Aleksander Klumberg (since 1936 Kolmpere; 17 April 1899 – 10 February 1958) was an Estonian decathlete. He competed in several events at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the decathlon in 1924. In 1922, he became the first official

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder in the decathlon, albeit with a performance inferior to the

Stockholm 1912 The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

series of

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

. Klumberg finished third behind

Vilho Niittymaa Vilho Aleksander Niittymaa (19 August 1896 – 29 June 1979) was a Finnish athlete who competed in the discus throw, hammer throw and shot put. Career Niittymaa won the British AAA Championships title in the discus event and finished third ...

in the discus, third behind

Paavo Johansson Paavo Johansson (later Jaale) (21 October 1895, in – 5 December 1983) was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw. Career Johansson competed for Finland in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium, winning the ...

in the javelin and third behind

Vilho Tuulos Vilho "Ville" Immanuel Tuulos (26 March 1895 – 2 September 1967) was a Finnish triple jumper and long jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Career At the 1920 Olympic Games, Tuulos won a gold medal in the tri ...

in the triple jump event at the British

1922 AAA Championships The 1922 AAA Championships was the 1922 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 30 June to 1 July 1922 at Stamford Bridge (stadium), Stamford Bridge in Lond ...

. Klumberg took up athletics around 1912, and in 1915–1917, held Russian records in several jumping and throwing events. Besides athletics he won three Estonian titles in

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

. In 1918–19, he fought in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

as a volunteer, and after that worked as a physical education instructor with the Estonian army (1919–20), military schools (1924–1926) and police schools (1927 and 1942–1944). He also trained the national athletics teams of Poland (1927–1932) and Estonia, and in this capacity attended the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics. He was arrested by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

in 1944 and kept in a prison camp in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

until 1956. He is buried at the

Rahumäe cemetery Rahumäe (Estonian for 'peace hill' or 'quiet hill') is a subdistrict () in the district of Nõmme, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It covers an area of and has a population of 3,075 (), and a population density of . Rahumäe has a railway sta ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klumberg, Aleksander 1899 births 1958 deaths Athletes from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia Estonian pentathletes Estonian decathletes Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Estonia Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Burials at Rahumäe Cemetery Olympic decathletes