Eevald Äärma

Eevald Äärma
Personal information
Birth nameEvald Ärman
Born28 December 1911
Tartu, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
Died13 October 2005 (aged 93)
Baltimore, U.S.
Height174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
ClubEASK Tartu
Achievements and titles
Personal best4.02 (1938)[1]

Eevald Äärma (until 1936 Ärman; 28 December 1911 – 13 October 2005) was an Estonian pole vaulter. He competed at the 1934 European Championships and 1936 Summer Olympics[2][3][4] and placed 7th and 26th, respectively.

Early life and education

Äärma was born in Tartu, in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire (now Estonia), the son of Aleksander Äärman (1875–1957) and Helene Marie Äärman (née Nerska; 1885–1978).[2][5] He graduated from Tartu High School [et].[2] He studied veterinary medicine at the University of Tartu (1937–1939)[2][3] and then at the University of Helsinki.

Athletics and later life

Äärma took up pole vaulting in 1927 and won the Estonian title in 1936 and 1937. He also played ice hockey with the University of Tartu Academic Sports Club.[2] He then worked as a veterinarian in Avinurme, where he married Nelli Kirre (1918–2002) in 1940.[2] In 1944, when the Soviet Army invaded Estonia, he and his family fled to Sweden.[2][3] He emigrated to the United States in 1954, initially to North Dakota, then to Aplington, Iowa, and finally to Baltimore in 1968,[2][6] where he worked as a veterinarian.[6][7] He continued to practice sports, and he won gold medals in javelin and shot put at the 1989 Senior Olympics.[2] Eevald Äärma died in Baltimore in 2005.[2]

References

  1. ^ Evald Äärma. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ise, Fred (25 October 2005). "In Memoriam Dr. Eevald Äärina 1911–2005". Vaba Eesti Sõna. No. 43. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Estonian Once in Olympics to Aplington". The Courier. Waterloo, IA. 6 February 1961. p. 14. Retrieved 11 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Duncan, Scott (12 October 1989). "Senior Olympics: Competing to Stay Young". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, MD. p. D1, D13. Retrieved 11 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWW-8FVH : 10 February 2023), Eevald Aarma.
  6. ^ a b "Aarma, DVM, Eevald". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD. 14 October 2005. p. B4. Retrieved 11 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Äärma, Evald. Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon