Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state.

It competed independently in 1908 and 1912 as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

Valkama was the only diver to advance to a final, placing fifth in the plain high diving.

The Finnish team garnered nine gold medals, matching the United States for the most in that category.

With only about a quarter of the number of athletes, however, the Finns could not match the depth of the United States and finished with 13 fewer total medals.

The Finland team's greatest successes came in long distance running events (gold medals in the 10,000 metres, marathon, individual cross country, and team cross country) and throwing events (golds in the discus throw, shot put, and javelin throw—sweeping the medals in the latter).

A point-for-place system was used, with the lowest total score winning.

The Finns were looking to improve upon the pair of bronze medals they had won in 1912, which was the country's best result to date.

Ekström competed in the light heavyweight category, but did not finish the competition.