Vilhjálmur Einarsson (5 June 1934 – 28 December 2019) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic track and field athlete, and triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. Vilhjálmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing village of

Reyðarfjörður Reyðarfjörður () is a town in Iceland. It has a population of 1,350 and is one of the most populated villages that constitute the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. History The town is at the bottom of the eponymous fjord, the largest on the east ...

and was the son of Einar Stefánsson and Sigríður Vilhjálmsdóttir. In 1956 Vilhjálmur set a new Olympic Record by jumping 16.26 m in the triple jump, only to be surpassed by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

's Adhemar da Silva in the same competition. This was the most unexpected result of the Olympics that year, and his silver medal was Iceland's first ever Olympic medal. In 1958 he took bronze in the triple jump at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

in Stockholm, Sweden, with 16.00 m. His personal best was 16.70 m set in 1960 in

Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur () is Iceland's national football stadium and the home venue for the Iceland national football team. It is in Reykjavík with a capacity of 9,800. History The idea of building a sport venue in Laugardalur, along with some othe ...

, Iceland. He was named

Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year The Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year ( is, Íþróttamaður ársins) is an annual award given to the best Icelandic sportsperson of the year. The winner is selected by the Icelandic Association of Sports Journalists. It was first given in 1956 to ...

five times, more times than anyone else."Handball Champion Icelandic Sportsman of the Year"
Iceland Review Online 6 January 2010. Vilhjálmur was also a headmaster of three schools: Héraðsskólinn in

Laugarvatn Laugarvatn () is the name of a lake and a small town in the south of Iceland. The lake is smaller than the neighbouring Apavatn. Tourism Laugarvatn lies within the Golden Circle, a popular tourist route, and acts as a staging post. The town has ...

, Reykholtsskóli in Reykholt, and Menntaskólinn in

Egilsstaðir Egilsstaðir () is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river. It is part of the municipality of Múlaþing and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2020, a population of 2,522 inhabitants. Formerly Egilss ...

, where he later worked as a part-time mathematics teacher. He also was a painter, specializing in

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

, and his work has been on display in several art galleries in Iceland. He attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. His son Einar Vilhjálmsson later represented Iceland in the men's

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

at the Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Einarsson, Vilhjalmur 1934 births 2019 deaths Dartmouth College alumni Vilhjálmur Einarsson Vilhjálmur Einarsson Vilhjálmur Einarsson Landscape artists Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Vilhjálmur Einarsson Vilhjálmur Einarsson European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)