Description
Vilhj�lmur Einarsson is a former Icelandic athlete, and triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Vilhj�lmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing village of Rey�arfj�r�ur and is the son of Einar Stef�nsson and Sigr��ur Vilhj�lmsd�ttir.
In 1956 Vilhj�lmur set a new Olympic Record by jumping 16.26 m in the triple jump, only to be surpassed by Brazil's Adhemar da Silva. This was the most unexpected result of the Olympics that year, and his silver medal was Iceland's first ever Olympic medal. In 1958 he took bronze in the triple jump at the European Athletics Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, with 16.00 m. His personal best was 16.70 m set in 1960 in Laugardalsv�llur, Iceland. He has been declared Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year five times, more than anyone else.
Vilhj�lmur has also been headmaster of three schools: H�ra�ssk�linn in Laugarvatn, Reykholtssk�li in Reykholt, and Menntask�linn in Egilssta�ir, where he later worked as a part-time mathematics teacher. He is also a painter, specializing in landscape painting, and his work has been on display in several art galleries in Iceland.
He attended Dartmouth College.
Born
June 5th, 1934 in Reyðarfjörður / Died: Dec 28th, 2019 - aged 85
Last Changes
2019/12/31
The celebrity has been marked as passed away
2016/07/09
New Address: Available to members only
2016/07/08
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