20 metre club
The 20 metre club (20 metrin kerho in Finnish) is an unregistered Finnish association for Finnish shot putters who have put the shot more than 20 metres in an official competition using a 7.26 kg shot for men and a 4 kg for women.
The 20 metre club was founded on April 28, 1983, at Eerikkilä Sports Academy with six men being selected as members. One of the goals of the club is to promote the development of shot putting in Finland.
The club meets twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. In its fall meeting, the club awards the "Kultapoju" or Golden Boy to a promising shotputter. The Golden Boy is a brass shotput that is slightly larger than the current standard shotput, although it weighs less (6.2 kg, orig. 6.6 kg). The first recipient of the Golden Boy award was Kari Töyrylä in 1985; Töyrylä became a member of the club in 1986 after his put of 20.05 m on July 2. The last recipient to date was Niko Hauhia, who also received a EUR 500 stipend for training. The club also awards training grants in order to promote and help athletes develop.
Members
In December 2008, the club had 20 members. Of these, Seppo Simola and Jari Kuoppa are deceased.
Members of the club and the first time they put the shot more than 20 m
| Name | Distance | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Seppo Simola | 20.15 | July 19, 1972 | Turku, Finland |
| 2. | Matti Yrjölä | 20.04 | August 2, 1972 | Hämeenkyrö, Finland |
| 3. | Bo Grahn | 20.09 | August 3, 1972 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 4. | Reijo Ståhlberg | 20.38 | July 26, 1973 | Turku, Finland |
| 5. | Markku Tuokko | 20.03 | August 18, 1979 | Mikkeli, Finland |
| 6. | Aulis Akonniemi | 20.12 | July 25, 1982 | Ähtäri, Finland |
| 7. | Janne Ronkainen | 20.02 | May 11, 1986 | Leselidse, Soviet Union |
| 8. | Jari Kuoppa | 20.17 | June 12, 1986 | Ähtäri, Finland |
| 9. | Kari Töyrylä | 20.05 | July 2, 1986 | Kauhajoki, Finland |
| 10. | Markus Koistinen | 20.31 | June 13, 1993 | Luumäki, Finland |
| 11. | Mika Halvari | 20.08 | August 4, 1993 | Kotka, Finland |
| 12. | Arsi Harju | 20.16 | March 2, 1997 | Tampere, Finland |
| 13. | Timo Aaltonen | 20.12 | June 20, 1998 | Kuortane, Finland |
| 14. | Jani Illikainen | 20.43 | January 23, 1999 | Haaparanda, Sweden |
| 15. | Ville Tiisanoja | 20.06 | July 31, 1999 | Espoo, Finland |
| 16. | Jarkko Haukijärvi | 20.20 | July 1, 2000 | Eurajoki, Finland |
| 17. | Tepa Reinikainen | 20.01 | February 13, 2000 | Kuopio, Finland |
| 18. | Conny Karlsson | 20.45 | May 31, 2001 | Espoo, Finland |
| 19. | Robert Häggblom | 20.13 | May 20, 2006 | Halle, Germany |
| 20. | Mika Vasara | 20.04 | June 4, 2006 | Leppävirta, Finland |
External links
- Official site (Finnish)