Eeles Landström In azione – da:yleiserluhi.fi
Article by Giovanni Manenti
The specialty of Pole vaulting saw the almost undisputed dominance of US athletes for over half of the 20th centuryproof of this is that they have continuously won the Olympic Gold Medal from the first edition in Athens 1896 up to and including the 1968 Mexico City Games…
Similarly American speaks the Roll of Honor of the world record – without prejudice an interregnum from 1922 to 1925 in which the record was improved on four occasions by the Norwegian Charles Hoff – until the end of the 1960s, when it emerged the East German Wolfgang Nordwigto then pass the baton to “French school” of the various Vigneron, Houvion, Quinon and Galfionebefore the legendary Soviet of Ukrainian origin brought everyone to agreement Sergey Bubka.
In the Old Continent, however, before the aforementioned specialists ousted the auctioneers from across the Atlantic, once the activity had resumed after the end of the Second World War, they came forward Scandinavian, Swedish and Finnish athletes in particularamong which the protagonist of our history today occupies a prominent place…
After, in fact, in the first two editions of the European Championships in Turin 1934 and Paris 1938 the Swede Bo Ljungberg wins as many silvers, beaten by the Germans Gustav Wegner and Karl Sutter respectively – who were also unable to get on the podium at the 1936 Berlin Games – Sweden triumphed in the first two Continental Championships after the Second World War, thanks to Allan Lindberg, who won in 1946 in Oslo by overtaking (4.17 m to 4.10) the Soviet Nikolay Ozolin, and Ragnar Lundberg who, four years later in Brussels, took the title with 4.30 m in an entirely Scandinavian podium, completed by the Finnish couple Valto Olenius and Jukka Pironen, who do not go beyond 4.25 m.
In the meantime, however, the young man is making his way into the Finnish Pole Vault panorama Eeles Landstrom, born January 3, 1932 in Viiala, small center of less than 5 thousand souls, which obtained its first high-level result in 1951, when it crossed the bar set at 4.20 m on 20 August in Helsinki, a time in which, moreover, the world record still stood at 4.77 m jumped by the American Cornelius Warmerdam in May 1942 …
This performance did not allow the 20 year old Eelse to be selected for the 1952 Helsinki Games as regards the Pole Vault – where the choice fell on the aforementioned Olenius and Pironen, as well as on Erkki Kataja – however being part of the Olympic Team, diverted to the Decathlon, a specialty where they finished 14th out of 28 participants.
Not bad, however, considering that from the following season until the end of the decade Landstrom became the undisputed dominator at home, starting by securing nine consecutive national titles (1953-’60)and then definitively rose to prominence during the 1954 season…
In fact, he introduced himself to the European Championships in Bern as a member of the Finnish trio together with Pironen and Lennart Lindberg, Landstrom manages to prevent the Swede Lundberg – who had completed the podium at the Helsinki Games behind the Americans Bob Richards and Don Laz – to replicate the success of four years earlier in Brussels, even if victory comes to him only due to a fewer number of errors, given that both exceed the bar set at 4.40 m a measure that also earned him national primacy.
Entered for the first time in the “Top Ten” of the end-of-season World Ranking drawn up by the prestigious US magazine “Track & Field News” – placed in fourth place, being part of it until the end of the decade – the following year Landstrom climbed the European top, improving the continental record with a first jump of 4.47 m performed on 17 July 1955 in Kouvola and then rising to 4.50 m on the following 24 August in Helsinkithus confirming fourth place in the year-end ranking…
Expected, therefore, as one of the protagonists at Olympics in Melbourne 1956 – having also increased the own limit, crossing the bar at 4.51 m on 23 September in Hamburg – here Landstrom betrays expectations, also certified by the role assigned to him as Flag Bearer at the inauguration ceremony.
In a specialty that the American had seen the previous year Bob Gutowski took over the world record with a jump of 4.78 m at the end of April 1957 in Palo Alto, the 24-year-old Finn surrendered to the measurement of 4.35 m – which was also fatal for Lundberg – so as to finish no better than seventh with 4.25 m in the meantime Richards repeats the Gold in Helsinki complete with an Olympic record of 4.56 m with his compatriot fresh as the absolute record holder having to settle for silver…
A disappointment that makes you slip Landstrom in eighth place in the end-of-season ranking – recovering a position the following year in which he jumped 4.50m at the beginning of July in Helsinki – and then living his best year in 1958, starting with “Personal Best” in his career of m.4.57 obtained in mid-July 1958 still in the capital.
Decided, therefore, to become the first athlete to repeat the European Pole Vault title on the occasion of the subsequent Continental Review which takes place in Stockholm in the fourth week of August, the now 26-year-old Finn succeeds in his aim, albeit once again benefiting – tied with the East German Manfred Preussger and the Soviet Vladimir Bulatov at 4.50 m – the least number of errors made…
Got back up in fourth position in the end-of-year rankings, Landstrom slipped to seventh the following year – when he boasts m.4.52 obtained at the beginning of July 1959 in Gothenburg as his best performance – and then prepares for the his third Olympic participation at the Rome 1960 Games after having won his eighth national title with m.4.50.
On the platforms of the “Olympic Stadium” – con Landstrom confirmed as Flag Bearer at the Inaugural Ceremony – the qualification limit of 4.40 m means that only 13 athletes take part in the final act (the European silver medalist Preussger not succeeding in this aim…), with the aforementioned measure that in the Final sees the Bulgarian Dimitar Khlebarov, the Polish Andrzej Krzesinski and the Soviet Janis Krasovskis exit the scenewhile at the next one of 4.50 m the other Bulgarian surrenders Khristo Khristov e lo yugoslavo Leon Lukman …
With only 8 athletes left in the race, the final selection takes place at an altitude of 4.55 m which proves fatal to the other Soviet Igor Petrenko, like the Czechoslovakian Rudolf TomasekEast German Gunter Malcher and Finnish Matt Sutinen …
This circumstance determines that Landstrom is the only representative of the Old Continent to remain in the race, together with the American pair formed by the favourite Donald Bragg – which he had established on 2 July 1960 with 4.80 m the new world limit – that’s right Ron Morris, as well as the surprise constituted by 21 year old Puerto Rican Rolando Cruz, who makes his first mistake at 4.55mhaving until then been the only one to have completed an immaculate route…
Indecision that costs him dearly, as, eliminated at an altitude of 4.60m together with Landstrom, the latter benefited from the bronze having exceeded the previous quota on the first attempt, while the two US representatives move forward, with Morris to raise the white flag at 4.70 m which Bragg, on the other hand, surpasses in the first test, thus matching the Gold Medal also the Olympic Record…
If four years earlier in Australia Ladstrom had finished fourth among the Europeans, this time Rome’s third place has the same value as a third continental titlealthough it marks the end of his competitive activity, but certainly not as a protagonist in his own country.
His popularity, in fact, led him to try his hand in the field of communication, being part of Finland’s representative of the International Inter-Parliamentary Union, also holding the role of parliamentarian in the Finnish government from 1966 to 1971in addition to holding the role of member of the Board of Directors of the “Finnish Broadcasting Company” from 1967 to 1976, and then became Deputy Director of Finance from 1976 to 1981…
Incredible to say, Landstrom also finds time to dedicate himself to writing, publishing two novels for children – of which the first, released in 1966, was awarded as the best in this sector – as well as his own biography in 2002, before passing away in Helsinki at the end of June 2022, at the age of 90…
It certainly cannot be said that he didn’t have a life full of interests…
2024-03-25 19:34:41
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