Johann Martin

Estonian Johann Martin was a genuine all-round sportsman who competed in the pole vault, high jump, sprinting, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, and speed skating. Martin also became the chairman and founder of multiple sporting organisations. As a pole vaulter he represented Russia and Estonia at the Olympic Games.

As a track and field athlete Martin excelled in the pole vault where he equalled the Russian record with a vault of 3.36 metres in 1910. He was prolific at Russian national championships, winning the title in 1913 and 1914, finishing in second place in 1910 and 1911, and finishing third in 1915 and 1916. Martin represented Russia at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics but failed to record a height in the qualification round. After World War I he represented Estonia at the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics where he cleared 3.30 metres but did not advance to the event’s final. Martin’s success returned at the Estonian national championships where he won gold in the pole vault in 1920 and 1925.

Martin won a plethora of medals at the Estonian Speed Skating Championships with four silver and seven bronze in team events and 19 silver and 21 bronze in individual distances. In 1934 he represented the Estonian team at the first edition of the Estonian-Latvian national competition. By the next edition in 1935 Martin was the chief referee of the event. He also played ice hockey where he was part of the Kalev Tartu team that finished in second place at the Estonian national ice hockey championships.

From 1920 to 1925 Martin was the chairman of Kalev Tartu and became the chair of the Tartu Water Sports Club in 1926. In 1932 he was one of the founders of the Tartumaa Sports Association. From 1945 to 1958 Martin was elected multiple times to the board of the Speed Skating Association and was the chair of the board of judges. In 1958 he chaired the founding meeting of the Tallinn Sports Veterans Team.

Outside of sports Martin worked as an accountant in in Rīga, Tallinn, and Tartu. In 1940 he was honoured with the Order of the Estonian Red Cross V class.

Personal Best: PV – 3.50 (1914).