Vilhjálmur Einarsson
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  Iceland
| ||
 |
1956 Melbourne | Triple jump |
Vilhjálmur Einarsson (5 June 1934 – 28 December 2019) was an
triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.[1] Vilhjálmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing village of Reyðarfjörður
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's Adhemar da Silva in the same competition. This was the most unexpected result of the Olympics that year,[2] and his silver medal was Iceland's first ever Olympic medal.[3][4] In 1958 he took bronze in the triple jump at the European Athletics Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, with 16.00 m.[5] His personal best was 16.70 m set in 1960 in Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland. He was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year five times, more times than anyone else.[6]
Vilhjálmur was also a headmaster of three schools:
Menntaskólinn in Egilsstaðir, where he later worked as a part-time mathematics teacher. He also was a painter, specializing in landscape painting
, and his work has been on display in several art galleries in Iceland.
He attended
Summer Olympics
(1984, 1988 and 1992).
References
- ^ "Olympic medals won by Vilhjálmur Einarsson". ABC. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ISBN 1-894963-32-6, p. 374.
- ^ James Crugnale, "Great Moments In Icelandic History: Iceland gets its first Olympic Medal" Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, The Reykjavík Grapevine 15 August 2008.
- ^ History Archived December 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland, retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ European Championships: Stockholm 1958, men’s results Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Athletix.org.
- ^ "Handball Champion Icelandic Sportsman of the Year", Iceland Review Online 6 January 2010.
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| National | |
