Pertti Karppinen
Pertti Karppinen in 1980
Personal information
Born (1953-02-17) 17 February 1953
Askainen, Finland
Height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight98–102 kg (216–225 lb)
Sport
SportRowing
ClubNesteen Soutajat, Naantali
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal Single sculls
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow Single sculls
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Single sculls
World Rowing Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 Bled Single sculls
Gold medal – first place 1985 Hazewinkel Single sculls
Silver medal – second place 1977 Amsterdam Single sculls
Silver medal – second place 1981 Munich Double sculls
Silver medal – second place 1986 Nottingham Single sculls
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Copenhagen Single sculls

Pertti Johannes Karppinen (born 17 February 1953) is a retired Finnish rower noted for his three consecutive Olympic gold medals in single sculls in 1976, 1980 and 1984.[1]

Biography

Karppinen won the world titles in 1979 and 1985 and once held the world record in indoor rowing. His style was to row a steady race and finish with a devastating sprint. In the early portions of the race, he would often trail his rivals by several boat length, only to catch them at the race finish.[1]

Karppinen and great German sculler Peter-Michael Kolbe had one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport. Although Kolbe has more Olympic and World Championship medals than any other single sculler in history, he never won an Olympic gold medal. Twice, in 1976 and 1984, Kolbe had the lead the entire race, only to be passed in the last few meters of the race by Karppinen. Kolbe and Karppinen did not face each other in the 1980 Games because West Germany chose to boycott the games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.[1]

Karppinen and Kolbe faced each other one last time at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Karppinen missed making the finals, but won the consolation race for seventh place. Kolbe again won a silver medal being beaten by prodigy Thomas Lange. Karppinen would go on to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics finishing in tenth place.[1]

Karppinen and Russia's Vyacheslav Ivanov are the only men to win gold medals in the single scull at three straight Olympics.[1] Besides single sculls, Karppinen also rowed doubles with his younger brother Reima and won a silver medal at the 1981 World Rowing Championships.[2][3] Currently Karppinen works as a national rowing coach, and also trains his son Juho, and daughter Eeva, who both compete in rowing at the international level.[2]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pertti Karppinen.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pertti Karppinen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 Pertti Karppinen at World Rowing
  3. ↑ "Rudern – Weltmeisterschaften. Einer – Herren" [Rowing – World Championships. One – Men] (in German). Sport-Komplett.de. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
    "Rudern – Weltmeisterschaften. Doppelzweier – Herren" [Rowing – World Championships. Double Sculls – Men] (in German). Sport-Komplett.de. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014.
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