Harald Tammer

Although Harald Tammer won all of his international championships medals in weightlifting, he considered himself to be mainly a track & field athlete. In that sport, he first found fame at the 1916 Russian championships, where he won silver in the shot put and bronze in the discus and hammer throws. Between 1918 and 1926, Tammer won 24 Estonian track & field titles in the shot put (1918-26), hammer throw (1923-26), and discus throw (1919-21). He also represented Estonia in the shot twice at the Olympics, placing 6th in 1920 and 12th in 1924.

As a weightlifter, Tammer made his international début at the 1922 World Championships, where he won gold as a heavyweight. At the 1924 Olympics he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division and was also a three-time Estonian heavyweight champion (1922-24).

Outside of sports Tammer worked as a journalist. From 1921-28 he was the editor of “Eesti Spordileht” (Estonian Sports Newspaper) and from 1933-40 he edited “Eesti Päevaleht” (Estonian Daily Newspaper). In 1940 Tammer edited the magazine “Revue Baltique”, while from 1928-40 he was a board member of Estonian Journalists Union and from 1934-35 was the chairman of the Baltic Journalists Union. Tammer was a member of the 1928 Estonian Olympic delegation and served as chef-de-mission of 1936 Estonian Olympic delegation. He was a board member of the Estonian National Olympic Committee from 1933-40, and of the Rahvuskogu (the Estonian Parliament at that time) from 1937-40. Tammer was arrested by the Soviets in February 1941 and died 1½ years later in the Sukhobezvodnoye prison camp.

Personal Best: SP – 14.15 (1922); DT – 41.06 (1920); HT – 37.18 (1923).