Together with Sten Suvio, Pentti Hämäläinen is the only Finnish Olympic champion in boxing (as of 2010). He won his title in front of a home crowd at Helsinki, defeating Ireland’s John McNally in the final of the bantamweight division. Hämäläinen moved up a weight division, starting as a featherweight from 1954. In that division, he once again medalled at the 1956 Olympics, this time being eliminated in the semi-finals. Hämäläinen also won two bronze medals in European Championships, one in 1951 (flyweight) and again in 1955 (featherweight). He then turned professional for a few years (winning five of his six bouts), but retired from boxing in 1959. Hämäläinen won six Finnish titles, two in flyweight (1950-51), two in bantamweight (1952-53) and two in featherweight (1954, 1956). Four of Pentti’s brothers (Toivo, Arvo, Erkki and Aarne) were also national level boxers. Hämäläinen later worked as a mechanic and a policeman.
Finland