Name Jarl Jakobsson Role Olympic athlete | Died December 28, 1951 | |
Jarl Gustaf Anian Jakobsson (born 11 May 1880, Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire; died 28 December 1951, Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Jarl Jakobsson with his brother Evert emerged as javelin specialists in the summer of 1906. Their success was based on an alteration on the grip of the javelin. They had stapled two bits of stiff cord on it, improving its support for fingers. The existing world record for two handed javelin throw by Erik Lemming was 91.28 metres, but with their enhancement, Jarl broke it with 91.41 metres. It was then improved by Evert to 98.47, followed by Lemming imitating their grip and taking back the record with 104.40 metres. At this point, the new grip was banned and all results achieved with it were disqualified, reverting the world record to 91.28.
He entered four events in the Olympic Games:
His brother Evert Jakobsson was another Finnish 1908 Olympian. Figure skater Walter Jakobsson, who won Olympic gold in 1920 pair skating, was his cousin.