Vilhjálmur Einarsson

Vilhjálmur Einarsson (5 June 1934 – 28 December 2019) was an Icelandic track and field athlete, and 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.

Olympic medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Iceland
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne Triple jump
This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Vilhjálmur.

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: Héraðsskólinn in Laugarvatn, Reykholtsskóli in Reykholt, and 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 Dartmouth College. His son Einar Vilhjálmsson later represented Iceland in the men's javelin throw at the Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992).

References
  1. "Olympic medals won by Vilhjálmur Einarsson". ABC. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  2. David Wallechinsky, The complete book of the summer Olympics: Athens 2004 edition, Wilmington, Delaware: Sport Media, 2004, ISBN 1-894963-32-6, p. 374.
  3. 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.
  4. History Archived December 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland, retrieved 23 June 2010.
  5. European Championships: Stockholm 1958, men’s results Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Athletix.org.
  6. "Handball Champion Icelandic Sportsman of the Year", Iceland Review Online 6 January 2010.
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