklós Németh is a Hungarian Olympic champion and former World Record holder in the javelin throw. Born in Budapest, he is the son of Imre Németh, who won the Olympic gold in the hammer throw at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Tero Kristian Pitkämäki is a Finnish retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World Champion, having won gold in 2007. His personal best throw of 91.53 m, set in 2005, ranks him eleventh on the overall list.
Ilse Kristiina ('Tiina') Lillak is a Finnish former javelin thrower. She is the 1983 world champion and 1984 Olympic silver medalist. She also twice broke the world record, with throws of 72.40 metres in 1982 and 74.76 metres in 1983. The latter distance ranks third on the all-time list with the old javelin model.
Matti Henrikki Järvinen was a Finnish javelin thrower. He won the Olympic gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics ahead of two other Finns, Matti Sippala and Eino Penttilä, with a throw of 72.71 metres. Four of his other five throws would also have been enough to take gold. The three Finns did not take off their tracksuit trousers during the event.
Breaux Greer is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. After attending Ouachita Parish High School and the University of Louisiana at Monroe, he went on to be the current American record holder in the event, with a throw of 91.29 m, achieved on June 21, 2007, at the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships. With it, he is currently ranked as the #15 thrower in history. This was also the best throw in the world for almost eight years until surpassed by Julius Yego in 2015. He is an eight-time American Champion, consecutively 2000 – 2007. His coach was Finnish javelin thrower Kari Ihalainen.
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.
Stephen Andrew Seymour was an American physician and track and field coach and athlete, who in the 1948 London Olympics won America's first silver medal in the javelin throw, a feat that to-date would be repeated only in the 1952 Olympics. Setting the American javelin record in 1945 and 1947, Seymour is regarded by track and field historians as America's original javelin technician.
The men's two handed javelin throw was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the only appearance of the event at the Olympics, along with the other two handed throws. The format of the event was such that each thrower threw the javelin three times with his right hand and three times with his left hand. The best distance with each hand was summed to give a total. The three finalists received three more throws with each hand. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
These are the official results of the Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1990 European Championships in Split, Yugoslavia, held at Stadion Poljud on 29 and 30 August 1990. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
These are the official results of the Men's javelin throw event at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 7 and 8 August 1994. There were a total number of 26 participating athletes. The defending European Champion Steve Backley retained his title and set a championship record in the final round, using an enhanced javelin model.
The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland had a total number of 18 participating athletes, with the final held on 12 August 1983. All results were made with old rules javelin. The qualification mark was set at 84.00 metres.
These are the official results of the Women's javelin throw event at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany, held at Neckarstadion on 28 and 29 August 1986. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
The men's javelin throw event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had 18 competitors in one qualifying group. The qualifying round was staged on July 26, with the automatic qualifying mark set at 80.00 metres (262.47 ft). Twelve advanced to the final, which took place the following day.
These are the official results of the Women's javelin throw event at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greece, held at Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" on 8 and 9 September 1982. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
These are the official results of the Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. There were a total of 23 participating athletes, with the final held on Saturday August 13, 1983. The qualification mark was set at 62.00 metres. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
These are the official results of the Women’s javelin throw event at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 11 and 12 August 1994. There were a total number of 22 participating athletes. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin. The qualification mark was set at 61.00 metres (200.13 ft).
Finland competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv. It was the country's second participation in the Paralympics. Despite a good result in 1960, Finland did not take part in the 1964 Games. Finland again sent just one competitor: Veikko Puputti, who entered the men's javelin and club throw. He did not win any medal.
The Men's javelin throw competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–11 August.
Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record and Commonwealth record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 m.
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