Stadium, Stockholm | September 10–11, 1927
The second Sweden v. Finland international match was marred by a personal boycott. Paavo Nurmi had been promised by the Finnish team leadership that he would not have to run any other events than the 10,000 meters. However, the chairman of the Finnish Athletics Association, Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, decided on his own that the "King of Runners" would also have to participate in the 1500 or 5000 meters. This was not acceptable to Nurmi, who did not want to run against Nils Eklöf. According to the stubborn runner from Turku, the Swede had sabotaged his record attempt the previous year. Messrs Nurmi and Pihkala did not budge, so the multiple Olympic champion packed his bags, got off the ship waiting for departure to Stockholm and walked home to read the newspaper.
The dual meet was even in that sense, as victories in the events fell on both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia in different event groups. Finland, on the other hand, took a beating on the first day. "The defeat looks absolutely devastating," lamented the writer Yrjö Halme, who reported to Helsingin Sanomat from Stockholm. Not even a decent fightback on the second day could lead Finland's young and rookie-filled team to victory.
The Swedes stretched themselves more than the Finns on their home turf. They smashed two Swedish records, while the Finns did not reach official records. Bertil Jansson, nicknamed "Thick Bert", threw the shot 15.08 metres (49-5 1/2) and future Olympic silver medalist Ossian Skiöld swung the hammer to 53.85 metres (176-8). Finland's Armas Wahlstedt (later Valste) threw a "magnificent" 15.51 (50-10 1/4) in the shot put, which was judged a foul.
Finland also got one "moral" record, as Bengt Sjöstedt clocked the fastest ever time for a Finn in the 110 hurdles at 15.0. However, under the rules of the time, it was not accepted as a record because two hurdles lost their balance during the race. Erik Wilén, who had earlier in the season collected a suitcase full of medals in the Finnish Championships, injured his hamstring and was no longer able to score points for the blue and whites in other events. A disappointing double victory for Sweden in the high hurdles.
The Swedes did not dominate the sprints at all, although they took a double victory in the 200 metres right at the beginning of the meet. Ilmari Helle, who fell in the Russo-Finnish Winter War 1940, won the 100 metres in 10.9 seconds, which was just a tenth of a second behind the seemingly eternal record. Erik Åström from Finland swept to victory in the lap of the track.
Erik Byléhn of Sweden won the 800 metre battle. Finland's Harry Ekqvist, who later became a reporter for a Finnish sport magazine under the Finnished name Eljanko, took a bad beating in the final lap.
Many of the pillars of the Finnish team from the time of the Paris Olympics had already retired from competition. In the triple jump, however, the reliable duo Vilho Tuulos and Väinö Rainio from Finland continued and took a double victory.
In the first four Sweden v. Finland international matches, there was only one relay in the programme: the 1000 metres, in which four different distances were run (100, 200, 300 and 400 metres). With Wilén nursing a sore leg, Sweden took an easy victory.
The final score of the dual meet was 98-86 to Sweden. A reporter for a Finnish newspaper visited the locker room of the blue-whites after the match and found the atmosphere to be "as serious as a better funeral".
Sweden evened the score in the table of dual meet victories to 1-1.
Finnish newspapers sent a legion of correspondents to Stockholm. The meet was broadcast to Finland through a new media aka radio. However, nobody heard the broadcast because the commentary didn't arrive in Finland due to technical issues. The commentator did speak at the stadium all the time – and completely in vain. Swedish Radio broadcast a 20-minute sports review via its antennas in the evening.
A labour dispute in the accomodation industry disrupted the stay of the Finnish team in Stockholm. The team lodged at the Regina Hotel in the city center, which remained open despite the strike. However, this choice of accommodation did not sit well with some, and after the Finns suffered a narrow defeat in the dual meet, the team management received a telegram from the Hotel Workers' Union congratulating them on their loss.
Wikipedia (complete)
Friidrottsstatistik (complete)
Helsingin Sanomat, September 11, 1927 (in Finnish)
Uusi Suomi, September 11, 1927 (in Finnish)
Hufvudstadsbladet, September 11, 1927 (in Swedish)
Helsingin Sanomat, September 12, 1927 (in Finnish)
Hufvudstadsbladet, September 12, 1927 (in Swedish)
Uusi Suomi, September 13, 1927 (in Finnish)
Viikko-Sanomat, September 17, 1927 (in Finnish)
Suomen Kuvalehti, September 17, 1927 (photos)