Väinö Tiiri

Finnish artistic gymnast

Väinö Tiiri

Väinö Tiiri circa 1936

Personal information
Full name| Väinö Edward Tiiri
National team| Finland
Born| (1886-01-31)January 31, 1886
Loimaa, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Died| July 30, 1966(1966-07-30) (aged 80)
Helsinki, Finland
Resting place| Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki[1]
Occupation(s)| Gymnastics teacher, major, reporter
Spouse| Helmi Koski
Sport
Sport| Gymnastics
Club|

* Ylioppilasvoimistelijat
* Helsingin Miekkailijat

Medal record

Men's Gymnastics
| 1912 Stockholm | Team, free system
| 1908 London | Gymnastics team

Väinö Edward Tiiri (31 January 1886 - 30 July 1966) was a Finnish gymnast who won two Olympic medals.

## Sport

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### Olympics

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Väinö Tiiri at the Olympic Games  Games  | Event  | Rank  | Notes

|
|
|

1908 Summer Olympics | Men's team | 3rd  | Source: [2]
1912 Summer Olympics | Team, free system | 2nd  |

He was in the Finnish team leadership in the 1924 and 1928 games.[3]

He was a judge at the gymnastics at the 1928 Summer Olympics.[4]

### Other

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He won the Finnish national championship in team gymnastics as a member of Ylioppilasvoimistelijat in 1909.[3]

He was the chairman of the boys' chapter of the Finnish Gymnastics and Sports Federation in 1924–1926.[5]

He was a founding member of the fencing club Helsingin Miekkailijat.[6]

He was the leader of the Suomen Urheilulehti editorial staff in 1909–1917. He edited sports-related articles in the encyclopedia Pieni tietosanakirja.[7]

He held positions of trust in several national-level sports federations.[7]

## Career

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He completed his matriculation exam in Turku Finnish Real Lycaeum in 1907 and graduated as a gymnastics teacher in 1911. He worked as a gymnastics teacher up to 1952.[7]

He completed Artillery Officer School in 1918 and eventually reached the rank of major in 1928.[7]

He was the physical education officer of the Finnish Defence Forces for over ten years.[8] He served as a battalion commander in the World War II.[7]

He was an editor in Uusi Suomi and Suomen Sotilas.[7]

## Politics

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He was one of the members of the central committee responsible of the creation of the Jäger Movement.[9][10] He was nominated an honorary jäger in 1961.[11]

## Accolades

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He received the following honorary awards:[7]

* Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class
* Cross of Liberty, 4th Class
* Knight (Chevalier) of the White Rose of Finland
* The Jaeger Activist Medal
* memorial medals of three wars

## Family

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His parents were Kalle and Maria Tiiri. He married Helmi Koski in 1921. His only child was named Juhana.[7]

## References

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1. ^ "Tiiri Väinö Edvard". Hautahaku.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 March 2023.
2. ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 185. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
3. ^ a b Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000. Suuri olympiateos (in Finnish). Vol. 12\. Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 336\. ISBN 951-98673-1-7.
4. ^ Van Rossem, G., ed. (1928). "The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928. Official Report" (PDF). The Netherlands Olympic Committee. p. 645\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2023 - via LA84 Foundation.
5. ^ Virtapohja, Kalle, ed. (2022). SVUL:n vuosisata. Suomen suurin ja vaikutusvaltaisin urheilujärjestö [The Century of SVUL]. Suomen Urheilumuseosäätiön tutkimuksia (in Finnish). Vol. 4\. Helsinki: Urheilun ja liikunnan kulttuurikeskus TAHTO, SVUL. p. 470\. ISBN 9789526644219. ISSN 2243-1489.
6. ^ Lauhio, Seppo (2013). "1920-luvulla palvelleita upseereita, jotka olivat mukana perustamassa Helsingin Miekkailijoita". In Varjo, Markku (ed.). Miekkailu Suomessa. En garde! Prêts? Allez! (in Finnish). Suomen Miekkailu- ja 5-otteluliitto ry. p. 35\. ISBN 9789519761879.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Suomen voimistelunopettajat 1883–1959. Finlands gymnastiklärare 1883–1959 (in Finnish and Swedish). Helsinki: Suomen voimistelunopettajaliitto. 1959. p. 244.
8. ^ Kronlund, Jarl (1988). Puolustusvoimien rauhan ajan historia. Osa 1: Suomen puolustuslaitos 1918–1939. Sotatieteen laitoksen julkaisuja (in Finnish). Vol. 24\. Porvoo: WSOY. p. 520\. ISBN 9510147990.
9. ^ Lauerma, Matti (1966). Kuninkaallinen Preussin jääkäripataljoona 27. Vaiheet ja vaikutus (in Finnish). Porvoo: WSOY. p. 93.
10. ^ Kilpinen, Asko (2019). "Jääkäriliike ja jääkäripataljoona 27". Suomen jääkärit. Itsenäisyytemme kärkijoukko (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Docendo. p. 56\. ISBN 9789522914651.
11. ^ Paloheimo, Olli; et al., eds. (1975). Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto 1975 (in Finnish and Swedish). Helsinki: Jääkäriliitto. p. 756\. ISBN 951-99046-8-9.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Väinö Tiiri.

* Väinö Tiiri at Olympedia