Jaakko Tommi Kristian Evilä (born 6 April 1980 in Tampere) is a Finnish former long jumper. He gained fame following his surprise bronze in the 2005 Helsinki World Championships, which was Finland's only medal in the championships.

Tommi Evilä

Tommi Evilä 2010
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Men's athletics
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Helsinki Long jump

He won the bronze medal in a wind-aided 8.25 metre jump. Before the 2005 World Championships he had finished tenth at the 1998 World Junior Championships and fourth at the 2005 European Indoor Championships. He then improved his personal best jump to 8.19 metres in August, and finished sixth at the 2005 World Athletics Final.

Years troubled by injuries then followed. He did achieve a wind-aided result of 8.41 metres at the 2007 Finland-Sweden international. In June 2008 he set a Finnish national record of 8.22 metres in Gothenburg. He competed at the 2008 Olympic Games, but did not reach the final round. In 2009, Evila rediscovered some of his best form.

He competed in the 2010 Finnish Elite Games and came close to winning the jackpot, having won the long jump at four out of five meetings. It was not to be, however, as he finished third in the final competition. This dropped him into fourth place overall and Levern Spencer of St. Lucia topped the rankings to win the prize.[1]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing   Finland
1998 World Junior Championships Annecy, France 10th 7.39 m (wind: +0.4 m/s)
2001 European U23 Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 5th 7.77 m (wind: 0.6 m/s)
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 4th 7.97 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 8.25 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 17th (q) 7.88 m
2009 European Indoor Championships Turin, Italy 7th 7.86 m
World Championships Berlin, Germany 14th (q) 8.01 m
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 13th (q) 7.77 m
European Championships Barcelona, Spain 10th 7.91 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 10th 7.79 m
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 6th 7.96 m

References

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  1. ^ Sonninen, A-P (2010-08-22). Spencer takes the Finnish Elite Games jackpot in Joensuu. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-24.