Eero Lehtonen

Eero Lehtonen

Eero Lehtonen c. 1920
Personal information
Born	21 April 1898 Mikkeli, Finland
Died	9 November 1959 (aged 61) Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Pentathlon
Club	Mikkelin Kilpa-Veikot, Mikkeli
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m – 53.0 (1924) LJ – 7.02 m (1920) Pentathlon – 3416 (1924)
Medal record Representing Finland Olympic Games 1920 Antwerp Pentathlon 1924 Paris Pentathlon

Eero Reino Lehtonen (21 April 1898 – 9 November 1959) was a Finnish athlete. He competed at the 1920 Olympics in the pentathlon, long jump and decathlon and at the 1924 Olympics in the pentathlon and 4 × 400 m relay. He won the pentathlon at both Games, but performed poorly in other events. He retired after learning that pentathlon was excluded from the 1928 Olympics.

In 1920 Lehtonen won the national titles in the pentathlon and long jump, setting a new national long jump record at 7.02 m. At the 1920 Olympics he tried decathlon, but gave up after five events. He semi-retired after the Olympics, but returned in 1922, again winning the national long jump and pentathlon titles. At the 1924 Olympic pentathlon competition Robert LeGendre set a world record in the long jump, but Lehtonen did better on average and won the gold medal.

In 1984, a bronze statue of Lehtonen was installed at the sports park in Mikkeli, his home town.