We are sad to report that Finnish world record holder Veli Kumpuniemi has passed away. He was born on 29th December 1934 and died on 23rd September 2024 at his home in Ranua at the age of 89.
Kumpuniemi is remembered above all as a deadlift champion. He broke the 75kg and 82.5kg world records many times. The 357.5kg he pulled at the European Championships in Zurich in May 1980 became an eternal world record when the weight classes changed in 2011 and the records were frozen.
Kumpuniemi's best ever deadlift result was 373kg, which he did in October 1982 in Rovaniemi. It remains an eternal European record in the 90kg category. He won the World Championship bronze medal in Calcutta in 1981 and the gold medal in deadlift in Dayton in 1979.
Kumpuniemi, who drew his strength from the traditional rural occupations of farming and forestry, also competed at the district level in the 1950s and 1960s in sprinting and weightlifting.
We offer our condolences to his friends and family. He will be sadly missed.
IPF Executive Committee
