Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games:

By 1936 Matti Järvinen, the defending gold medalist, had set 10 consecutive world records. He had won the 1934 European Championship by almost seven metres and was an overwhelming favorite until a few weeks before the Olympics, when he injured his back. Hurting in Berlin he could throw only 69.18 (226-11¾) and would place fifth. His Finnish teammates, Yrjö Nikkanen and Kalervo Toivonen, won the silver and bronze medals, but the gold went to German Gerd Stöck who triumphed with his fifth-round throw of 71.84. Stöck was also shot put bronze medalist in Berlin. In 1938, Nikkanen twice broke Järvinen’s world record but placed second to Järvinen at the 1938 European Championships.