He became the first ever European champion in high jump, in 1934 in Turin, and competed in the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics.

In 1936 he cleared the same height of 2.00 m as the medalists Dave Albritton and Delos Thurber, but made more attempts and was placed fourth.

[1] Kalevi Kotkas set four European records in high jump, but two of them – achieved in Rio de Janeiro in 1934 – were never ratified.

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