Finland’s oldest surviving Olympic medallist across all sports Kaarlo Tuominen died on 20 October at the age of 98 years, and was buried on Friday 3 November.
Born on 9 February 1908, Tuominen was a member of the Finnish team that in the 1930s were the successful heirs to the mantle of national success which first generation stars like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola had established.
Tuominen was the 1936 Olympic Games silver medallist at the 3000m Steeplechase in Berlin. He finished three seconds short of compatriot Volmari Iso-Hollo, who retained his Olympic title with a 9:06.8 run which in an era before World records were formerly established for the event was the fastest time ever run at that point.
Notably, in that Berlin final Tuominen had fallen badly at the first water jump, and dropped from the leading pack to last place in the field.
A multiple national championship medallist in the 1930s and 40s, Tuominen was champion at 3000m Steeplechase in 1937, and took a bronze at the 400m Hurdles in 1935. He first medalled in 1930 and took his last in the 1947 championships.
In 1938 he finished fourth at the European championships at 3000m Steeplechase.
In total, he competed for 30 years and in 600 competitions.
Chris Turner for the IAAF