Finnish track and field athlete Sulo Bärlund represented Tampereen Pyrintö where he competed in the shot put. Bärlund was the national champion in the event on seven occasions (1935–38, 1940, 1946, 1948), and the runner-up four times (1939, 1945, 1947, 1949). In July 1936 he became the first Finnish shot putter to throw further than 16 metres when he set a national record with 16.23 metres. The following month he won the silver medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics with a throw of 16.12 metres, just eight centimetres behind the winning throw of Hans Woellke. After the Olympics, Bärlund finished fourth at the European Championships in 1938, followed by sixth at the 1946 edition.
Personal Best: SP – 16.23 (1936).