Veikko Huhtanen

Veikko Huhtanen
Personal information
Country represented Finland
Born(1919-06-05)5 June 1919
Viipuri, Finland
Died29 January 1976(1976-01-29) (aged 56)
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London All-around
Gold medal – first place 1948 London Pommel horse
Gold medal – first place 1948 London Team all-around
Silver medal – second place 1948 London Parallel bars
Bronze medal – third place 1948 London Horizontal bar
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1950 Basel Horizontal bar
Silver medal – second place 1950 Basel Team all-around

Veikko Aarne Aleks Huhtanen (5 June 1919 – 29 January 1976) was a Finnish artistic gymnast.[1] He was the most successful gymnast at the 1948 Summer Olympics, taking home five medals, including three gold medals. In the pommel horse event, Huhtanen and two other Finns, Heikki Savolainen and Paavo Aaltonen, had the same score and the gold medal was shared among the three.[2]

Huhtanen won two silver medals at the 1950 World Championships, in horizontal bar and with a team. Domestically he won only one individual title, in horizontal bar in 1948. Huhtanen retired after failing to qualify for the 1952 Olympics. He later worked as a machine operator in a factory and remained involved with gymnastics as a referee.[2]

  1. ^ Erich Kamper (1972). Encyclopedia of the Olympic Games. McGraw-Hill. p. 321. ISBN 9780070332652.
  2. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Veikko Huhtanen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.