 Karppinen in 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Pertti Johannes Karppinen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1953-02-17)17 February 1953 (age 72) Askainen, Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 201 cm (6 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98–102 kg (216–225 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Nesteen Soutajat, Naantali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Pertti Johannes Karppinen (born 17 February 1953) is a retiredFinnish rower noted for his three consecutive Olympic gold medals insingle sculls in1976,1980 and1984.[1]
Karppinen won the world titles in 1979 and 1985 and once held the world record inindoor 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 scullerPeter-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 the1980 Games because West Germany chose to boycott the games to protest theSoviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.[1]
Karppinen and Kolbe faced each other one last time at the1988 Summer Olympics. Karppinen missed making the finals, but won the consolation race for seventh place. Kolbe again won a silver medal being beaten by prodigyThomas Lange. Karppinen would go on to compete in the1992 Summer Olympics finishing in tenth place.[1]
Karppinen andRussia'sVyacheslav 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 brotherReima and won a silver medal at the1981 World Rowing Championships.[2][3] Currently Karppinen works as a national rowing coach, and also trains his sonJuho, and daughterEeva, who both compete in rowing at the international level.[2]
World champions – Men'ssingle sculls | |
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This boat class is anOlympic event; seeOlympic champions – Men's single sculls |
