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[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Wednesday) to an Olympic champion who was born 82 years ago and competed in two Olympic Games, but not in the hurdles.

Our birthday athlete won that Olympic gold medal approximately 4,875 miles (7,818 kms) from the place where this individual was born.

I can tell you that this champion was not the favorite before winning the gold medal at the first of those two Olympics.

About six years after winning the Olympic gold medal, our birthday person received a very important athletic ranking.

Can you name this Olympic champion with a birthday on this final day of November in 2022?

Please give it a try without using any research and good luck to everyone.

[Olli]

I have a guess. This might be someone who won in Tokyo and failed to qualify in Mexico and almost threw a WR in 1970 (me listening to it at the radio while being 6-year old).

[DoubleRBar]

Olli, I believe you do know who this Olympic champion is.

[Olli]

Yea, but I didn't want to spoil it in five minutes.

[DoubleRBar]

No problem. I'm not sure how many people will know this person.

[J Rorick]

Pauli Nevala ?

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 82nd birthday today to Pauli Nevala. Very good, J Rorick.

Pauli Nevala was born in Finland on the last Saturday of November in 1940. He competed in two Olympics for Finland, winning the gold medal in Tokyo (1964) in the men's javelin and also competing in Mexico City four years later (1968) where he didn't make the javelin final. Track & Field News ranked him number one in the world for the men's javelin in 1970.

Thank you, J Rorick and Olli.

[J Rorick]

Olli did all the heavy lifting on this one.

[DoubleRBar]

Olli did indeed lead the way, but you saw an opening and took it. Good for both of you.

[Olli]

I had a home field advantage, so to speak, and was interested to see if someone will remember Nevala.

I don't know if this interests anyone, but here is a (rather shaky) video from 2014, when there was some kind of 50-year festivity for Nevala's Olympic gold. Close to the beginning, Jorma Kinnunen (d. 2019) is introduced as a guest of honor, and the 6 cm that separated Nevala's 92.64 from Kinnunen's 92.70 are joked about. At 2 min, Nevala starts a talk remembering how he began to throw the stick, mentioning Tapio Rautavaara as a role model etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voDcAH91ApE&t=42s

[DoubleRBar]

Thank you, Olli. What a group.