Arno Almqvist

Arno Almqvist competed at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics as a member of the Russian team in the modern pentathlon. At that time, only officers were allowed to participate and Finland did not have its own Army until independence in 1918. Almqvist placed 19th overall, excelling in swimming. He was also entered in the 200 and 400-meter breaststroke events but did not start. Almqvist served as chairman of the Kuopio Swimming Club in the 1920s.

Almqvist started his military career at the Hamina Cadet School and was transferred in 1903 to the Mikhailov Artillery Academy in St. Petersburg. In World War I, he served as an artillery officer at the Kronstadt Fortress. During the October Revolution, he was arrested by the Bolsheviks and spent a total of five months in Kronstadt prison. After his return to Finland, he became chief of police in Oulu.

During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Almqvist was commander of the 1st heavy artillery battery of the Whites. After the war, he was appointed chief of the Suomenlinna Fortress artillery. In 1923 Almqvist was transferred to the position of commander of the Finnish coastal artillery. He resigned from regular service in the following year. His resignation was part of the forced replacement of the so-called “Russian officers” who had served and received their training in the Russian Imperial Army.

Later, Almqvist worked as a prison warden in Vyborg. During the Winter War of 1939/40, he volunteered for the Army and served in special artillery duties. Almqvist was killed on an official mission in the town of Mikkeli during a bombing raid. He was the highest-ranked and – at the age of 58 – also the oldest officer to fall in the Winter War.

Almqvist was married to Karin Mathilda Norell. The couple had three daughters and one son.