Eero Lehtonen

Eero Lehtonen

Eero Lehtonen c. 1920
Personal information
Born	21 April 1898 Mikkeli, Finland
Died	9 November 1959 (aged 61) Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Pentathlon
Club	Mikkelin Kilpa-Veikot, Mikkeli
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m – 53.0 (1924) LJ – 7.02 m (1920) Pentathlon – 3416 (1924)
Medal record Representing  Finland Olympic Games 1920 Antwerp Pentathlon 1924 Paris Pentathlon

Eero Reino Lehtonen (21 April 1898 – 9 November 1959) was a Finnish athlete. He competed at the 1920 Olympics in the pentathlon, long jump and decathlon and at the 1924 Olympics in the pentathlon and 4 × 400 m relay. He won the pentathlon at both Games, but performed poorly in other events. He retired after learning that pentathlon was excluded from the 1928 Olympics.^[1]

In 1920 Lehtonen won the national titles in the pentathlon and long jump, setting a new national long jump record at 7.02 m. At the 1920 Olympics he tried decathlon, but gave up after five events. He semi-retired after the Olympics, but returned in 1922, again winning the national long jump and pentathlon titles. At the 1924 Olympic pentathlon competition Robert LeGendre set a world record in the long jump, but Lehtonen did better on average and won the gold medal.^[1]

In 1984, a bronze statue of Lehtonen was installed at the sports park in Mikkeli, his home town.^[1]

References