Evert Brynolf Jakobsson (16 February 1886 – 16 July 1960) was a Finnish javelin thrower who competed at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

Athletics

Evert Jakobsson, with his brother

Jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

, emerged as javelin specialists in the summer of 1906. Their success was based on an alteration on the grip of the javelin. They had stapled two bits of stiff cord on it, improving its support for fingers. The existing world record by

Eric Lemming Eric Otto Valdemar Lemming (22 February 1880 – 5 June 1930) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900, 1906 Summer Olympics, 1906, 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics, 1912 Olympics in ...

was 53.90 metres, but with their enhancement, Evert broke it with 57.42. He travelled to Stockholm in September 1906 to challenge Lemming. Although Lemming was victorious, he duplicated their grip and took back the record with 58.37 metres. At this point, the new grip was banned, and all results achieved with it were disqualified, reverting the world record to 53.90.

Other

His parents were master builder Gustaf Jakobsson and Josefina Torck. He married Elsa Alma Elisabet Savander (born 1894) in 1916. They had three children: #

Jack Witikka Jack Witikka (20 December 1916 – 28 January 2002; surname until 1942 ''Jakobsson'') was a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He directed 15 films between 1951 and 1968. His 1961 film '' Little Presents'' was entered into the 12th Berl ...

, born 1916, film director # Inga Elsa, 1918 # Kerstin, 1920 His brother

was another 1908 Olympian. Figure skater

Walter Jakobsson Walter Andreas Jakobsson (6 February 1882 – 10 June 1957) was a Finnish figure skater, and the oldest figure skating Olympic champion (at age 38). As a single skater, he won the Finnish national championship in 1910 and 1911. In 1910, he partn ...

, who won Olympic gold in 1920 pair skating, was his cousin. He was in the municipal council of

Haaga Haaga () is a district and a former municipality in the Western major district of Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Fin ...

in 1914–1930. He held the rank

vääpeli ( in Swedish) is a Finnish and former Swedish non-commissioned officer military rank above () and below (). The rank is derived from the German rank and was used as a rank in the Landsknecht (15th and 16th century) for the one who was respon ...

in the White Guard. He received the following medals: * Commemorative medal of the Liberation War * Medal of Liberty, 1st Class * Civil Guard Medal of Merit * Commemorative Medal of the Winter War * First Class Knight of the White Rose of Finland * Cross of Merit of the Fire Defence

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakobsson, Evert 1886 births 1960 deaths Athletes from Helsinki Finnish male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics