From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arsi Ilari Harju (born March 18, 1974 in Kurikka) is a Finnish shot putter with the team Perhon kiri. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with a distance of 21.29 metres. His personal best is 21.39, which he put in the qualifiers for the same Olympics. Due to his success in the Olympics and elsewhere that year, Harju was named Finnish Athlete of the Year in 2000. Harju was the 12th member to be inducted into the 20 meter club after he successfully putted the shot 20.16 m in a competition on March 2, 1997 in Tampere, Finland.
Harju is currently a national UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Finland.
[edit] Major achievements
| Year |
Tournament |
Venue |
Put |
Result |
| 1993 |
Finnish Indoor Championships |
Kuopio, Finland |
17.99 (FR19) |
3rd |
| 1995 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Lapua, Finland |
19.46 |
3rd |
| 1996 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Tampere, Finland |
19.46 |
2nd |
| 1997 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Lappeenranta, Finland |
19.72 |
2nd |
| 1997 |
Finnish Indoor Championships |
Rovaniemi, Finland |
19.77 |
2nd |
| 1998 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Oulu, Finland |
21.04 |
2nd |
| 1998 |
Finnish Indoor Championships |
Tampere, Finland |
20.25 |
2nd |
| 1998 |
European Indoor Championships |
Valencia, Spain |
20.53 |
3rd |
| 1999 |
Finnish Indoor Championships |
Jyväskylä, Finland |
19.52 |
1st |
| 2000 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Lahti, Finland |
20.84 |
1st |
| 2000 |
Summer Olympics |
Sydney, Australia |
21.29 |
1st |
| 2001 |
World Championships |
Edmonton, Canada |
20.93 |
3rd |
| 2002 |
European Championships |
Munich, Germany |
20.47 |
4th |
| 2003 |
World Indoor Championships |
Birmingham, England |
20.96 |
4th |
| 2003 |
Finnish Indoor Championships |
Kuortane, Finland |
20.37 |
2nd |
| 2005 |
Finnish Outdoor Championships |
Pori, Finland |
20.21 |
2nd |
[edit] External links
Finland
