Sweden v Finland 

Eight years of hiatus came to an end at the sold-out Olympic Stadium in Stockholm on July 27, 1939. Finland and Sweden once again measured their strengths in the field of athletics. The meet had ceased after 1931 when the chairman of the Finnish Athletics Association, Urho Kekkonen, for various reasons, severed the relations.

Good behaviour

The competition was conducted in an atmosphere of peace and love. The worst tensions had apparently dissipated by the early 1930s. To emphasize their friendliness, the organizers had hired a Finnish-speaking announcer at the Stockholm Stadium. The announcers promoted good behaviour by encouraging the audience to cheer for both teams equally.

During the eight-year break, the format of the match had been revamped. A new competition format, the B-match, was developed, which was held alongside the A-match simultaneously in Helsinki. The event programme was also modernized. The former 1000-metre relay was replaced by the current 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 metre relays. A new event added was the 400-metre hurdles.

The Finland-Sweden match score was tied at 2–2 in 1931. Thanks to their triumph eight years ago, the Finns led the event points marathon table with a score of 379-352.

A new generation of athletes emerged during the hiatus. Among the athletes from 1931, only Matti Järvinen, who dominated javelin throwing throughout the decade, remained. The Finnish national team was confident, as they expected 1-2-3 sweeps in the upcoming Helsinki Olympics – anticipated to be held the following year – at least in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, and javelin throw, and possibly in the steeplechase as well.

Lidman clocks 14.2 – European record 

The toughest results of the match were seen in the  hurdles. European Championship runner-up and team captain Håkan Lidman of Sweden set a European record of 14.2. A week later, he defeated the US champion Joe Batiste at London invitational.

There were also fast races in the 400 metres hurdles. Future European champion Bertel Storskrubb broke the official Finnish national record with a time of 53.4.

With the Helsinki Olympics expected to be just around the corner, many athletes interested in representation shifted from workers' sports clubs to bourgeois teams (the athletes representing the workers' association  didn't participate the Olympics or European Championships). So did Alpo Savolainen, who equaled the 100-metre Finnish record of 10.7 and secured a valuable victory over Lennart Strandberg with a dream start. On the 200 metres,  the Swedish 100 metres Olympic finalist took revenge and surged to victory in 21.9.

Andersson sets a Swedish record in the1500m 

National records were set in the 1500 meters as well. Arne Andersson, who would fight fiercely with Gunder Hägg during the war, sprinted to a Swedish record of 3:48.8. The farmer from Muhos, Niilo Hartikka, didn't give up too easily, so a new Finnish record of 3:50.0 was witnessed.

The world's best runner in the years before the war and the world record holder in the 5000 meters, Taisto Mäki, defeated his opponents in the 5K and 10K. In the shorter distance, the boy from Rekola engaged in a fierce battle on the last lap, where Sweden's Henry Jonsson (later Kälarne) had to throw in the towel in the last 50 meters. "The race was one of the grandest and toughest ever seen on this distance," wrote a Helsingin Sanomat journalist in his  report.

Mäki was awarded the best Finnish athlete prize. The gold watch wasn't admired for long, as he soon travelled to the invitation meet  in London, where he won the three-mile race and also set the British open record. Later in the fall, the 10,000-metre world record crumbled with the first sub-thirty-minute result.

Jump victories for Finland

Finland clinched victory in all jumping events. Future lawyer Lauri Kalima dominated the high jump with a result of 1.96m, which is currently the Finnish indoor record in the women's category. In the long jump, Pekka Simola secured victory with a result of 7.17m. Aaro Laine finished third, later making a name for himself as a sports journalist for Helsingin Sanomat.

Finland took home three event victories in throwing events. Worker Uuno Veirilä hurled the discus to 54 metres and secured highest event points. Javelin throwing was dominated by the two best from the previous summer's European Championships, veteran Matti Järvinen and lumberjack Yrjö Nikkanen, with throws surpassing 70 meters each.

The international match ended with Finland winning by a score of 112–102, taking a 3–2 lead in match victories. In the event points marathon table, Finland increased its lead to 491–454. The victory was celebrated by the Finns, as on the way back from the stadium to the Regina hotel, the singers sang patriotic songs.

The match was broadcast live on both the host country's and the visitors' radio for the third consecutive time. In Stockholm, the A-national match events were called by Dr. Martti Jukola. In Helsinki, the B-match was commented on by Pekka Tiilikainen. The Swedish-language broadcast followed the Finnish one. It was commented on by Enzio Sevón. The major Helsinki newspapers devoted 3–4 broadsheet pages to each competition day, more than they do nowadays.

Before television, newsreel footage was compiled into a few minutes long weekly compilations, which were shown in cinemas before the main feature film. Cameras also rolled at the Stockholm Stadium, and the match film was shown in Sweden after mid-August.

Results: 

• Wikipedia (complete)

• Friidrottsstatistik (complete)

• Tilastopaja 

Newspaper and magazine stories 

• Helsingin Sanomat, July 28, 1939 (in Finnish)

• Ilta-Sanomat, July 28, 1929 (photos)

• Uusi Suomi, July 28, 1939 (missing pages)  (in Finnish)

• Turun Sanomat, July 28, 1939 (in Finnish)

• Hufvudstadsbladet, July 28, 1939 (in Swedish)

• Helsingin Sanomat, July 29, 1939 (in Finnish)

• Ilta-Sanomat, July 29, 1939 (photos)

• Uusi Suomi, July 29, 1939 (in Finnish)

• Turun Sanomat, July 29, 1939 (in Finnish)

• Hufvudstadsbladet, July 29, 1939 (in Swedish)

• Suomen Kuvalehti, August 5, 1939 (photos)