Eino Penttlä first practiced cross-country skiing and shooting before he started javelin throwing at the age of 15. He won his first Finnish championship in 1926, when he was only 19, repeating in 1927 and 1928. At Amsterdam in 1928 in Penttilä was a heavy favorite after having broken the world record in October 1927 (69.88), but finished sixth due to an injury. In 1930 he lost his Finnish record to Matti Järvinen, the rising star. Penttilä’s only throw beyond 70 metres came just two weeks after the 1932 Olympics, when he won a meeting in Chicago. During the following years he continued to be successful on the Finnish level but his old elbow injury started to bother him again, and his last active year was 1936.
Personal Best: JT – 70.64 (1932).
Finland