KARPPINEN, PERTTI

born Feb. 17, 1953 Finnish sculler who won gold medals in three consecutive Olympic single sculls events. His Olympic success, coupled with world championships in 1979 and 1985, tied him with Peter-Michael Kolbe of Germany as the only five-time single sculls champions. Standing 6 feet 9 inches (2.05 m), Karppinen was able to make long strokes with minimal strain. His easy strokes and great strength made him a strong finisher, and he often stayed at the back of the field before putting on a fierce sprint in the last 500 m of a race. Throughout his career Karppinen battled Kolbe for world and Olympic titles. Kolbe dominated the world single sculls competition, winning five titles to Karppinen's two. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, however, Karppinen beat Kolbe by more than two seconds to take the gold medal. Kolbe did not participate in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, where Karppinen won his second single sculls gold medal; Karppinen beat Kolbe for his third gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.