Ville Pörhölä

Ville Pörhölä took part in four Olympic Games from 1920 to 1936, winning one gold and one silver medal. He changed his Swedish birth name of Horneman before the start of his competitive career into the Finnish Pörhölä. His nickname was the “Bear from Röyttä”, his home island. Pörhölä started as a shot putter, weight and discus thrower, turning to the hammer throw in 1929. With Pat O’Callaghan absent, Pörhölä won the title in the hammer throw at the first European Championships in 1934. Pörhölä also won eight Finnish titles - in 1922 in standing triple jump, shot put and shot put with both hands and from 1929-31 and 1934-35 in hammer throw. He also won the British AAA Championships in shot put in 1922. His trademark was a cap that he always wore in competitions. From 1946-50 he was President of the Sports Federation of Lapland. He worked for a large Finnish timber company, eventually as Managing Director.

Personal Bests: SP – 14.87 (1925); DT – 41.48 (1920); HT – 53.77 (1931).