Finland competed at the inaugural Summer Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome. Like Rhodesia and Ireland, it sent only one competitor: swimmer Tauno Valkama. He entered a single event, the 50m crawl (class 4), and won gold - giving his country a perfect success rate for its first Paralympics.Finland at the 1960 Summer Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
Medallists MedalNameSportEvent Tauno Valkama Swimming Men's 50 metre crawl complete class 4
Swimming
Just like all other events at the 1960 Paralympics, swimming races were held with no more than three swimmers per event, thereby guaranteeing a medal to every swimmer completing his or her race. In his sole event, Valkama competed against two Americans: R. Maduro and Hall (full names not recorded).
Valkama was a clear winner, completing the race in exactly 51 seconds, making Finland's only medal at the 1960 Games a gold. Maduro finished in 57.7s, beating his compatriot for silver; Hall swam the race in 59.8s, for bronze.
See also Finland at the 1960 Summer Olympics
References
External links
International Paralympic Committee official website