Birger Wasenius
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Birger Wasenius (1939) | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Finland | ||
Men’s speed skating | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 1,500 m | |
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 5,000 m | |
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 10,000 m |
Birger Wasenius (7 December 1911 – 2 January 1940) was a Finnish World Champion in speed skating. He was born in Helsinki.
Wasenius reached the world top in 1933 when he won a silver medal at the European Allround Championships. More medals soon followed, including two silver medals and one bronze medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but none of them were gold. Most of the gold medals those days went to Norwegian skater Ivar Ballangrud. In fact, four of the six silver medals Wasenius won at the Winter Olympics, the World Allround Championships, and the European Allround Championships were behind Ballangrud. Finally, at the 1939 World Allround Championships of Helsinki, his city of birth, Wasenius became World Allround Champion, winning the 1,500 m and finishing second on the other three distances.
At the end of 1939, the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union broke out, and Wasenius was killed early 1940 while fighting for the Finnish army on the islands of Lake Ladoga.[1]
Medals
An overview of medals won by Wasenius at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:
Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
---|---|---|---|
Winter Olympics | – | 1936 (5,000 m) 1936 (10,000 m) |
1936 (1,500 m) |
World Allround | 1939 | 1934 1936 1937 |
– |
European Allround | – | 1933 | 1935 1937 |
In addition, Wasenius won the Finnish National Allround Championships in 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, and 1939 – a total of six times.
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Wasenius skated his personal records.
Event | Result | Date | Venue | WR |
---|---|---|---|---|
500 m | 43.4 | 5 February 1938 | Davos | 42.3 |
1,500 m | 2:18.2 | 31 January 1937 | Davos | 2:17.4 |
3,000 m | 4:55.7 | 30 January 1937 | Davos | 4:49.6 |
5,000 m | 8:21.3 | 31 January 1937 | Davos | 8:17.2 |
10,000 m | 17:28.2 | 14 February 1936 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 17:17.4 |
Wasenius has an Adelskalender score of 192.006 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a third place.
References
- ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
External links
- Birger Wasenius at SkateResults.com
- Evert Stenlund's Adelskalender pages at the Wayback Machine (archived February 12, 2007)
- Historical World Records from the International Skating Union
- The Winter War 1939-1940 from Puolustusvoimat (the Finnish Defence Forces)
- Birger Wasenius at Olympics.com
- Birger Wasenius at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- 1911 births
- 1940 deaths
- Swedish-speaking Finns
- Finnish male speed skaters
- Olympic speed skaters of Finland
- Olympic silver medalists for Finland
- Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
- Speed skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics
- Finnish military personnel killed in World War II
- Olympic medalists in speed skating
- Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics
- World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists