Taavi "Dave" Komonen (December 16, 1898 – April 19, 1978) was a Finnish-Canadian athlete, who mainly competed in marathon running. He won the Boston Marathon in 1934, after placing second the previous year.
Taavi Komonen was born in Käkisalmi, Karelia, which then belonged to Finland but was invaded by the Soviet Union during World War II. He worked as a farmer and carpenter in Finland before moving to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1929. In Canada his first name was anglicized to Dave. In Toronto he looked for work in the construction industry, but because of the Great Depression and his lack of English he did not find a steady job and was unemployed for periods of time.[1]
He competed in the Boston Marathon for the first time in 1931 and finished seventh in the race. The same year he won the Canadian National Marathon Championship. In 1932 he returned to Finland to compete in the Olympic trials in Vyborg, but did not finish the race and consequently was not selected for the Finnish Olympic Team.[3]
Komonen returned to Toronto, and in 1933 placed second in the Boston Marathon; the winner, Les Pawson, defeated Komonen easily, 2:31:01 to 2:36:04. After the race Komonen sold his running shoes for four dollars to pay for a ticket back to Toronto. The same year Komonen won his second Canadian National Marathon Championship. He also competed in the United States National Marathon Championship and won that race in 2:53:43,[1] although Mel Porter, who ran 2:53:46, was recognized as the National Champion.[4] On account of these three races Komonen was awarded the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada's male athlete of the year.
Despite his success Komonen was struggling with financial problems. He decided to move to Sudbury, Ontario, where there was a major Finnish community. In Sudbury he was employed as a carpenter at the Frood Mine. He also received financial aid making possible his trip to Boston in 1934. This time Komonen was overwhelmingly successful. His winning time of 2:32:53 was almost four minutes faster than that of runner-up Johnny Kelley. Early leader Willie Steiner was third in 2:40:29. On May 5, 1934, five years to the day from Komonen's arrival in Canada, he filed naturalization papers, aiming to compete in the 1934 British Empire Games in London. However, Canadian law required a three month waiting period for citizenship, meaning that Komonen would miss by three weeks the marathon trial scheduled for July. He was initially allowed to compete in the trial on the understanding that his citizenship papers would be finalized before the games. However, public pressure forced Komonen to drop out of the trial and he failed to qualify for the games.[1] In October 1934 Komonen won his third Canadian National Marathon Championship.
After 1934 Komonen still competed but his best years were past. He lived in Sudbury until 1951 when he returned to Finland. He died on April 19, 1978, exactly 44 years after his victory in Boston.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdeBlaikie, David. . Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
^Association of Road Racing Statisticians (October 5, 2009). "National Marathon Champions for the United States". Retrieved October 11, 2009.
External linksedit
National Marathon Champions for Canada
January 01, 1970
dave, komonen, taavi, dave, komonen, december, 1898, april, 1978, finnish, canadian, athlete, mainly, competed, marathon, running, boston, marathon, 1934, after, placing, second, previous, year, komonen, 1933personal, informationfull, nametaavi, komonennationa. Taavi Dave Komonen December 16 1898 April 19 1978 was a Finnish Canadian athlete who mainly competed in marathon running He won the Boston Marathon in 1934 after placing second the previous year Dave KomonenKomonen in 1933Personal informationFull nameTaavi KomonenNationalityFinnish 1 BornDecember 16 1898 2 Kakisalmi FinlandDiedApril 19 1978 1978 04 19 aged 79 Helsinki FinlandSportSportAthleticsEventMarathonAchievements and titlesPersonal best2 32 53 1934 2 Medal record 1933 Boston 2 36 04 1934 Boston 2 32 53Career editTaavi Komonen was born in Kakisalmi Karelia which then belonged to Finland but was invaded by the Soviet Union during World War II He worked as a farmer and carpenter in Finland before moving to Toronto Ontario Canada in 1929 In Canada his first name was anglicized to Dave In Toronto he looked for work in the construction industry but because of the Great Depression and his lack of English he did not find a steady job and was unemployed for periods of time 1 He competed in the Boston Marathon for the first time in 1931 and finished seventh in the race The same year he won the Canadian National Marathon Championship In 1932 he returned to Finland to compete in the Olympic trials in Vyborg but did not finish the race and consequently was not selected for the Finnish Olympic Team 3 Komonen returned to Toronto and in 1933 placed second in the Boston Marathon the winner Les Pawson defeated Komonen easily 2 31 01 to 2 36 04 After the race Komonen sold his running shoes for four dollars to pay for a ticket back to Toronto The same year Komonen won his second Canadian National Marathon Championship He also competed in the United States National Marathon Championship and won that race in 2 53 43 1 although Mel Porter who ran 2 53 46 was recognized as the National Champion 4 On account of these three races Komonen was awarded the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada s male athlete of the year Despite his success Komonen was struggling with financial problems He decided to move to Sudbury Ontario where there was a major Finnish community In Sudbury he was employed as a carpenter at the Frood Mine He also received financial aid making possible his trip to Boston in 1934 This time Komonen was overwhelmingly successful His winning time of 2 32 53 was almost four minutes faster than that of runner up Johnny Kelley Early leader Willie Steiner was third in 2 40 29 On May 5 1934 five years to the day from Komonen s arrival in Canada he filed naturalization papers aiming to compete in the 1934 British Empire Games in London However Canadian law required a three month waiting period for citizenship meaning that Komonen would miss by three weeks the marathon trial scheduled for July He was initially allowed to compete in the trial on the understanding that his citizenship papers would be finalized before the games However public pressure forced Komonen to drop out of the trial and he failed to qualify for the games 1 In October 1934 Komonen won his third Canadian National Marathon Championship After 1934 Komonen still competed but his best years were past He lived in Sudbury until 1951 when he returned to Finland He died on April 19 1978 exactly 44 years after his victory in Boston 1 References edit a b c d e Blaikie David Boston the Canadian Story Dave Komonen 1934 Archived from the original on June 21 2009 Retrieved October 11 2009 a b Dave Komonen trackfield brinkster net Hannus Matti 1999 Kultaiset kentat Suomen yleisurheilun vuosisata Juva Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio pp 206 207 ISBN 951 0 23703 5 Association of Road Racing Statisticians October 5 2009 National Marathon Champions for the United States Retrieved October 11 2009 External links editBiography written by David Blaikie National Marathon Champions for Canada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dave Komonen amp oldid 1173252243, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
