Veikko Ilmari PAKARINEN

Ilmari Pakarinen won two bronze medals in the team all-around in 1932 and 1936. His best apparatus at both Olympics was the horizontal bar, where he placed fourth and sixth, respectively. Here, he even developed a new routine, termed the Pakarinen Swing. In 1933 and 1935 he won the Finnish title on the horizontal bar, also winning in 1935 on the parallel bars and vault.

Before the war Pakarinen ran a clothing store in what is now the Russian town of Vyborg, together with boxer and Olympian Valle Resko. After the war, Pakarinen returned to Jyväskylä. In 1959 he emigrated to Australia, worked in the construction business, and never returned to his home country. His son, Juha (John) competed at the 1962 Commonwealth Games for Australia in springboard diving.