Luistinseura Sports Ground (Old Field), Lappeenranta, Finland, September 2, 1926
John Kuck, the future Olympic shot put champion who was on a competition tour in Finland and Europe, threw an impressive 65.63 (215-4) in his secondary event, the javelin, in Lappeenranta. The chilly air and a biting autumn wind might have aided the javelin's low trajectory towards this world-leading result. Eino Penttilä, a future world record holder who had just turned 20, threw 60.30.
The arrival of the sturdy Kuck (188 cm, 90 kg) to the old continent was thanks to Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala. The Finnish sports figure was attending the American championships in Philadelphia and managed to persuade Kuck, who had been snatching up championship medals in both shot put and javelin, to come to Finland. Kuck was also joined by sprinter Robert Greenwade, who had dashed 100 yards in 9.8 seconds.
Kuck did not speak Finnish, so he presumably remained unaware that Pihkala, in the Suomen Urheilulehti sports magazine, had on a couple of occasions mocked Kuck’s shot put style as a “homespun technique.”
Helsingin Sanomat, September 3, 1926 (in Finnish)
Etelä-Saimaa, September 4, 1926 (in Finnish)