Tiina Lillak
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
 Tiina Lillak | ||
| Women's Athletics | ||
Competitor for  Finland | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 1984 Los Angeles | Javelin |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 1983 Helsinki | Javelin |
Tiina Lillak (born April 15, 1961 in Helsinki) is a former Finnish javelin thrower, who was among the best female javelin throwers in the world in the early and mid 1980s. While she has been credited for starting a string of successes for Finnish female Javelin thrower, her more notable accomplishments include winning a world championship and an Olympic medal. After retiring from athletics, Lillak began working as a masseuse.
[edit] Timeline
1982:
- On July 29 Lillak threw for a new world record in Helsinki: 72.40 meters. However, the record was broken the following September when Greek thrower Sofia Sakorafa reached 74.20 meters.
- Lillak finished fourth in the 1982 European Championships in Athletics, which were held in Athens.
1983:
- On June 13 Lillak again broke the world record, throwing 74.76 meters in Tampere. This distance remained a world record until June 1985, and also stood as a national record for Finland until 1999, when the javelin type was altered and the former records were wiped clean.
- In the 1983 World Championships in Athletics held in Helsinki, Lillak became the champion in front of her home crowd when she threw for 70.82 meters (enough for the win) on her last attempt leaving Britain's 2nd placed Fatima Whitbread in tears at Trackside as she went running off down the track celebrating with the ecstatic crowd. The whole season was a success for Lillak, who threw over 70 meters in 16 separate competitions and didn't lose a single time.
1984:
- Although Lillak had only taken part in three competitions earlier in the year, she still managed to earn an Olympic silver medal at 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
1986:
- Finished fourth in the 1986 European Championships in Athletics.
1987:
- Finished sixth in the 1987 World Championships in Athletics.
1988:
- In the Seoul Olympics, Lillak did not pass the qualifying round.
1989:
- Lillak participated in five competitions.
1990:
- Won the last of her seven Finnish national championships.
- Finished tenth in the 1990 European Championships in Athletics.
1991:
- In the 1991 World Championships in Athletics, Lillak did not pass the qualifying round (in fact, she did not throw over 62 meters the entire season).
1992:
- Retired from athletics.
[edit] External links
- Lillak at the sporting-heroes.net site
- All of Lillak's competition results
- Last and winning throw in 1983 World Championships in Helsinki (video)
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Keke Rosberg | Finnish Sportspersonality of the year 1983 | Succeeded by Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen |
| Preceded by Hilkka Riihivuori | Finnish Sportswoman of the Year 1983 | Succeeded by Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen |
| Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by Sofia Sakorafa | Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 1983 | Succeeded by Petra Felke |
