Jonni Myyrä

World Record: 66.10m (216’ 10”)       Stockholm, Sweden  25 Aug 1919

Jonni Myyrä was the first of a long line of javelin champions from Finland, where javelin throwing achieved the status of a national sport unmatched in any other country. He had competed at the 1912 Olympics, finishing eighth. In the Finnish civil war of 1918 he fought for the Whites.

When the Olympics resumed after World War 1, he became a double Olympic champion, winning in 1920 (65.78 meters, 215’ 10”) and 1924 (62.96 meters, 206’ 7”). Like Lemming, he set a number of unofficial records. One in 1915 was disallowed because it hit a tree. In fact, there is nothing in the rule books that says a javelin record should be disallowed just because it hits a tree.

Finally, in 1919 at an International meet at Stockholm he set a world record that was officially recognized as valid, 66.10 meters (216’ 10”).

After the 1924 Olympics, Myyrä traveled to the United States to compete before going to Japan. He made a decision at that time to settle in San Francisco and for many years was the U.S. correspondent for Finnish sport magazines. He always kept the Paris gold medal with him.

source: World Record Breakers in Track & Field Athletics